[A/S] Care and Feeding of a Clearcote finish.

[Charlie/Betty Burke <burke@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Over the years I've been associated with Airstreams I've managed to pick
up some why's and where fore's regarding the Clearcote finishes used on
Airstream's over the years.
At one point, several years ago I even had the opportunity to have a
long talk with Dick McIntyre. Dick is an applier of finishes by genetic
disposition. His instinct for paints and finishes is quite remarkable to
behold. As a young man in the fifties, working for his father at a
California RV dealership, he got involved in solving the problem of
oxidizing finishes on the dealers new stock Airstream's. Working with
employees of Airstream, Bowles Arrow and other nearby aluminum coach
manufacturers they went through a dizzying array of finishes trying to
find one that would hold up to the environment and the ravages of time.
You see, when they started it was because an Airstream owner of that
time was expected to deoxidize, polish and wax his coach at least twice
a year. Their efforts were aimed at extending the time frame 18-24
months. They quickly realized any finish they could develop would not be
permanent. After more than 5 years of experimenting they developed a
finish that they felt would do what they wanted. It was then offered as
a dealer applied option. The price included a second application in 18
months! Over the next couple of years they tweaked the formula and
pitched the process to Airstream. In approximately 1962 Airstream
started applying the finish to all production coaches. Dick worked as
contract worker applying inside wood finishes and the exterior clearcote
at the California plant until it closed. He also directed the effort at
the new Ohio plant when it opened.
Soon after Beatrice Foods took over in 1969 they decided to change the
supplier of the clearcote to a subsidiary of theirs. This turned out to
be a poor decision and they changed back to the old stuff.
The original formula is/was comprised of some environmentally unkind
compounds. So in the early 90's Airstream began investigating
alternative finishes. In 93 they started applying a urethane based
clearcote which had tested well in early tests. Unfortunately, the real
world turned out to be much harsher and the finish started "sun burning"
within as little as 6 months. When they tried to return to the old
formula, they discovered they were unable to readily duplicate it. So
period of development "on the fly" insued. Finally in late 96 the finish
stabilized. In August of 98 Airstream changed the finish to a pre
applied fluorocarbon based finish. They continued to use that finish
today. It unfortunately is not a field applicable finish.

The early recommended method for keeping ones Airstream shiny involved
frequent applications of metal polish and Glass Wax as a sealer. With
the advent of clearcote, Walbernize was selected as a preferred finish
polish and protectant. In the 80's a second version of Walbernize, a
sealer and glaze, was found to significantly slow the loss of the flex
agent in clearcote, greatly extending it's service life. With the new
finish the Walbernize Sealer and Glaze remains a good choice along with
other good quality non-abrasive automotive products.

The fine print on virtually all automotive finish product warns
specifically against using household detergents on their products. The
reason being the household products typically contain ammonia which is
very hard on their finish product's durability.

Sorry I got long winded. Hope this help.

Charlie