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KiraR · 05-26-2015, 12:09 PM

Hi everyone:

I think I did what a lot of you have wondered about doing yourselves...so I am sharing photos that I hope you find helpful!

I spent the weekend updating my new airstream, getting it ready for our year long journey. We ripped out some cabinetry and will be building our own in the next two weeks. Stay tuned...I'll post lots of photos of that too!

In the meantime, here are photos of the mouse fur removed from the bunk room in a Safari 30'.

First, I did try to clean it. I used a Bizzell (?) professional model of carpet cleaner with oxyclean solution. It didn't do much. Then I vacuumed. (THAT was quite a workout!!) The vacuuming was more successful but still didn't return the mouseful to a consistent cleanliness. It was still mottled and black in spots. I'm OCD so I decided I didn't want to keep it. I want my 'bedroom' to be in perfect shape. Sleep is important to me!

I pulled off a corner and found the aluminum underneath, of course.
I'd LOVE to keep it aluminum BUT there are SO many holes in it from the previous owner who took down the bunk and put up window treatments. There's no way to smooth out the aluminum to its original beauty so I'm currently researching how to make the best changes.

RangerJay · 05-26-2015, 03:36 PM

I'm just slightly ahead of you - and my job looks quite a bit smaller than yours - our trailer is a 2002 19' Bambi - we're just replacing the center portion of the ceiling and curved portion of the upper walls - not doing anything lower than that nor the ends. Taking out the cabinets, lights and removing the headliner was fairly easy - and enjoyable - but removing the glue was painful - got it done though and currently in the process of seeking out and then ordering the replacement headliner - we're not anxious to replace with the same mouse fur so are looking for something different.

Jay

KiraR · 05-26-2015, 06:35 PM

Jay, what are you going to replace the mouse fur with? I was considering wallpaper...but, that's not smart, I discovered. So...off I go to contemplate what material will be aesthetically pleasing AND provide insulation from noise and temperature.

I'd love to see photos of yours!

Kira

mcair · 05-26-2015, 07:20 PM

What about covering that area with quilt batting and a nice upholstery fabric?

Shacksman · 05-26-2015, 08:05 PM

I also had dirty mouse fur walls so I covered the fur with Aluminum, right over top. It has been a year and lots of use and still looks real good. The bedroom walls were stil clean so I left them. It's a challenge to get the corners right but lots of templates and It got done.

RangerJay · 05-27-2015, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiraR

Jay, what are you going to replace the mouse fur with? I was considering wallpaper...but, that's not smart, I discovered. So...off I go to contemplate what material will be aesthetically pleasing AND provide insulation from noise and temperature.

I'd love to see photos of yours!

Kira

Not much to see so far - here are a couple pictures of the headliner removed and the glue in process of being removed.

A couple of other things that might be of interest:

I used lacquer thinner to remove the glue - got that suggestion from an older thread on this forum - works OK - but ventilation is important - and was careful to make sure there was no source of spark when using it. The job was slow and messy - dealt with about a foot square at a time - applied with sections of heavy towel and scrape off softened glue with a 3 or 4 inch putty knife - mine was metal and it does leave marks if you were wanting to leave exposed aluminum as the finished product - a plastic knife might be a better choice to save scuffing. Getting the glue off the putty knife onto a paper towel is the seriously messy part - think of Chevy Chase, Christmas Vacation and tree sap .... I ended up using close to 3 quarts of thinner which seemed a lot - and given how messy the job was I can't help but think there must be a better way .... I even questioned the need of doing it at all.
I was surprised at the number of sheered rivets - at least a dozen - really seems to speak to the importance of wheel balancing.
Looking to replace with standard foam-backed headliner but haven't finished the search. Have asked for a quote on the leatherette type of headliner Airstream has used in the past. Most automotive or marine type headliners seem to come in only 54 or 60 inch widths. Other RV headliner comes in 8 foot widths but seems limited in selection.

I'll be really interested in following your own progress as you move along.

Jay

hollisturner · 05-27-2015, 11:41 AM

We too had a falling-down headliner and decided to pull it down, remove the adhesive and just paint the newly exposed aluminum. We love the result. I would think this would work for mouse fur removal as well but if the aluminum isn't in good shape then painting wouldn't look so great. I was considering covering some particularly bad mouse fur with burlap. Sort of "cottage-y" I guess.

We used Citristrip Stripping gel, acetone and lots of rags with over-your-head scrubbing! It worked and we like the clean lines. But...not a job you want to do more than once!

m.hony · 05-27-2015, 11:43 AM

Great renovation ideas for my trailer with unwanted mouse fur and headliner-

Skater · 05-27-2015, 12:40 PM

I'm working on removing the headliner, too, and have a thread around here somewhere about it. I recently got a heat gun, so I intend to try that on removing the headliner glue.

My wife wants to remove the mouse fur...I kinda want that to be HER project. I like the idea of putting aluminum over it, though...

JCWDCW · 05-27-2015, 03:54 PM

I have noted on a previous post that I glued a rubber backed upholstery fabric to the underside of a deck on my boat. Since the fabric was a woven polyester I had no problem with mold or water leaks. The latex rubber backing was to stabilize the fabric but it worked really well with contact cement.
JCW

maryel · 05-27-2015, 09:32 PM

What the heck is "mouse fur"?

m.hony · 05-28-2015, 04:40 AM

Mouse fur is the white (or off white) fuzzy carpet-like stuff on the interior walls of some Airstream trailers. Airstream may have discontinued its use altogether. The last trailers I am aware that had it are the 2014 Classics. It was used in many models for many years.

PerkOL8 · 05-31-2015, 01:19 PM

Hi, This is a great thread! We are in the process of mouse fur removal right now on a 22' safari. I'm planning to finish the walls with zolatone texture paint, which apparently was used by AS at one time. My question - I've got a fair number of rivet holes to patch, some to drill out, and obviously the seams between the interior aluminum sheets. I've noticed that the factory used something that looks almost like masking tape at the seams. Does anyone have a suggestion for these plugs/seams that I can then prime and eventually spray over? The zolatone has enough thickness to hide the irregularities, but I need at least a continuous substrate below.
Thanks so much

Bob

Silver Otter · 06-07-2015, 12:16 PM

We like our old Mouse Fur, and it's still performing. I AM interested in the options for headliner renewal, removal, replacement if/when that becomes an issue.

PerkOL8 · 06-07-2015, 04:01 PM

I can understand your appreciation for the fur since I'm trying to take it off now, and its a lot of work. This is what I know, in progress. The carpet itself comes off easily. The adhesive does not. I tried a 'green' remover mentioned on the internet, but my life is too short (about 1 sq inch per hour). I'm now using 'Goof Off' heavy duty remover (not the "Professional" (heard it doesn't work as well)). It works, but it is hand to hand combat with a 1"plastic scraper. You need to soak the remover into the adhesive, let it sit, and apply more before doing anything. For our 22 footer, I'd estimate a 20 or 30 hour job. It sure is beautiful to see the aluminum come through underneath however. Anyway, any suggestions are appreciated, but this method will work if you have the time.

HiJoeSilver · 06-07-2015, 09:57 PM

Don't have the mouse fur , but had pretty dingy vinyl wall covering that really didn't want to come clean, even with a pressure washer, yes on the interior.
PO's had cut quite a few horrible holes in the interior skins. Between the two, I decided that for the time and cost it made sense to replace the interior skins outright. I could get 4' x 10' .032 5052-h32 aluminum for. $55/sheet. Measured to have sheared to height and as close to length for nice clean edges, and hand electric shears and jig saw for the remaining cuts. Kept hand cuts for edges that would be hidden by overlap. If you have the old panels to use as templates it can go pretty quickly. My challenge is the garage being 200ft from trailer, so cut then check then trim, walking back and forth sometimes takes longer than cutting the panel. Just clamped the old piece on top of the new as a pattern.
After I cut a new panel and make sure it's going to fit I sand it with 60 grit to give the paint some help and wipe it down with solvent to clean it, then shoot a couple coats of self etching primer. Let it dry a few days if possible. Cleo until ready to rivet.
Will paint to color when they're all done and I decide what color to go with. Too many choices in color.

RangerJay · 06-17-2015, 03:30 PM

Just a little update on our project.

We opted for what we ourselves called a "leatherette" headliner that I think was used in higher end models than ours around the time ours was built - it matches the mouse fur at the time - Airstream calls it "textured vinyl" - we were able to order it through Airstream - kinda - sorta - but we had to go through an Airstream dealer - they would not sell directly to us unless we were getting the work done at Jackson Centre.

Seems reasonable ...... kinda ..... sorta ......

Ordered the headliner through our closest Airstream dealer 2 1/2 weeks ago.

Headliner not yet received so a phone call today determined that the order had not yet been shipped from Jackson Centre ...... their issue ..... not our dealers .....

.... maybe next week .....

..... kinda miffed about this - gonna be starting to cancel camping reservations if it doesn't get here soon.

Jay

Anniejo · 06-21-2015, 07:07 AM

We did it! Purchased the 2005 19ft Bambi and will begin the process of redoing the interior - old mouse fur and all! I'm sure I will be on this forum often from here on in!!

KiraR · 06-27-2015, 12:07 PM

Hi everyone!
I'm back with some really cool options for mouse fur alternatives.
First, I went to miamicorp.com's website, and they have fabulous options!
http://www.miamicorp.com/customer/mi...ner%20Card.pdf
There's the link to miamicorp.

And then I found my way to a sailboat forum where someone mentioned that they used fabricated laminate for their vertical surfaces. So, I'm going to look at a big box store for those. I think I prefer fabric/foam backed headliner products, but I'm going to see what's available in the laminate.

So, I'll post photos when I'm done. 23 days and we depart!

Best, Kira

JCWDCW · 06-28-2015, 11:15 AM

I used something like the Irish Tweed for my boat years ago. It was synthetic so wouldn't be affected by moisture and the woven fabric conforms well to to ribs and things...that shouldn't be a problem for the walls in an AS. What ever you put on you need to be able to clean it and wipe off stains and dirt. I would be careful about a finish with holes that capture dirt that will bleed out over time
JCW