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dkottum · 04-10-2012, 08:04 AM

Break to remove . . . that makes maintenance tough. Looks like my lenses and frames get a bead of sealant all around.

doug k

ROBERT CROSS · 04-10-2012, 09:03 AM

Anyone got a pic of these offending lenses? Riveted on? Can the lenses be removed?

Never taken ours completely off but they do have phillips at either end, so I believe they can be removed.

Bob

drew05 · 04-10-2012, 09:04 AM

There is a tab at both ends of the lens itself. It is unfortunate that the lens can not be removed without breakage. The LED board sits on the chrome plastic base, and there is a gasket between the housing and skin. I had a side marker replaced. The tech used some sealant between the gasket and skin. I thought it was a waste, but it was a warranty repair.

Be careful when pulling the wires, if I remember properly, the butt joints were not staggered and both will not fit through the hole.

rodsterinfl · 04-16-2012, 08:03 PM

OK, another update. I spent the last week and a half brushing corrosion off, using "the X" and then cleaning and painting. I was aggressive on the belt line. I have on hand four paints - the stainless paint, Krylon's outdoor spaces aluminum, Krylon's performer series and stainless spray on. I must say that I found none of them to match very well. The closest was the Krylon outdoor spaces aluminum. I put two coats of paint on the beltline followed by two coats of Krylon's fusion clear coat. I contacted them and was told that fusion was for tough applications with adherence problems. I will be installing the beltline trim and insert over this.

I am ok with the outcome of the painting of the belt line but am unhappy with my open area painting - around the door latch, around the stove vent and around two running lights. It frankly sticks out like a sore thumb. Sure the corrosion is gone but now I have painted spots. So, I am tired of trying to match them. My areas of corrosion were much larger than what people shared on here I had areas nearly 2 inches in diameter around the stove vent. So, I am going to put it all back together and consider looking for some type of decal or something later. I never painted so much in my life as the last week. I tried them all. The stainless paint is sensitive to being played with after drying. The Krylon performer paint turned completely gray after sanding and lost any matching ability. I also had trouble with 400, 600 and 2000 grit sandpaper on the stream. I had to use rubbing compound.

I can say that I have conquered the six years of corrosion on my AS but not without some significant scars - 4 of them to attest to the battle! A retired Airstream dealer (my neighbor) looked at it yesterday and was intrigued by the issue of corrosion. He had not seen an AS in 15 years. He just told me to enjoy the nice rig and not worry about the spots. Easy said. We will see. Does anyone have any decal solutions for around the door latch or around the stove vent?

dkottum · 04-16-2012, 09:05 PM

Good job Rod'. Sometimes it works to make a scar look like it was designed that way. How about taping off a nice rectangle with round corners just like the latch, large enough to cover the repair. Then paint it with silver of gray paint, if its too rough use a textured paint, and call it good. Same with stove vent.

doug k

ROBERT CROSS · 04-17-2012, 06:44 AM

POI...been at it since 2004 and haven't found a "good match" yet.
The most important consequence of the effort.....stopping the progression.

Bob

Gene · 04-18-2012, 09:32 AM

Eventually you won't notice it. Some people say I've lost some hair; I never see that. Those people have bad eyesight; I have denial and a baseball cap on my side.

Gene

GettinAway · 04-19-2012, 11:09 AM

I started following this thread when we bought our Bambi 4 yrs ago. It had quite a bit of the white stuff on it, but we thought it was because the PO was from Florida..
Well, I've stayed subscribed.. Bought some stuff to protect our new 2011 23FB FC. Went out today to apply a little preventave coating of T-9 Bioshield.. Too Late..

This thread had me thinking.. How are these running lights attached? No gasket between the light base and the aluminum skin..

Wouldn't that help? Oh well. We do have a little more invested in the 2011 vs the Bambi. Not a good feeling..

I know the corrosion isn't covered under the warranty, but we haven't had it for 90 days yet! I will try and contact JC and see what they say..

Gene · 04-19-2012, 12:43 PM

Bob Wheeler, president of Airstream, said he would work with people who had corrosion, even if they were out of warranty, a couple of years ago on the Forum. Some Forum members reported they did get some help. All e-mails to Airstream employees seem to follow the same system so he should be bwheeler@airstream.com

The dealer should deal with this if you are within warranty, but it has been reported that some refuse to act on it. That's when you have to go over their head.

Gene

Motoman · 04-19-2012, 11:18 PM

Just picked up our 2012 yesterday in Corona, CA. All the running lights have a gasket of some kind between the metal light housing and the skin of the Airstream.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GettinAway

I started following this thread when we bought our Bambi 4 yrs ago. It had quite a bit of the white stuff on it, but we thought it was because the PO was from Florida..
Well, I've stayed subscribed.. Bought some stuff to protect our new 2011 23FB FC. Went out today to apply a little preventave coating of T-9 Bioshield.. Too Late..

Wouldn't that help? Oh well. We do have a little more invested in the 2011 vs the Bambi. Not a good feeling..

I know the corrosion isn't covered under the warranty, but we haven't had it for 90 days yet! I will try and contact JC and see what they say..

GettinAway · 04-20-2012, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Bob Wheeler, president of Airstream, said he would work with people who had corrosion, even if they were out of warranty, a couple of years ago on the Forum. Some Forum members reported they did get some help. All e-mails to Airstream employees seem to follow the same system so he should be bwheeler@airstream.com

The dealer should deal with this if you are within warranty, but it has been reported that some refuse to act on it. That's when you have to go over their head.

Gene

Email sent.. We'll see how he responds. I'd at least like to get some kind of gasket put in between the lights and the skin.
Thanks for the email address.

fltlevel510 · 04-20-2012, 12:51 PM

Decals may be a temporary way to hide the areas where the corrosion once was but I believe they will also attract more corrosion. I say this because some of the worst corrosion on my airstream was under the THOR sticker next to the door and under the clear tape Airstream installed under the awning mounting brackets.

funpilot · 04-23-2012, 10:47 AM

I was about to purchase one of the trailers years ago when I came upon this topic. I have treaded water and see that Airsteam appears to have chosen to ignore this problem. I say that because I am sure I read earlier that older models did not have this problem and it was introduced via a change in manufacturing. I'll bet that future owners would pay any premium going back to the old way would create. I wonder if anyone has discussed that with them or is it a governmental EPA impact that they cannot manage?

As for me, I will continue to wait as it is not a life necessity and I do not want to buy a migraine.

ROBERT CROSS · 04-23-2012, 02:18 PM

AS does get the pre-coated panels from Alcoa but that is not the root cause of the filiform problem.
JC refuses to apply the proper assembly procedures to seal all the cut edges during assembly, a daunting, (would require actual training), but not un-doable undertaking.

The other option would be to go back to coating the trailers in house, which would require the proper OSHA approved procedures, equipment and trained personal.

Obviously management feels the status-quo is the most cost effective.

Bob