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Old 01-01-2012, 07:35 PM   #21
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It is sad. There should be an Airstream Museum up there. At least covered over if not enclosed.
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Old 01-01-2012, 07:37 PM   #22
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It is sad. There should be an Airstream Museum up there. At least covered over if not enclosed.
I can never remember the tour guide's name, but he mentioned that a museum is the intention, but there's never any money to do it.
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Old 01-01-2012, 07:38 PM   #23
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When I worked in a factory that anodized aluminum, they put yellow dye in the bath so that you could visually verify that the anodized coating was present. If they don't put dye in the plating tanks, the coating is clear (aluminum colored), and you can't visually tell if the aluminum has been anodized. However, if I recall correctly, you can tell with an ohmmeter (I think the anodized coating has high resistance, when compared to bare aluminum).

The yellow dye used to vary quite a bit, from almost clear to deep burnt orange/brown. The actual color didn't make any difference, since anodize was used as a temporary coating to protect the aluminum parts until they could be painted.

I wonder if the "gold" finish you see is an anodized coating, because I think that anodizing is really thin and not very durable. The photos above look almost like paint. Also, it looks kind of wrinkled, not a typical surface finish for anodize.

Regarding polishing an aluminum panel, if this is a soft anodized coating, polishing should remove the anodize easily. However, it could be an electroplated, hard anodize finish, which might be much more difficult to remove. Perhaps, others on this forum with more plating experience could enlighten us.
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Old 01-01-2012, 07:40 PM   #24
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I believe it was ORIGINALLY anodized. Don't know what was done when they restored it. You can't re-anodize without taking the panels all off, can you? They may have done something else during the restore.
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Old 01-01-2012, 07:43 PM   #25
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The "wrinkled" panels are off of Darkspeed's 72. The pics of Wally's trailer don't look wrinkled.
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Old 01-01-2012, 07:44 PM   #26
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I can never remember the tour guide's name, but he mentioned that a museum is the intention, but there's never any money to do it.

You think they would want it in the front entrance to the Airstream Plant....BUT on the other hand that might encourage people to find a vintage one and NOT buy a new one...
How could this NOT be part of the tour???? Isn't there some history given in the tour?
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Old 01-01-2012, 07:49 PM   #27
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You think they would want it in the front entrance to the Airstream Plant....BUT on the other hand that might encourage people to find a vintage one and NOT buy a new one...
How could this NOT be part of the tour???? Isn't there some history given in the tour?
Yes it is, They have 3 old units out in front of the offices, and a few more around to the side. Wally's unit as well as several others are located in a field several hundred yards from the offices and service center. If you walk down the street, and through some backs of some businesses, you can get close to the gold one. I'm not sure, but it look like Wasa climbed the fence?????????
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Old 01-01-2012, 07:55 PM   #28
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This has got me wondering...could someone, in theory, use this for patches?:
Anodized Finish Aluminum Custom Cut Aluminum, Inc. - Aluminum Sheets, Aluminum Blanks, Aluminum Coils, Alumacorr, Aluminum Metal Supplier, Printable Plastic Sheets, Precut Sign Blanks, PVC Sheet Distributors with shipping nationwide.
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Old 01-01-2012, 08:57 PM   #29
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yes, after you remove the anodization. Doing that is virtually impossible.
I removed the anodization on some Zip Dee awning covers by using Oven Cleaner. It took a few times of stripping, and looked really scarry when doing it, but it came off & they shined up beautifully.
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Old 01-01-2012, 08:59 PM   #30
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Yes it is, They have 3 old units out in front of the offices, and a few more around to the side. Wally's unit as well as several others are located in a field several hundred yards from the offices and service center. If you walk down the street, and through some backs of some businesses, you can get close to the gold one. I'm not sure, but it look like Wasa climbed the fence?????????
Actually I just walked in through the open gate for the employees. I didn't even get challenged by the security guard. The plant had closed for the day and was deserted. I feigned a discussion with a trailer hauler who was hooking up and then just walked up to the lot and took pics of all the trailers there. The guard did eventually come up and ask me to leave. It was all very easy as it was obvious to him I meant no harm. I'm sure they are used to alumaholics at the plant.
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Old 01-01-2012, 09:04 PM   #31
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I removed the anodization on some Zip Dee awning covers by using Oven Cleaner. It took a few times of stripping, and looked really scarry when doing it, but it came off & they shined up beautifully.
With something as oxidized as that gold AS it would be fairly easy to deanodize I think. I just started doing this very thing to my C11. http://www.airforums.com/forums/f417...ml#post1088226
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Old 01-02-2012, 08:26 AM   #32
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Wally's Golden Airstream

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It should be in a showroom...
For Airstreamers its history of something they care about. I work for a company that sells a very unique appliance and components change that are interesting. Does the company save these parts for perhaps a counter display? No. When I show individuals the few that exist, "wow" and they examine them closely and express a lot of interest in them.

For Thor and Airstream, the trailer is simply a commodity, encompassing neither history or romance.
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Old 01-02-2012, 10:13 AM   #33
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Does anyone know for sure that the skin is Anodized because to my eye it looks to be Alodined.
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Old 01-02-2012, 10:18 AM   #34
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Does anyone know for sure that the skin is Anodized because to my eye it looks to be Alodined.
No clue, but every time I've read about it or heard it discussed, it's always referred to as anodized.
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Old 01-03-2012, 02:26 AM   #35
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I had forgotten about Alodine, which was also "yellow" or gold in color. The place where I worked used Alodine to touchup scratches in the anodized coating. As I recall, alodine wasn't a very "tough" coating; and if parts weren't painted within a day or two, they had to go back to the anodize line.
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Old 01-03-2012, 04:42 AM   #36
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For Airstreamers its history of something they care about.

For Thor and Airstream, the trailer is simply a commodity, encompassing neither history or romance.
Fairly short sighted business model. I hope that is actually your opinion and NOT Thor's or Airstream's.
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Old 01-03-2012, 03:23 PM   #37
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Fairly short sighted business model. I hope that is actually your opinion and NOT Thor's or Airstream's.
Actions speak loudly. Looks to be somewhere in between the two. They own it, but they're letting it deteriorate without the Air & Space Museum budget when it's time to haul it indoors and get to work on it. Perfection isn't necessary, IMO, as they ought to be able to come very close historically, so moving it to shelter would be a good thing.

And to do that before institutional memory fades completely away. Or worse happens to it. An iconic trailer. The iconic A/S as the company story is essentially about marketing.

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Old 01-03-2012, 03:27 PM   #38
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Fairly short sighted business model. I hope that is actually your opinion and NOT Thor's or Airstream's.
Boy, even during GM's bankruptcy we sold of a lot of historical cars, but they were excess, if you will. GM desired, and the courts agreed, that the Heritage Center (museum) should stay in tact as a piece of Americana which could never be duplicated.

I also would hope that Thor feels the same.
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Old 01-03-2012, 03:54 PM   #39
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Colored anodizing often fades from UV exposure. Clear is best for color stability. There are some colored anodizings that are better than others but you never know what you are going to get. I have seen all of them fade. I have seen black fade back to aluminum. NASA has spent alot of money on anodized coatings that are color stable. Your average plating shop is probably not going to have the best coatings. The space station is made of anodized aluminum and yes it is an insulator and that has become a big problem because the space station can charge up like a big capacitor and when something touches it that is not at the same potential then ZAP. There is a plasma in space that is a different potential than the space station. There are also charged particles hitting the space station as well as high voltages from the solar arrays. They have a thing called a plasma contactor that keeps the space station from charging up.

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Old 01-03-2012, 03:56 PM   #40
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Originally Posted by dznf0g
The "wrinkled" panels are off of Darkspeed's 72. The pics of Wally's trailer don't look wrinkled.
It is gold anodized. The wrinkled look is the adhesive where I stripped the interior vinyl of of it.

I'm going to punch the sheets into 500 Wally-dallions and put them on eBay... JK..
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