WWII Shiny B-29.

What was the chemical they used for Anti-corrosion?

I watched the Military Channel's "Great Planes" and the B-29 stands out.

One thing covered was the lack of paint. The referred to something called "Cladding".
Do any of you guys know what they were talking about?
Is it used on our Tin Boats of today?
I think I'd make the outside of my little Row boat nice n' Shiny if it was feasible. =D>

wikipedia:

Cladding is the bonding together of dissimilar metals. It is different from fusion welding or gluing as a method to fasten the metals together. Cladding is often achieved by extruding two metals through a die as well as pressing or rolling sheets together under high pressure.

The United States Mint uses cladding to manufacture coins from different metals. This allows a cheaper metal to be used as a filler.
Contents

1 Roll welding
2 Explosive welding
3 Laser cladding
3.1 Process
3.2 Advantages
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Roll welding

In roll welding, two or more layers of different metals are thoughly cleaned and passed through a pair of rollers under sufficient pressure to bond the layers. The pressure is high enough to deform the metals and reduce the combined thickness of the clad material. Heat may be applied, but is not necessary if one of the metals is ductile. Bonding of the sheets can be controlled by painting a pattern on one sheet; only the bare metal surfaces bond, and the un-bonded portion can be inflated if the sheet is heated and the coating vaporizes. This is used to make heat exchangers for refrigeration equipment. [1]

Well now, that was a Veddy veddy good explanation of Cladding. I didn't know about that and I worked at Boeing in 1958 making wings for the 707/KC135 Planes.
Makes me wonder why all Aluminum boats are not made that way?
Light weight and super Skin Structure strength.

I'm wondering about the Shiny metal. How did they keep those (later in the War) Aluminum Planes so Shiny and away from Corrosion?

thudpucker said:

How did they keep those (later in the War) Aluminum Planes so Shiny and away from Corrosion?

Click to expand...

I spent 3 years flying in and working on helicopters that were stationed aboard carriers. The biggest factors that kept the corrosion away were the maintenance and regular cleanings, and the multitude of inspections performed on them which included looking for corrosion, among other things. On any given day, a helicopter could receive a daily inspection as well as several each, walk arounds, pre flights, post flights, and turn around inspections. With all the different sets of eyes doing each of these inspections, it was difficult for any corrosion (even a small amount) to escape detection and treatment. One of the things they always stressed, whether we were replacing a radar altimeter antenna or a tail rotor blade, you are always looking for corrosion in the area you work in.