Clear Coat Peeling

[daboyce49]

Which begs the question - how far do we take this? I mean, if, as told to me by the service rep, it is due to a bad lot of Alcoa panels - clear coat was not applied the way it was supposed to be - supposed to have 3 coats on the exterior side and 1 coat on the interior side and on the defective panels Alcoa reversed it. And as reported it was a known issue with some number of the 2018's.

I've had one panel replaced with their "Goodwill" policy and now another has the issue. Does this mean every panel on the trailer is likely to have been constructed with defective panels? And, if so, whose responsibility is it to deal with that. In my mind, it should be Alcoa and, as stated above, it most likely is. And, at some point, would even non-defective panels' clear coat begin to peal and or flake? When is that point?

Is it possible that based on 2018 VINs that Airstream would know which units had been constructed with the defective panels? That would certainly make going forward considerably easier.

[jranck]

Originally Posted by daboyce49

To all - I did contact the customer service agent again in JC and said I had heard there was a known issue with some of the 2018's and asked if he was aware of that. He readily admitted that, yes, they were aware of it and because of that he didn't believe there would be any issue with them taking care of it under their Goodwill warranty.

...

The clearcoat is peeling on the curb side top panel (the long one that runs the length of the trailer) of my 2018 25 FBT. I think I'm up to 4-5 spots now. This all happened over the winter this year while the trailer was parked in my driveway getting snowed on. I took pictures and sent them to JC and noted that it was my understanding that it was known issue with the 2018's.

The person said that they felt the trailer looked "dirty" (Duh, it has been sitting for the winter and it isn't good enough weather to wash/walbernize it yet) and that they would not cover the peeling clearcoat.

I am really frustrated with JC and it appears that it just depends who reviews your case even if they are "aware" that it is an issue with the 2018 year.

This is a huge fail on Airstream's part in my case. I'm glad that you were treated better.

Jeff.

[daboyce49]

In my most recent incident I was told by their customer support rep that they would have to inspect the unit first to insure that it was not something "external" that caused the damage. Which means a trip to JC, which between fuel and lodging from here in No. Wisconsin, is the better part of $500 round trip. So it behooves a person to make sure beforehand there is no evidence of anything else that might have caused it.

I certainly wished there was a means of fixing it short of having the panel replaced. But it is what it is, I guess.

[COSpaceship]

I agree, it seems reasonable that Airstream could identify by VIN/build date the units impacted by Alcoa’s error and make it right, at no cost to the owner. The fact that this issue results from a known manufacturing error, is not likely to occur during the warranty period, cannot be inspected by a buyer (i.e. one versus three coats of clear coat), and results in product failure far sooner than reasonably expected while following the prescribed maintenance, all point to Airstream needing to stand behind the product.

I hope as more folks communicate with Airstream about this issue, that they develop a consistent and equitable solution. Airstream’s response to this should concern all current and future owners, as occasionally mistakes will happen and how a company responds either builds or erodes brand loyalty. I’m still standing by for Airstream’s response.

[MandN]

Driver-side upper curved panel, has been peeling for a while, at first I thought that was the way I was applying wax, so did not address this under warranty, I have a 2018 as well

[Brandon22]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

^
X2

I have it also, but not near as bad and it appeared at 8years old. I just cleaned and smoothed, and sprayed with auto rattle can clear.


Bob
🇺🇸

Do you have an after picture? I have a very similar spot. I ordered the clear acrylic from an A/S parts store. A/S says this is what their tech's use in JC to touch up these spots.

https://odmrv.com/catalog/index.php?...roducts_id=866

[duboismjjp]

I have same issue on my 2018, on back panel at one location only. Started with small 1/2 inch tear drop, but this year its pealing more. Thanks for posting.