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Old 06-28-2008, 03:00 AM   #1
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'64 Safari - And it begins

Well...I bought my trailer with the intention of puting a new floor covering, new covers for the cushions, and refacing the cabinets.

My wife liked the "shiny" interior so we started stripping the Zolatone. It was working pretty well so I removed the cabinets, then the Gauchos, then the bathroom cabinets. I found a couple of very small soft spots on the floor.

I am leaning toward the epoxy fix I have read about in a couple of posts. One of the soft spots is under the window near the skin. The spot appears to be about 4" x 6". I think the epoxy will work...I would REALLY appreciate any comments that all of you might have.

I'll take picture and keep you all posted

Nick
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Old 06-28-2008, 06:32 AM   #2
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Congratulations on your new purchase! I love the 60's Safari's!! Nice trailers and just the right size.

Please do post some pictures and updates on the floor repair. I don't have any experience on the epoxy repairs but would love to learn from what others say and what you do.

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Old 06-28-2008, 07:36 AM   #3
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Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the forums...
The epoxy may or may not work...You need to find the leak (which is probably the window) and fix it. If you don't, the floor will continue to get soft.
Have fun, and start a blog to document your adventures...
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Old 06-28-2008, 11:00 AM   #4
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Congratulations and welcome to the forums!

I'm interested to know what you did to strip the Zolatone-- which products, tools, and techniques?

Post pics when you can, and good luck!

-Marcus
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Old 06-29-2008, 09:14 PM   #5
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Stripping the Zolotane isn't that hard...just messy and tedious. I bought the Klean-Strip premium stripper from Home Depot and lacquer thinner. I sprayed the stripper on with one of those spray bottles, let it sit for 15 minutes. Sprayed it again and then used one of those carpet scrub brushes to scrape the paint off. Then I followed that with some lacquer thinner on some paper towelss and wiped it clean. It worked pretty well. Make sure you use a respirator, rubber gloves, safety goggles, and a long sleeve shirt. That stripper burns pretty bad when it touches your skin.
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Old 06-29-2008, 09:19 PM   #6
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I found the leak and have repaired it. What about experience with using pieces of 5/8" plywood and just replacing small pieces of the floor? I really want this trailer to be in good shape and long lasting. But I don't want to take the whole shell off. Please give me some advice on just fixing the three soft spots.
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Old 06-29-2008, 09:23 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wiegand01 View Post
I found the leak and have repaired it. What about experience with using pieces of 5/8" plywood and just replacing small pieces of the floor? I really want this trailer to be in good shape and long lasting. But I don't want to take the whole shell off. Please give me some advice on just fixing the three soft spots.
The floor is a part of the shell structure.

Replacing some pieces can be done, but it depends on where they are. Patching in the wrong places will cause weak areas.

Remember, that the shell holds up the chassis and floor.

Can you describe where they are or post a couple of pictures?

Andy
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Old 06-30-2008, 12:12 AM   #8
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One of the soft spots is right below one of the Jelousie windows and is about 6 inches by six inches. The other is under the corner of the water heater and also about 6"x6". I can't post pictures right now. I'm about to make an order through you guys tomorrow for quite a few things. There were more issues with this camper than I previously thought.
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Old 06-30-2008, 08:58 AM   #9
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One of the soft spots is right below one of the Jelousie windows and is about 6 inches by six inches. The other is under the corner of the water heater and also about 6"x6". I can't post pictures right now. I'm about to make an order through you guys tomorrow for quite a few things. There were more issues with this camper than I previously thought.
Check your PM.

Andy
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Old 06-30-2008, 09:35 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wiegand01 View Post
Stripping the Zolotane isn't that hard...just messy and tedious. I bought the Klean-Strip premium stripper from Home Depot and lacquer thinner. I sprayed the stripper on with one of those spray bottles, let it sit for 15 minutes. Sprayed it again and then used one of those carpet scrub brushes to scrape the paint off. Then I followed that with some lacquer thinner on some paper towelss and wiped it clean. It worked pretty well. Make sure you use a respirator, rubber gloves, safety goggles, and a long sleeve shirt. That stripper burns pretty bad when it touches your skin.
Thanks for the insights, and good luck on the remainder of your project!

-Marcus
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Old 06-30-2008, 09:40 AM   #11
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Hey, congrats on your new purchase! I don't have one yet, but from what I read here there's always something more to do, even once you get the "critical" issues solved, like your soft floor spots. Glad you found that window leak, by the way!

Quote:
Originally Posted by wiegand01 View Post
Stripping the Zolotane isn't that hard...just messy and tedious.
"DIY Classic Rides" does a series on a reno job to a '70 Overlander where they added the shiny metal look to it. They applied sheets of aluminum over the existing wall (glue and rivets) in some places, such as the kitchen backsplash. They were covering the cream-coloured vimnyl wallpaper that was used as of '69. Your Zolatone paint can still be purchased, would you believe!



The results were fabulous, but while it's a cleaner job to do than your stripping, isn't as easy as, say, wallpaper hanging. PS, they also show how to paint the walls, and even do a small sample in a metallic silver paint which looked quite slick.

Have fun, and looking forward to you posting your experience and photos here.

cheers,
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Old 06-30-2008, 07:48 PM   #12
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Aage,
That video is pretty good to give you an idea of how to use rivets. I knew the concept but hadn't actually seen it. Thanks alot.
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Old 06-30-2008, 09:11 PM   #13
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Congratulations

Welcome,
It looks like you have really found a beauty. We have finished an extensive remodel on our 63 Ambassador and went for our first camping trip this past week!!!! It is worth all the hard work, you'll love it!!!! Be sure to put a good coat of poly on the new floor you install, especially if it is under a window or goes under an exterior wall. Best of luck!!

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Old 07-14-2008, 08:01 PM   #14
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Restoration Photos

Here are some pictures of Nick's restoration. We got quite a bit done this weekend.
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Old 07-14-2008, 11:09 PM   #15
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Yep....she's a beauty!!

Nick
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Old 07-15-2008, 11:20 AM   #16
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This photo shows our floor repair, new wood has fiberglass resin on the edges and all of the wood has been sanded and coated with thin epoxy and is currently painted brown with clear poly.
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Old 07-15-2008, 05:24 PM   #17
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The floor repair looks good. Mine was quite a bit smaller area. I used the rot doctor epoxy system. I'm still doing the repairs...I'll keep you up to date on my progress.
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Old 07-15-2008, 05:52 PM   #18
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Wow....

Looks like I have a nice big project to help you out on when I get home.

Steve
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Old 08-06-2008, 06:29 AM   #19
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Finally some pics

Here are some pictures for Nick's trailer before and after we were done working late last night. She's coming along nice. Over the weekend we completed most of the plumbing, installed his new astradome, fantastic fan, and exhaust vent cover, and picked up lumber for his new gaucho/cabinet facings. Last night we installed the gauchos, and laid the laminate until we got to the back. Nick is considering vinyl for the bath area so the water in that area won't damage the floor. He has his cushion foam ordered as well, and put his new countertop in over the weekend (Currently covered by lots of stuff).

Steve
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Old 08-07-2008, 12:23 AM   #20
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Thumbs up Crazy

So I think this is pretty much crazy. I started on this project with tinloaf planning to help me get it ready. When I got it home it needed way more done to it than was advertised. I signed up for The Silver Stars and Stripes All American Rally thinking I had a lot less to do. Then...

Some guy named Soldiermedic offers to drive to my house (45 minutes) to help me work on my trailer. The more the merrier in my opinion. He actually showed up and helped me out. Who would actually do that????

Then he drove out to my house again on a weekday to help me lay my floor. I think this is the start of a pretty darn good friendship. That is a stand up guy!!
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