Water Heater Access Door - Polished Look

[dbj216]

Our Airstream has been stripped and polished.

I recently replaced the Atwood 6 gallon water heater. It comes with a shinny new access door in gleaming white!

What do folks with polished Airstreams do with the water heater access door? It is stamped sheet steel.

David

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Our Airstream has been stripped and polished.

I recently replaced the Atwood 6 gallon water heater. It comes with a shinny new access door in gleaming white!

What do folks with polished Airstreams do with the water heater access door? It is stamped sheet steel.

David

Stainless steel....Also for furnace, fridge and stove vent doors.

Only place to get them now is at the AS Store.

Bob

[Snedwid]

Nice looking stuff!!! Definately on the want list.

[Diesel1]

I was able to reuse my original water heater cover when I installed a new Suburban heater in my '67.

[dbj216]

The Atwood white access door is magnetic, so I assume it is stamped steel. Stainless steel can be polished to a mirror finish. You see stainless steel mirrors in campground bathrooms as they are very durable. Stainless would be a lot harder to polish than aluminum.

I just thought having a polished water heater access door would look better than a stamped steel one. Maybe I could laminate an aluminum cover over the door and polish that to look like the rest of the trailer?

Has anyone seen mirror polished water heater access doors and if so, how was it achieved?

David

[Airslide]

Robert,

I installed a set of these recently too and found it a bit challenging to leave a little gap between the panel and the aluminum siding. I think its important so you dont have dissimilar metals touching... not that we dont already have corrosion concerns :-(

How did you handle that with your install?

Vinnie

[ROBERT CROSS]

Vinnie,

The only one I was leery of was the stove hood vent, more for leaking than a corrosion problem. I used a length of 1/4" od clear plastic tubing, split to fit over edge to help seal.


I installed the covers several years ago, no hint of corrosion so far.

Bob

[Airslide]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Vinnie,

The only one I was leery of was the stove hood vent, more for leaking than a corrosion problem. I used a length of 1/4" od clear plastic tubing, split to fit over edge to help seal.


I installed the covers several years ago, no hint of corrosion so far.

Bob

I knew you would have a good solution! Thx.

[0557]

I had my white Atwood over painted with silver urethane and clearcoated
From a body shop that was shooting another car silver that week, I asked
manager if I could get them to shoot my cover while they had the same paint
Match and sprayer set up. He charged me $75 to paint the Atwood cover and
The horizontal propane tank cover on my 34 footer. They even sanded And primed them. Still holds up well to this day and that was in 2007.

[dbj216]

I tried rattle can paint but didn't like the surface. It was quite soft. I scratched it with a paper towel. Automotive paint and clear coat would have much better durability. It is an option.

Thanks,

David