Preventing Aluminium/steel reaction

[cardygeorge]

Looking for some ideas on stopping the reaction between the two on Gertie. Upon closer inspection the restoration task has become a whole lot more intricate as nearly every (aluminium) body panel has some corrosion where it sits on the steel frame.

Stopping the contact between panels and steel is easy, Denso tape ought to take care of that, what's got me scratchin me noggin is stopping the screws from corroding out the aluminium as well.

[DC3Td]

Stainless Steel screws should do the trick.

[shesgotthelook]

As DC3Td says, stainless screws. As long as they are not visible you can use any sort, BUT if visible, you know they must be Slot Heads

I also believe galvanized nails etc are ok to use too.

[DC3Td]

Now SGTL, you`lll have poor old Cobber - oops- Senior Cobber - rattling off about slot head screws again. As a cheaper alternative George you could use plated screws with a thin fibre washer.The washer being almost the same dia as the head of the screw. This way you barely see the edge of the washer. Oodles of those about on eeey baay or elsewhere.

[Franklin1]

cardygeorge, you can also use purlin tape to separate the cladding from the steel framework. I've successfully used this tape along the chassis rails on a poptop I restored a few years ago. Road dust had turned to mud and was trapped between the chassis rails and the cladding, leading to corrosion. The purlin tape is available from your nearest hardware store ( see this example at Bunnings).

If the screws on your van are already stainless steel, they won't contribute to corrosion, given the spacing of the screws. If they are galvanised coated screws, you can either do what DCT3 is suggesting and put a washer under the head, or you can just pump a dab of mastic sealant under the head and wipe off the excess.

cheers,
Al.

[Roehm3108]

A coat of paint between the aluminium and Iron will also work. I have used cold gal successfully in the past.