Re: [A/S] Airstream purchase and general advice wanted

["T Meeker"]

Roy,

The cladding material is almost 100% aluminum and it is on there for a
purpose; it slightly oxidizes normally which does provide a sealed
covering (unless disturbed of course) for the underlying aluminum
'alloy' which is a mix of aluminum and other metals.

Yes, it is certainly possible to scratch through the cladding but you'd
really have to try to remove *all* of the clad coating. If you did
succeed in removing some of the cladding you'd certainly know it as the
underlying aluminum alloy is a different color, i.e. darker metal.

I do not know how thick the aluminum cladding is but certainly it is
more than just a couple of mils thick. The black coloring on the
polishing rags is the color of aluminum and polish mixed together. You
can get this black material coloring on your hands just from handling
clad aluminum panels without using gloves.

Tom