Pockets of filiform corrosion

[Jeff Holzaepfel]

I am looking at PA-30's for a purchase. I have not had to deal with 50 year old planes before, and I'm finding that sitting in one - even a very nice one - feels a lot like sitting in my brother in law's restored GTO. I'm also finding that corrosion is an issue in places.

Here are three pics of the worst examples I've seen. Is this something to be overly concerned with? I'm hearing that it is treatable with sanding, zinc chromating, and patch painting.

I'd rather buy a plane that has not been freshly painted so I can see beneath the surface like this much better. Any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated.

Jeff

[LeWayne Garrison]

Difficult to evaluate from photos. Some of this may be a bad paint job, but some definitely looks like corrosion. If caught early like these pictures indicate, not difficult to remove, but does entail polishing out the corrosion and chromating and repainting. Trick is to make sure you find all of it. Most unseen areas of Comanches are safe due to Piper's use of zinc chromate.