I am a retired commercial cabinetmaker with a fair amount of experience with
tambour doors.
First, the obvious: If the doors stick (and don't slide properly) there is
too much friction. DUH!
Second, there are many causes - some not so obvious.
The tambour used by Airstream in your era (I own a '76) was less than great.
In particular, the flexible material the tambour slats were fastened to was
not as flexible as it should have been, so this caused resistance as the
tambour navigated a bend.
Cleaning the track and applying a lubricant can help reduce the friction
between the tambour and the tracks. Silicone spray works, but doesn't last
very long, as the film is very thin. You also want to stay away from
anything that could gum up with dust or dirt (like grease). There are
silicone sticks which are a lot like wax, and thus, better than a spray (a
heavier film). The cheapest lube would be paraffin (the wax which comes in
sticks for home canning - to melt and pour over jelly in a jelly jar).
Paraffin is usually available in the canning section of a supermarket. You
could also wax the tambour edges and track with a candle, which will work
just as well. Another product which is an excellent choice is TFE (or
Teflon) lube. This is a "dry" lube which comes in a spray can. The powdered
Teflon is mixed with a fast evaporating carrier solvent. Hence it is sprayed
like a liquid, but then the liquid evaporates leaving a dry Teflon film in
the track.
However, having said all this, my hunch is that the tambour doors you are
having the most trouble with are the ones in front of the galley sink. In
this case, the problem is the sink countertop, which is sagging along the
front edge, and causing the upper track to press down on the top edge of the
tambour (narrowing the spacing between the upper and lower tracks). In this
case, you will want to reinforce (stiffen) the underside of the front edge
of the counter top. [I won't go into how to do this here, but you can e-mail
me off line if you need help with this.
Oliver Filippi
Peter wrote:
_____
Subject: Re: [A/S] sliding compartment doors
I assume you're talking about tambour. If so, first check the doors to see
if they have been damaged from water or something else that has expanded the
door. My old doors were not wood but a composite product which swells when
wet from water or grease. Many POs used grease to try to get the doors to
glide better which did more damage than good. If the doors are in good
shape, clean the tracks very well then spray with silicone. Let the
silicone dry before moving the doors. You'll be surprised how much the
silicone helps.
If the doors are damaged you may be able to cut some of the swelled part off
of the back side. Be careful here as you don't want the door to fall apart.
Of course you can also replace the tambour if the doors are too far gone.
That's what I did and am very happy with the results.
Pete
----- Original Message -----
From: <rptgunny@sbcglobal.net <mailto:rptgunny%40sbcglobal.net> >
To: <AirstreamList@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AirstreamList%40yahoogroups.com>
>
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 2:36 PM
Subject: [A/S] sliding compartment doors
>I recently purchased a 1975 tradewind and I am having trouble opening and
>closing the compartment sliding doors. How can I make them slide easier.
>Bob
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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