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Old 08-24-2011, 10:01 PM   #321
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1936 20' Clipper
1947 22' Liner
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Hi Key,

When you get around to acoustic insulation, check out a company called "Soundown". They specialize in marine applications, engine rooms on everything from fishing boats to super yachts. I used it on the engine cover of my 325, which weighs about 50 pounds at this point, but it sure has quieted that Cummins just beneath it. Also, I believe that most of the Prevost class mega-mohos use pneumatic mounts on their generators which pretty much eliminates any vibration issues. My rig came to me without a generator, so I'm always thinking about this issue, and where to go with it.
Finally, if you run into anything rusty, POR-15 has got to be one of the greatest paint solutions of all time.
Great photos, its a pleasure following your exploits. Keep up the good work.
I'd also like to nominate you to receive another rivet!!

Charly.
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Old 08-25-2011, 10:54 AM   #322
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Thanks for the tip and the suggestion I get another Rivet... I feel like I got my Master status for doing very little, so I need to make up for that!

The plan for soundproofing the compartment is pretty well advanced, and I will be getting the materials from here, which is an hour drive from me..
: SOUNDPROOFING & More Soundproofing! Super Soundproofing Co.

I spent some time on the phone with a Tech there called Randy, and he was very helpful, and had great suggestions.
The basic plan is a layer of MLV(Mass Loaded Vinyl), stuck to all of the walls, floor and door. Then with that will have a layer of closed cell foam on the main compartment walls, and a layer of Aluminized sheet of some type to make it wipe clean and light reflective.
The exact materials and thicknesses are still unsure at this time, as I need to figure out some clearances based on the fact that the genset will be moving up maybe 1/2" with the slides added.
Randy also suggested as I am doing that I should "Decouple" the genset mounting plate from the mounting tray with "Isolated bolts".
My research on this is ongoing, but this is the type of mounting I have in mind..
McMaster-Carr

Once I have the Genset running, cleaned up and on its slides, I will have all the clearances dailed, and will go down and meet Randy with all the Dimensions to decide. I will take the Genset door with me, as that's the tricky part, and he says its critcal to how quiet it will be.

Whatsever I buy, I will get some extra material to reline the Doghouse too.
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Old 08-25-2011, 11:06 AM   #323
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I was frustrated yesterday with my Oil Pipe saga...
It was a failure...
No matter what I did, I could make it work..
I would get the main pipe screwed into the block, and the elbow on that...
But I didn't have enough clearance to screw on the rest of it!
Stopping at Home Depot again I found the perfect solution!
This.. A 3/4 Coupling!



It allows me to assemble the pipe into the block with the smaller piece on the right attached to it... and then attach the rest of the dipstick/fill tube assembly and the large nut pulls the whole lot together!
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Old 08-25-2011, 01:55 PM   #324
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Quote:
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I decided to try something....
I think I like it!
What did you use to polish the drawer?

I have also noticed that the front quarter panels appear to be a slightly different metal as well. I have been unable to polish them to the same level as the rest of the body panels.
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Old 08-25-2011, 08:45 PM   #325
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Hi 97sx..
I stripped the paint and used my HF buffer, a wool pad and Nuvite G6.. it needs more work but looks great for now!

On the genset work.... SUCCESS!!!!!

I will post a full how to later... but for now here are the pics..





I rust treated and Hi-Temp painted the exhaust system... I hope it will dull down.. It not, I will repaint it a cast iron, or black.


The Generator took a while to prime, but it runs great...
Next step is to take some sound readings, and prep for the slides...
Here is the prep I did today..

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Old 08-25-2011, 11:28 PM   #326
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Hi 97sx

I gather that you are in the midst of a polishing project yourself, as am I, so I can relate to your comment about the front quarter panels.
As I work to achieve a mirror finish on my 325, I am coming to the conclusion that the "formed, complex curved panels" are either made from a different alloy, or have been altered somewhat on a molecular level, as a result of the "forming" process. Most of the moho is made up of flat sheets that are gently rolled and riveted over a skeletal sub frame (like Keyairs drawer). They polish up relatively easily when compared to the front quarters. I am working with a seven inch wide rotary drum tool that polishes the flat sheets to a pretty good surface finish at the rate of about 20-25 square feet per hour using Nuvite F-10. With the F-10, I am trying to get to a "smooth" surface as quickly as possible. From there, I can work toward "clarity" and "depth" with Nuvite's finer grades.
The front quarters are a different story however. There seems to be a very fine pebbled texture to their surface that has proven difficult to get rid of, even with the F-10. I can't say that I'm thrilled with the results I've gotten so far. I would make the same observation on the similarly curved rear quarters of my 1949 Spartan.
I had a conversation with the owner of "Perfect Polish" who mentioned that he hears the same thing from people trying to polish the complex formed surfaces of various aluminum airplanes. His comment was, "you are trying to move a lot of metal around". I'm going forward with the belief that I simply have to cut deeper to get through that surface. My next step is to try a high speed grinder with an edge buffing wheel. I'll keep you posted.

Charly.
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Old 08-25-2011, 11:37 PM   #327
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Hey Key,

Looks like you are being tempted by "the shiny side" of "the Force".

It all starts out innocently enough with the gratification of buffing one small part. Are you thinking of going the distance with the polishing?
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Old 08-26-2011, 08:00 AM   #328
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Well, I really like the polished look, and my clearcoat is toast... What else can I do.
My long term plan is to polish the main shell, including the end caps up to the roof joint, and white paint the roof. The reality is that I have a 20'+ section of Aluminum from the entrance door to the rear wrap, to replace before I will be done. A Daunting task with 2 windows, the awning, and what must be 500 rivets to R&R

I woke this morning feeling good... Now I have power, I have A/C, and I have battery charging!
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Old 08-26-2011, 08:51 AM   #329
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Silly question...
I am concerned about the effects of sitting idle on my tires...
What if I lift the weight off them with the Levelers, and leave it like that for a while?
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Old 08-26-2011, 12:07 PM   #330
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That will likely twist the frame and make the doors hard to open and close. If you are not able to drive it occasionally, I would leave it on the tires.

Paul
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Old 08-26-2011, 01:37 PM   #331
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Ok, thanks Paul... strike that idea!

Seems the Shiny "Dark Side" has me it its grip....

Gave it another polish with G6, and the buffer...



Then I hit it with the Cyclo and G6...


Interesting patterns!


I think this is good enough...


Just came in from the lovely task of hitting the rest with a cup wire brush on my angle grinder... found a couple of pin holes in the bottom corner.
Next is putting a coat of Anti-rust primer on the rest of the drawer...
Then I am doing the interior and underside with Truck Bed Liner...
This I think will make it tough, non-scratch, and non-skid.
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Old 08-26-2011, 05:47 PM   #332
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So, was over today and had to see what Streamquest was talking about...

Before...


After...




Closeup... Yes, its not as shiny as the flat panels...
But still a million times better than before!


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Old 08-26-2011, 07:59 PM   #333
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keyair View Post
So, was over today and had to see what Streamquest was talking about...

Before...


After...




Closeup... Yes, its not as shiny as the flat panels...
But still a million times better than before!


WOW! Awesome Job with the buffing job on the front quarter panel. Even if it's not as good as the flat panels, it's still WAY better than before. Trying to get a good fit for my 345 in the back yard. Going to be a tight fit, but think it will work. Really want to have it here so I can get to the moho without having to go to a storage yard, plus want the batteries on a charger. Great job!
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Old 08-27-2011, 07:34 AM   #334
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Thanks Crazee...
That took me about 15 mins, and I just hit it with the Compound Polisher, a wool buff, and the Nuvite G6. It was 95deg out there, and that section was in the sun... the sweat was running off me, but I was so jazzed... then the Generator quit, so I had to stop.
The PO, had already stripped and "sanded" that section... it was dull and I was concerned it was scratched. It came up good, altho not perfect.
Although its tricky to see, as Streamquest says, its kinda "pebbley"... you buff it and it looks good, but its not smooth like glass... it looks like Orange peel.
What I was pleased to see was how well that upper moulding polished up. I thought I would be removing them, but it cleaned up good... looks like Chrome.
Same cannot be said for the Grill castings...
As you can see, my Storage Neighbor is fixing his boat up... You meet all sorts of cool people when you have an Airstream!

Question...
The generator died, and my gut says no fuel... the tank gauge is showing under 1/4 full. Did I imagine it or did I read somewhere that the pickup tube for the genset is shorter, so you dont run the tank dry and cant drive to get gas?
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Old 08-27-2011, 09:19 AM   #335
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keyair
Thanks Crazee...
That took me about 15 mins, and I just hit it with the Compound Polisher, a wool buff, and the Nuvite G6. It was 95deg out there, and that section was in the sun... the sweat was running off me, but I was so jazzed... then the Generator quit, so I had to stop.
The PO, had already stripped and "sanded" that section... it was dull and I was concerned it was scratched. It came up good, altho not perfect.
Although its tricky to see, as Streamquest says, its kinda "pebbley"... you buff it and it looks good, but its not smooth like glass... it looks like Orange peel.
What I was pleased to see was how well that upper moulding polished up. I thought I would be removing them, but it cleaned up good... looks like Chrome.
Same cannot be said for the Grill castings...
As you can see, my Storage Neighbor is fixing his boat up... You meet all sorts of cool people when you have an Airstream!

Question...
The generator died, and my gut says no fuel... the tank gauge is showing under 1/4 full. Did I imagine it or did I read somewhere that the pickup tube for the genset is shorter, so you dont run the tank dry and cant drive to get gas?
Yup, fill up your gas tank. GenSet fuel line terminates higher in the gas tank so that you don't run out of gas out boon docking somewhere. As I was heading down highway 5 south of Redding on Thursday, I had GenSet and roof air going since it was 100 degrees outside. They ran great for about a half hour then stopped since I was under a quarter tank of gas...I'm very glad the dash air was working fine!

Keyair, so what's up with the heat in So Cal? We are down in Burbank (with car) for mother in law's 70th birthday party...it was 111 degrees at 5pm yesterday!
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Old 08-27-2011, 08:10 PM   #336
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Yes, whats up with the heat...
My Jeep said 98 deg
StillI knew I had a weep/leak from the rubber pipe between the filler and tank when I drove it back from Kansas last year.
Today before I refilled the tank, I replaced the pipe... I already had a length of 2" diameter high quality reinforced pipe left over from my Dodge Van project, but the Airstream is 1 3/4" pipe... I decided to use it for now, and double clamped it.


No smog, so no Tags, so no trip to the gas station.
Filled 2 x 5 gallon cans, and tried to tip it into the Airstream.. why is nothing easy?
The fuel filler flap, only comes up so far... and blocks you from tipping the can up to fill... GRRRR!
Through some juggling and creative licence I got about 9 gallons in.

The Generator was fired, and I went on some more stuff...
A little more Polishing..


Once the interior had cooled... and the 2 A/C's were blasting really good...
I started to cut some Insulated Sheets for the windows....
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Old 08-27-2011, 08:27 PM   #337
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Quote:
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Yes, whats up with the heat...
My Jeep said 98 deg
StillI knew I had a weep/leak from the rubber pipe between the filler and tank when I drove it back from Kansas last year.
Today before I refilled the tank, I replaced the pipe... I already had a length of 2" diameter high quality reinforced pipe left over from my Dodge Van project, but the Airstream is 1 3/4" pipe... I decided to use it for now, and double clamped it.


No smog, so no Tags, so no trip to the gas station.
Filled 2 x 5 gallon cans, and tried to tip it into the Airstream.. why is nothing easy?
The fuel filler flap, only comes up so far... and blocks you from tipping the can up to fill... GRRRR!
Through some juggling and creative licence I got about 9 gallons in.

The Generator was fired, and I went on some more stuff...
A little more Polishing..


Once the interior had cooled... and the 2 A/C's were blasting really good...
I started to cut some Insulated Sheets for the windows....
Tell me what cutouts do you have over your tires? Anything special? Where are you finding the sheets of insulating material for your windows? Thinking about tinting everything on the 345 with all of the sun we get in Florida. Blacktop here only looks that way for about 6 months, after that it's bleached white by the sun.
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Old 08-27-2011, 09:58 PM   #338
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I am planning to tint the windows also, as its worse here in CA.
The stuff I got for the windows is called Reflectix, its a double reflective film on a double layer of bubblewrap.
Took measurements today and will cut a piece for each window and put a piece of Velcro in each corner where I need to hold it.
Bought a 48" wide roll from Home Depot...
Reflectix Inc. | Products

I am just using some scrap plywood, that happened to be painted white to cover the tires.
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Old 08-27-2011, 10:17 PM   #339
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We use the commercially avaialible tire covers, probably from wallyworld...our PO supplied them a large plastic clamp will hold the front tire covers, and the rear covers can be easily be secured with camp chairs and/or a ladder and the 5 gallon propane tank we use to fill the 1# wanderable green tanks...Shiny bubble wrap can be easily measured for and installed for long term stays...the biggest problem with this is figuring out how to accommodate the windshield mirror...what's that serve but letting you know what fell over or which drawer opened...we have spray painted all accesible(read stealable) outside accesories with pink paint...at least they can be documented in their absence...so far, no one has tried to take them...pink is a rememberable color, but requires yearly maintenance...not too bad for $7.50...the satellite dish doesn't know the difference, the 5 # propane tank could care less, the expanding telescopic ladder seems to be happy, and I know I am...paint it with significance, and , perhaps, document it...remember that items in the rig fall under homeowners insurance, while the rig is under a totally different policy...m
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Old 08-27-2011, 10:20 PM   #340
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More playfullness with the buffer....
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