F.A.Q.'s
Interiors
Q: What is the textured paint
surface found in early Airstream walls?
A: The material is Zolatone
(http://zolatoneaim.com), and is a two-step durable auto body type paint.
It first appeared in Airstreams in 1952 when it was first developed, and
pretty much stopped in the late '60's with the introduction of the vinyl
wall coverings. It is still made today. It has the advantage of being
extremely durable, easy to clean, moisture resistant, flexible, and comes
in color coordinated combinations. The texture helps hide wall defects
and breaks up the large open surfaces.
Q: Someone has repainted the Zolatone with regular wall paint.
How do I restore the Zolatone finish?
A: Zolatone is very tough, and if the paint is latex,
you may be able to strip it off with something as simple as Lacquer Thinner
- in many cases you can pull the latex paint off in sheets. If the paint
is oil based, or the Zolatone is damaged, paint strippers are required.
You don't have to get every bit of old finish off, you are just looking
to get a smooth clean finish here.
Instructions for Zolatone application are on their website (http://zolatoneaim.com).
As for the modern colors available, the Silver Gray (20-72), Apollo Gray
(20-11), Medusa Gray (20-45) and Desert Camo (20-80) look close to older
colors.
These are just the beginning, as you can intermix these, or add another
color to these and get your own mix. For example, take Desert Camo with
a little Bright Blue thrown in - and it'll look just like the color used
in the 1950’s/1960’s on the Coral and Turquoise interiors.
The website and printable PDF file have many of the combinations possible.
Q: How do repair just part of my Zolatone finish?
A: The procedure that works best is to feather the background
color using a matching good quality spray enamel (from the hardware store),
then apply the texture step of the Zolatone using a color with the appropriate
color flecks. For example, one popular '60's color was a tan background
with white & brown flecks. That color isn't made anymore. To match,
use a Taupe color enamel spray paint, followed by the current Zolatone
"Camille White" under low pressure/high volume setting on a
paint spray gun per the manufactures instructions. Exact match!
Q: What will clean the accumulation of grime and tobacco smoke
stains off the interior walls?
A: Any of the heavy-duty citrus based cleaners now available
will work. "Nature's Orange" by Trewax has proven effective.
"Power Paste" is another.
Q: Any other recommended cleaners?
A: Muriatic Acid cleaners such as "ZAP!" and
"CLR" are effective in removing rust and hard water stains.
Be sure to rinse areas well with water when done. Small parts can be soaked
in Oxalic Acid (wood bleach) to remove rust.
Q: The roll-up overhead and cabinet doors on our '70's trailer
have fell apart. Where do we get replacement material?
A: The doors are made from tambour half-round wood or
plastic strips glued to fabric backing to form a curveable retractable
door. Replacement material is available in bulk sheets in many colors
and wood finishes. Woodworking supply stores and catalogs carry the sheets
made primarily by Winona
Mfg and Tape-Ease.
Q: The cloth backing on our roll-up cabinet doors has deteriorated.
Can they be repaired?
A: The canvas backing can be replaced by removing the
tambour door from the inside of the cabinet. Cut new backing material
from sail cloth, heavy artists' canvas, duck or truck tarp 1 inch narrower
than the opening to allow the ends of the tambour strips to glide in the
side slots unhindered. Glue the tambour strips to the cloth using polyurethane
glue and weight the whole surface using a flat board until the glue dries.
Re-insert the door from the backside and install the stops. The 1970 to
1974 tambour doors were made with a paper backing. They failed quickly,
and while Airstream offered a free upgrade to cloth-backed doors, some
owners did not take advantage of it.
Q: What are cabinets in our Airstream finished with?
A: From 1947 to 1971, the finish was a natural finish
semi-gloss catalyzed lacquer except on the exotic woods (mahogany, cherry,
walnut), where the finish was a Natural Oil Finish. From 1972 to the present-day
Polyurethane finishes, it was wood-grain vinyl.
Legend has it to be one exception: the interior wood of the then inexpensive
1961-1963 Bambi was finished with an opaque paint/varnish. This was done
because the plywood veneer used was visually flawed and had been rejected
by the production line for the larger Airstreams.
Q: What do we use to restore finish then?
A: On the older lacquer cabinets, the easiest way to
restore the finish is to use Formby's Furniture Restorer and reflow the
existing finish, removing the damage, flaking and fading. Then apply a
few coats of satin lacquer (http://www.mohawk-finishing) either by spray
can or paint gun. This sure beats stripping the cabinets and starting
from scratch.
If you must strip the cabinets due to damage or if they've been painted,
the most recommended method is to strip the old finish using a chemical
stripper, repair and replace all the damaged sections, and then spray
a heavy-bodied sanding sealer to fill the now open pores, followed by
2-3 coats of satin or semi-gloss lacquer (your choice - try a spray can
test first on some scrap - the spray cans are only $3.59 ea). It is a
rather easy and fun process. You can apply the lacquer with a standard
paint sprayer - even the inexpensive ones from Harbor Freight. A good
source of lacquer is Mohawk.
A successful combination is the satin Pre-Catalyzed Lacquer reduced with
the Lacquer Reducer 2255. For those of you in high humidity areas, use
a blush retardant too.
On the oiled finishes, Airstream recommended then and now to use
Watco Danish Oil Finish (http://www.watco.net) rubbed directly onto
the cabinets every two years or so to retain the water-repellent warm
luster. It doesn't hurt to use the Watco Rejuvenating Oil on water damaged
or grimy surfaces. Watco is available at most hardware stores and home
centers. Mohawk also makes a Danish Oil, too.
The vinyl covered cabinets are so damned durable, not much is required
other than a good cleaning with mild detergent, or a citrus based cleaner
if grimy/oily. Should the vinyl become damaged or delaminated, many of
the woodworking supply websites and stores have Pressure Sensitive Adhesive
(PSA) backed vinyl in black walnut finish.
Q: Some of the rivet heads have popped off on the interior skin.
How do I replace them?
A: Use 1/8" pop-rivets and simple pullers available
from hardware stores, home centers and online at such places as Airstream
Dreams and Crest Fasteners. The
length will vary depending on the thickness of the material being riveted.
Measured in 3/16th inch increments. Two skin layers use a -3, one skin
layer and a rib (frame) use a -5, and so on. Pre-painting the rivet heads
with spray paint before installing can make them near invisible.
Floor Repairs
Q: In shopping for an Airstream, why do so many people say check
that the floor is sound throughout?
A: Since an Airstream is mostly aluminum, the floor is
about the only thing that can rot. Rot is the result of leakage. It is
time consuming and therefore costly to repair floors. On the other hand,
it is fairly easy to detect a rotted floor by simply prodding the corners
and edges with an ice pick.
Q: How does one repair a rotted floor?
A: With an awl or ice-pick, determine the extent of the
damage. Remove any furnishings or cabinets that will be in the way. Remove
the floor covering.
1) If the floor is still intact, it is possible to remove the loose punky material and pour 2-part liquid penetrating epoxy into the damage, leveling it with the top surface of the good floor area.
2) If the rot goes all the way through or covers a large area, saw out the affected spot saving the pieces as a pattern. Cut in between the cross beams and set your saw only to the depth of the plywood. It will be necessary to gain access to the inside of the "C" channel that lays on top of the floor between the inside and outside skins. Remove the first 10 inches or so of rivets from the lower interior skin. The bolts are usually bent over on the underside, so you will have to open up the lower belly skins for access. You will also be able to see where the cross beams are this way, too.
3) Cut new floor sections from same thickness flooring rated plywood, and fit them in place, fastening with cleats on the bottom-side at the cut seams. Pre-drill the holes for new bolts and through the "C" Channel. Re-secure the inside skin with pop-rivets.
4) Mark the floor beam locations and drill holes through the plywood into the beams, installing flush mounting flooring screws. Since the floor is part of the trailer's structure, the work must be done in a way that preserves as much strength as possible. An alternative to removing the belly skin may be to cut the bolts, driving the lower part down to where it rattles around in the belly pan. Install the new plywood parts using cleated anchor nuts on the lower side of the holes .
Q: Was asbestos used in the Linoleum tile and sheet floors?
A: Yes, as all such flooring contained small amounts
of asbestos as a binder, so did Airstreams prior to 1971. The amount is
small, and will not pose a health risk if care is taken not to disturb
the flooring anymore than is necessary, including cutting, sanding or
breaking it. Use an approved particulate respirator and avoid creating
any dust.
