Re: [A/S] Skin repair - TIG Welding

["Steve Pfiffner" <madrone1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike,

That does not surprise me, the skin of an Airstream is very thin and older
trailers especially will be very dirty and contaminated on the backside and
almost impossible to clean there. Just because a weld is technically
feasible does not mean it is practical to make. Very thin aluminum responds
best to expensive pulse technology machines which are rarely found outside
the big Aerospace manufacturing plants. Some basics likely already known by
your welder include; outside coatings must be removed, all cleaning must be
done with stainless steel brushes. Without a lot more detail about your
exact situation and the equipment being used the only practical idea that
comes to mind is to drill a small hole somewhere and flood the backside of
the weld zone with argon as the weld is made, the contamination destroying
the weld is likely coming from there. I think you are running into the
reasons Airstream skins are always repaired by panel replacement or by
attaching a patch over the outside fashioned to look like an access door. It
is not that welding the skin is technically impossible, it is just that it
is structurally and economically impractical.

Steve