Finally finishing up the honey do job, new flooring and railing. Post caps and handrail to go, will do this tomorrow. I'm excited to start up on the GT again next weekend.
I drilled up the streetside lower wrap today. I still need to contour at the wheel well. Was planning on removing curb side skin aft of door but the wind was blowing so hard I decided to delay it until tomorrow. I forgot to take a bunch of stuff over to my dad's (where the trailer is parked) so I will hit it hard tomorrow. I did make some of the new stringers for that side though, but one of the things I forgot was the long one like I did on the street side.
Just another post in the ongoing record of Kip the Munificent helping out local Airstreamers with sheet metal issues--a little dome advice and confidence builder (yes, that is the Safari inner dome form and practice panels) ....
No, I am told this is NOT the only shirt Kip owns...
Got alot done today. Removed old skin that had been changed once before. Notice how they notched the skin to clear the door hinge, I was quite surprised with that finding. I took a step backwards because I didn't have the wheel well positioned properly so I had to brake the sealant all loose to move the fwd outboard corner out about 3/8", oops. This took some time. I then made the frame modifications like the other side and drilled up the new skin. I had already made the aft portion of wrap so I drilled it up to. I still need to fabricate to fwd section. I will take it all apart tomorrow and prime all the mating surfaces. I should be able to shoot it all together this next weekend.
Its starting to look like an Airstream again. Shot on the curb side skin and all the Wraps. I mixed up more sealant, thinned it, and poured it into the cavity between the skin and wheel well. I will start on the belly skin tomorrow.
Its starting to look like an Airstream again. Shot on the curb side skin and all the Wraps. I mixed up more sealant, thinned it, and poured it into the cavity between the skin and wheel well. I will start on the belly skin tomorrow.
Unless I missed it, would you talk about thinning the sealant? What kind of sealant, what did you use to thin it?
Progress is looking great! Enjoying the thread.
Dave
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AIR #15800
"Wimpy" 1/2 ton 2002 GMC Sierra 4X4 Z-71 Gasser
2000 Safari SS 25'
For sealant I am using a product called PRC1440 B1/2. It is a two part polymer aircraft fuel tank sealant. It has a shelf life of only about 6 months and after it passes that date we cannot legally use it on the aircraft anymore, and it has to be disposed of has a Hazmat. I hoard the expired stuff from work and have been using it on mt GT. The problem is I used my last six tubes on the wheel wells and I need more. I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy some more before our current stock at work expires. It is thinned with MEK so proper ventilation, chemical gloves, and mask are a must. As you can see from the picture it is incredibly messy to work with.
No pictures today. I made all the paper templates for the belly pans. I have now officially ran out of aluminum sheets and will have to get two more sheets for the belly pans. I took apart a double pane street side wing window that I bartered another member with, for some metal work, and got the panes separated so that I can replace my plastic one with glass. I also ordered a prodigy P3 brake controller. I'm in a made dash to make the FCU Restoration rally with my aluminum tent and first road trip at the end of this month. If the weather holds I'm pretty sure I can make it. My wife is not real keen on the aluminum tent aspect but it is going to be fun as I'm presenting a class on sheet metal and riveting.
I picked up some 5052-H32 at Alreco. He has 4x8s in 0.032 and 4x10s in 0.025. I still like the idea of using the annealed 5053 0.032 as a belly pan--it wont crack around the rivets and I intend to use a large aluminum "washer" under the rivet head anyway, for two reasons. First, more support for the belly skin to prevent flexure failure. Second, I can approximate the rivet hole locations from the old belly pan with a larger hole.
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