One-legged Polishing

My knee, injured on August 2nd, is bothersome but as I await surgery next week, I can do some polishing.  I pretty much have finished the top half of the Airstream and now can work, sitting in a chair, on the lower panels.  I take it 45 minutes at a time and rest a lot -- but it's good to see some continued progress.

I know I'll be disabled again after next Tuesday's arthroscopic procedure and lose a few weeks while I recover so I've been pecking away, keeping the weight and pressure off my bad leg.

It's still very slow going.  There is a lot of residual flecks of clearcoat that have to be removed, slowing the process a lot.  Some are really stubborn -- but I've learned to use solvent, even fine steel wool.  What I'm finding is that the lower sections are pretty dinged up -- lots of road rash -- but they polish up pretty well.  I have taken off the one protective panel on the front since the other is long gone on the roads outside Houston, and replacements are very pricey.

The squiggles are reflections in the morning sun -- it looks ok with just the first pass of polishing. 

I'll work on it a few hours more before surgery and then see how things go.  I can always head out this winter with work to do and polish the rest down south.  There are times where I question why I ever started this but all in all, it was a good move.  The injury has put a crimp in the schedule but the worst is over.

I have started to do some preliminary planning for our trip this year -- reviewing places we like and places we'll never visit again.  Now we have to get both of us tuned up and ready to travel.  We are keeping our doctors' cash flow flowing -- they'll likely all take great winter vacations.  Safe traveling.

Slow Going

Between the weather, which has continued hot and humid with afternoon showers, and the persistent flecks and patches of clearcoat (which have to be removed with dabs of Strypeeze), the polishing is quite a project. As you can see, the top areas I have completed look pretty good. They will next get a pass with a finer polish which should remove most of the swirls and cloudy areas. Of course, I realized the other day that the two replaced panels in back did not have clearcoat, and seem to be a slightly different aluminum. They will polish up but not as shiny but who really cares?

You can see the contrast between the polished and unpolished areas here on the panel just above the buffer.

One thing this project has stimulated is my planning for this winter's trip. I'm reviewing the dozens of campground where we have stayed and lidting the good ones, with sites we like, and also have a "never again list by states.

We've had a cold front come through so polishing should be a bit more bearable. It's fun to chalk off one more section, but there's always more ahead. Fortunately, we are in no big hurry.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Let The Polishing Fun Begin

After over 30 hours of prep (But who's counting? I am.) I'm starting in on the polishing. I'm starting with F7 Nuvite, a rather coarse polish from Vintage Trailer Supply here in Montpelier. I'll run a finer polish later if and when I finish this set of sessions, which will likely be 20-25 hours. The weather, hot and muggy, is not conducive to long periods of work. So I sit down inside with iced coffee and write about it.

Here's how the front looked at the start - lots of oxidation from the peeled clearcoat.

Polishing involves smearing very small strips of polish on an area and using a slow-speed polisher to allow the particles in the F7 to strip off a minute layer of aluminum. You let the electric polisher do the work but it still takes a lot of energy to control it.

Building arm strength controlling polisher. It looks cooler out than it was - 80 degrees with high humidity.

It is a messy process - lots of small black bits of polish and I always wear a mask - even though it is tough in the heat. I decided to keep the initial session on the top front panel and will perhaps tackle another section this evening. If you are inclined to polish an Airstrteam or an airplane, Steve from VTS has a nice primer you can download here.

The polished area looks very bright, with swirl marks from the coarse polish. So far, so good.

Posted with Blogsy

Stripping Between Showers

We are, like most of the East, in a humid spell where days finish with showers and thunderstorms -- and the air is heavy and Maryland-like. It's not great painting weather but OK for stripping clearcoat -- as long as I get five or six hours between application and rain.

I am using a new safer stripper that I bought from Vintage Trailer Supply. Here's part of whart they say about it:

For many years, vintage Airstream owners have relied on RemovAll 220 peroxid-activated paint stripper to remove the plasticoat from their trailers before polishing. RemovAll is no longer available in North America. Fortunately, PPG Aerospace makes a paint stripper based on the same principles as RemovAll. It is called Eldorado PR-5044.

PR-5044 is a peroxide-activated paint and primer remover. It works well because it is designed for removal of polyurethane and epoxy paint systems in the aerospace industry. PR-5044 is environmentally preferred and worker-friendly. It does contain petroleum distillates, so it does produce fumes. You will need to read all safety information before using. However, it is not a hazardous material and is much easier to use and safer than traditional aircraft strippers.

So, it looks like vanilla pudding and paints on rather easily. Here is the first panel I tried it on:

That worked out pretty well so the next day, I applied it on the upper section.

After a thundershower rinsed it, I spent some time with water and rags removing the coating which tended to come off like Saran wrap. At times, whole sections several square feet in size just peeled off -- other areas were more stubborn. Some will require more stripper.

The removed coating looks like cellophane and will be easy to clean up later on.

So, the upper right side is 95% done and after a break for the 4th, I'll start on the lower. It's slow going but I just realized, after talking with my brother, that the two new panels we had replaced are coating free. I figure I have about 14 hours in and another 20 to go - before beginning to polish.

The upper right side is about done - now to start on the decals and lower section.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Airstream Dermatology

It's well known that the clear coat used on Airstream exteriors weakens and starts peeling after UV exposure. Some say it starts in five or six years, others seem to do a little better. We had a little peeling when we bought the Safari five years ago but it has gotten steadily worse. It is just cosmetic but as we consider options, I know that potential buyers won't be too impressed. Here's what it looked like from the front.

The clear coat and Airstream name was looking pretty ratty.

I decided to strip the clearcoat and polish the aluminum on the top front where the situation was the worst. Steve at Vintage Trailer Supply recommends an environmentally-safe stripper and I'll use that down the road, but I had an expensive gallon of brain-frying Strypeeze so I used that. At least it was outdoors and with purple nitrile gloves, I painted it on the panel. It looked like this.

The Strypeeze wrinkled up the clearcoat, which then could be wiped off.

After several applications of stripper, I hit it with some lacquer thinner and got most of the remnants off. The peeled areas are oxidized and so the whole panel needs to be polished. That's next week's task once the heavy rains scheduled here soon subside.

The non-oxidized areas look pretty good giving me hope for good polishing results.

I have the feeling that this is going to turn into a major project, but at least it doesn't all have to be done this summer. The softer aluminum used in later Airstreams doesn't shine up like the older ones, but it should look fine. We will see.

Posted with Blogsy

Nearly Ready to Go

For the last several weeks, when it was not freezing or 8o degrees outside, I've been working away, polishing the inside of the trailer.  (Last Fall, I had taken off the grimy "mouse fur" lining the walls and fried a few brain cells getting the glue off the walls.) The polishing is just hard grimy work which requires removing the oxidation and rust with one compound, and then finishing up with another.  It looks pretty good.

The polished walls, with terrible reflections from outside, before I started re-installing beds and cabinets.

I had carefully marked most of the stuff I had removed and stored down cellar, putting the screws in small plastic bags and taping them to the item.  It worked pretty well although the rails to hold the curtains were a challenge.  I had multiple sets of holes in the walls but with Mary's help holding the ends, and some retries, we got them in place.

Here is a similar shot after the bed, the cabinet, and the infamous curtain railing were installed.  Getting there.

Installing the curtains is a trick, especially with bifocals.  You have to thread little plastic holders into a rail while hunched over and working more by feel.  They are installed, the floor is cleaned up, and I only have Mary's side to finish and the back end of the trailer is ready.

My side is about ready to go with mattress in place.  All it needs is the dog sleeping on it.

I got the rig de-winterized with fresh water on board -- only one problem so far with a spray hose in the sink which sprays me instead of the sink.  I tested out the water heater and finally got the refrigerator going on gas.

Our game plan is to finish up the repairs this week and take a short trip over to Ricker Pond State Park next week for a few days of shakedown.  Feels good to get it this far.

Getting the Rig Back Together

The snow has melted, mud season is over, and the pinched nerve in my neck has been somewhat relieved.  It is time to tackle the many tasks needed to get the Airstream back on the road.  Recall that I finally got the repairs made to the exterior last fall but all the cabinets, beds, and accessories that I removed and stored down cellar have to be reinstalled.

The snow has finally melted and it's time to tackle a myriad of projects to get the rig roadworthy again.

But first, I need to deal with the front jack whose motor and gearing failed last year, after several years of burned connections and emergency fixes.  It no longer works at all, which makes it a little tricky to get hitched up.

The jack has been on the rig since 1999 so the three bolts holding it on are rusted in place.  I suspect that I am going to have to cut them off so I borrowed my neighbor's angle grinder and bought a cutting wheel.  Not sure how I'll open up the three holes to bolt the new one on.

I ordered a replacement jack from my friends at Vintage Trailer Supply and since they are based in Montpelier, will pick it up on Thursday.  I'm sure they can give me a little advice on steps ahead.  Stay tuned -- or if you have ideas, leave a comment.

Renovation Project About There

After pulling off the mouse fur, ripping up the carpet, removing the couch for recovering, cleaning off the glue from the walls, polishing the interior wall (for what seemed like ages, and cleaning up all the dirt and powder from polishing, I have spent the last week laying the new floor, installing the fittings for the curtains, installing the couch and side table, and hanging the curtains. The project is nearly done -- and looks pretty nice. Here's a shot of the couch area:
We hooked up a flat screen TV to replace the decade-old unit that came with the Airstream.


Now it's time to hook up and head out for a short stay up at Lake Carmi State Park this weekend.