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ggoat!!! · 06-22-2010, 09:02 PM

Woo Hoo!!!

I always loved some of the vintage 60's and 70's Airstream minute details such as the A/C shrouds with their matching finishes and the aluminum trim with the blue insert striping around the perimeter. I never liked the newer generic plain A/C shrouds. But I always DID like the idea that Airstream had when they put an Airstream logo on the shroud...even though they didn't make the air conditioner ha ha...

One of the things I'm doing to my 75th is adding a few vintage blue elements to make it look more "70's-ish" as well as match my SSR a little better. My first step was to ditch the horrid gray factory awning and replace it with the Pacific Blue Fancy awning, which completely matches my truck. Woo hoo! My 2nd step was the A/C shroud and 50's Airstream logo reproductions for it and the LP tank cover...the blue match is perfect.

So, I wanted to do something with that big off-white A/C cover. I decided to give a nod to the 50's with the logo style, the 70's with the trim, and the 90's with the Airstream logo even being up there.

First thing I did with the A/C cover was to polish it with Nu-Finish (an AMAZING product which gave it a mirror like shine). I thought these covers were molded with their color, but that's not the case. This one is painted over a more yellow plastic mold color as evidenced by the numerous scratches in it from the factory ha ha...

I used the same 1/2" chrome trim as the Airstream's midline molding to go around the A/C shroud on a whim...at first I was just going to apply the 50's logo painstakingly centered over the vent holes toward the rear of the A/C. I just thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if that will work" and stuck on some molding. Looked nice. Then, I got the idea to put a thin 1/4" blue pinstripe in the middle, since this is my plan to do on the beltline and midline chrome molding on the trailer itself. I decided I REALLY liked the way the blue-in-the-chrome looked, and it also gives a nod to the classic Airstream A/C shroud details of old.

To top it all off, I installed a blue 75th Anniversary logo centered over the rear. It really grabs your eye from the rear.

I like detail like that...it reminds me of trailers of yesteryear.

And, of course...I'm including a ton of redundant and needless pics.

vswingfield · 06-22-2010, 09:42 PM

I like it. I painted the housing on my new Carrier two shades of blue to match (match used very loosely) the stripe on the side of my Excella. One of the blues has faded very badly. Yours looks like it will stand the test of time.

ROBERTSUNRUS · 06-22-2010, 10:09 PM

Hi, I like it. Mine looks kind-of cheap with Airstream in black block letters. Good job. The 75th on the back adds a touch of class to it too. Love the pictures. I don't like the gray awning either, but I have to wait until mine goes bad before I can replace it; I guess mine will be gray for ever.

nmbosa · 06-23-2010, 01:02 AM

Sweet looking trailer. The SSR doesn't look too shabby either. I also like the baby moons and the 50's/60's license plate light and holder.

Roadrunner · 06-23-2010, 04:08 AM

Looks great! How did you fix the trim and logo to the shroud...rivets? Where did you find pinstriping to match? Really makes your AS pop!

Bob

ggoat!!! · 06-23-2010, 04:15 AM

Hi Bob!!!

No, no rivets...there are some places that I just don't like the looks of them, and these repro logos are soooo nicely done that I didn't want to muck them up with rivets.

I used clear RTV to apply the Airstream logos to both the A/C shroud and the LP tank cover. The clear is the best as an adhesive...doesn't react with the finish on either item and you can actually remove it without much fuss if you ever want to. Also, it seems to hold forever for things like this.

The chrome molding trim comes from Airstream pre-made with 3m double-sided tape affixed to the backside; it's the same molding that's applied to the midline between the aluminum channeling. What I did was polished the entire shroud with Nu-Finish, then used 91% isopropyl alcohol to prep the surface for the molding. I then used a hairdryer to get it nice and warm, and carefully applied it. It was difficult to get it perfectly straight around the corners and curves of the shroud. But, it came out as good as can be.

As far as the pinstriping...it was just a spur of the moment idea, and as I was applying the chrome molding to the shroud I mentioned it to my father that I was going to one day put blue pinstriping in the middle of the chrome trim on the trailer itself. Just so happened that he had a new unused roll of old pinstriping tape from the 80's that he was going to put on his now long-gone 1979 Itasca Sunflyer. The pinstriping was the perfect color match, and since it was stored and never used, seemed to be in perfect shape, so I just used that since it was also the exact right thickness as well.

I do think it really brings out some much needed blue highlights on the trailer...it's amazing what something so insignificant as an A/C cover can do for the overall appeal of the trailer.