HELP!!! Bathroom Light Cover Broke!

[StingrayL82]

I came home from San Antonio today and found the bathroom light cover sitting in the bathtub in two pieces.....no clue how it happened. Does anyone still carry this? I've included some pics. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Frederic

[Ganglin]

I just ran across this site - maybe they can help you find one.

PartsForSale

[cameront120]

I have exactly the same problem, so I'll be curious to see if there is a solution.

[azflycaster]

Two places that might carry that lens are
Inland RV (Andy)
Oasis RV in Tucson.

[StingrayL82]

I'll try Oasis. Thanks Richard. If all else fails, I'm getting some clear 2500psi epoxy from Home Depot and repairing it that way.

Frederic

[azflycaster]

I don't know if you ever stopped by Oasis when you were TDY in Southern Arizona. The place is not much to look at, but they have alot of vintage parts. I have been surprised by the things they have had when I stopped by.

Sorry about the Andy thing, I forgot.

[StingrayL82]

I'm actually heading back out to Huachuca in October, so I might stop in to see them, if I haven't found what I need by then. I just filled out their online parts request. I wonder if there isn't anyone around who can reproduce the part, based on an original part.

Frederic

[azflycaster]

You might want to check with Roger (Zeppelinium). He has been scrapping out a mid 70's Sovereign. He might have what you need.

[StingrayL82]

Will do, thanks for the info.

Frederic

[brownsmtnlab]

I had the same problem and gave up looking...I made one out of a sheet of frosted acetate...Like a heavy copier transparency...Not as easy to get on and off though. I got it at an art supply store.

[StingrayL82]

Do you have pics of it?

[brownsmtnlab]

Well here's my first attempt at attachments within a thread...If this works you"ll see some shims at the top of the lamp. I pulled them out a bit so you could see what I did. The bottom of the acetate is secured under the base of the lamp and the top is held in place by the shims. Not a terribly elegant solution, but I wanted to keep the original lamp. Evenly sanding a piece of clear acetate with 250 grit sandpaper would look about the same. The original shade made it much easier to change the bulbs...and so you see I have yet to replace the burned out center bulb.

Kevin

[StingrayL82]

Kevin,

Is the acetate formed or flexible? If it's flexible, does it keep its shape under lamp heat?

Frederic

[brownsmtnlab]

The acetate is very flexable...and acetate may be a generic term...Its what cartoon cells are drawn on...celluoid may be another word for it? I'd had the stuff laying around for years. It holds a little shape after a time, but still wants to lay mostly flat when the upper shims are removed to change a bulb...I hope that helps.

Kevin

[StingrayL82]

It does, thanks Kevin. I just got off the phone with a company that fabricates plastic parts, and they told me that they would charge a minimum of 1000-2000lbs of material to form a new mold. I have no idea what that translates to money-wise, but for grins and giggles I told him to go ahead and work the numbers and get back to me. I wonder if there's a market for a restoration item like that to make it worth my while?

Frederic

[cameront120]

Do High Schools still have plastics shops? When I was in school, we had and industrial ed. class in plastics. Making something like that out of opaque acrylic/plexi would have been pretty easy. Maybe contact your local high school and see if they do this sort of thin? I'm thinking I'll just epoxy mine and epoxy a clear, rigid, sheet of plastic on the back face as a stiffener.

[StingrayL82]

When I was in high school, we only had wood and metal shop...they did away with auto shop, because of funding. We had no plastics shop. For now, I'm going to epoxy mine.

Frederic

[Inland RV Center, In]

That lens has not been available from Airstream for over 30 years.

We considered having them made, but the cost was prohibitive as well as the design was inadequate.

Most owners simply install a 12 volt fluorescent fixture, and go on with life.

Andy

[StingrayL82]

Thanks for that tidbit of knowledge, Andy, but I thought you'd know me better than that by now.

[StingrayL82]

It really does pay to not give up . I just bought the last two light covers from an Airstream dealer who had surplus OEM parts....that's all the info I'm giving out, until I get them in .