Covering up the '70's dark woodgrain, Options?

[aquinob]

Wife and I went out today looking for ideas on colors for the interior of our '73 Overlander. She suffers from an overabundance of really dark woodgrain print on aluminum bulkhead walls. We know we will be painting the ceiling and side walls that are covered in the off-white textured vinyl, but my wife thinks we can possibly use some kind of vinyl wall covering for the bulkhead walls. I'm not so sure. On one hand, they are pretty smooth overall and I can't see why some sort of wallpaper would not adhere well, but I don't know if they would not have some sort of issues with the changes in temperature and humidity in the long run.

So if anybody has put some type of vinyl wall coverings up, please chime in. If you have another suggestion, that would be great too. Here are a couple of the bulkhead walls in question:

[TG Twinkie]

Here is a couple of shots of what I did to cover the dark walls using vinyl flooring. The sheet type. This has a wood plank design and is held to the walls with double sticky back flooring tape.
I cleaned the surfaces with Simple Green. Making sure it was clean and dry.
http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_1030.jpg

http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_1034.jpg

[idroba]

Just a couple of ideas for you.

The woodgrain insert in the aluminum trim can easily be replaced with something lighter and nice looking. Cut down vertical venetian blind strips to the right width and insert over or replace those there on the trim around the doors, edges and so on. I was amazed how good my white replacement for the dark wood grain on the light fixtures (over the bed on your photo #1) looked and how it dressed up the place. If you put it in over the top of the original, and don't like it, it is easy to remove.

I have re painted the already white tambour door materials on my Argosy which yellow badly. I see no reason that the brown would not paint as well as the white, but it might take a little more to cover going from dark to light. I used Krylon Fusion Paint for Plastics, satin finish on mine and honestly, you would never know it has been painted. Take the material all of the way out of the tracks and put even think coats on it though. Don't try to paint in place. You could also replace the tambour with new light colored material, but it is costly.

I had one trailer which someone had painted the brown on one wall with what appeared to be conventional white gloss paint. I was not impressed overall with that job, but wonder how the Krylon Fusion would work. It is a great paint, but I have no experience with it on the brown surfaces you have.

I would not try stick on vinyl materials. The temps age the adhesive too fast, the material shrinks, and you have a mess soon. I am not sure about vinyl wall paper, but it may have the same issues.

So, find ways to lighten as many surfaces as you can, you may find the remaining ones are not too offensive or will work overall just to have less dark area.

BTW, Krylon Fusion will work wonderfully on yellowed plastic surfaces such as the refrigerator vent and the interior end caps. It gives a fresh, clean appearance and you will never know it is paint if you do a good job, well masked, many thin coats. Wear a respirator and use a large fan to move as much air through the rig as possible if you paint inside. Paint in warm weather, low humidity only. Mask everything from overspray potential too.

[Gnorts]

First things first - OMG! - Lose The Oven!

Now I gotta search out something I just saw a week or so ago. Vinyl adhesive peel-n-stick graphic panels, easy to apply and remove, like "bus wraps" - watch this space - -

Just remembered - saw it on Design Taxi - - stand by - - searching - -

[aquinob]

Originally Posted by Gnorts

First things first - OMG! - Lose The Oven!

Now I gotta search out something I just saw a week or so ago. Vinyl adhesive peel-n-stick graphic panels, easy to apply and remove, like "bus wraps" - watch this space - -

Just remembered - saw it on Design Taxi - - stand by - - searching - -

OMG, no. I like the oven, its the one original appliance that is staying put. It works great and there is nothing like making muffins or biscuits in the morning or brownies for desert.

[aquinob]

The Tambour is going away, I'll make some solid flip up doors and the insert in the gold tone aluminum trim can also go and be replaced by a thin strip of cherry like the front cabinetry. Its the big expanses of the walnut woodgrain I need to do something with. I've also got that back surround of the oven to worry about as well. I suppose I could wrap that in aluminum. (on the left side of this, Points down)



I still may paint it, just have to convince the wife, but all options are on the table (except getting rid of the oven )

[thesignlady]

Absolutely you can cover them in vinyl. Have a look at the pictures in post number 7 in the thread I did on painting my end caps and you can see a shot of my cabinets that I applied brushed aluminum vinyl to. In the thin trim areas that used to have the dark wood look insert I applied Carbon Fiber look vinyl. I applied it all without taking the cabinets apart. Having now deconstructed and reconstructed another trailer I would say take apart the ones you can for easier application. When using vinyl you must always do your research and get good quality vinyl. The lower grades have a higher likelihood of shrinking. My cabinets were done about 6 years ago with no shrinkage.

The thread also shows how to salvage your tambour doors. If you do decide to paint AFTER you are done a little silicon spray will make them move again

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f39/...ly-124989.html

[rideair]

I would think vinyl wrap sheet would work well, much like wallpaper in the color of your choice or could even have a pattern printed to your liking. Some can also be removed when you sell it or get tired of what you have.

Enjoy,

[thehandyman]

Since the vinyl was already peeling of the interior walls I remove the rest. Use a heat gun to loosen the adhesive and it will peel off. Wipe down with paint thinner sand rough parts prime and paint. Plan on making new doors for overhead and cabinets to get rid of the fake walnut.

[SuzyHomemakr]

I used the roll-on Zolatone, and liked the way it turned out. This was on the skin and endcaps.

For the bulkheads... what about veneer? You get the real-wood look, you can go mild or wild (like I did on my new table). I used Wilsonart 600 contact cement, so it's not going anywhere. Surface is then finished with marine-grade spar varnish, high gloss. I'm thinking a bird's-eye or fiddleback maple... you can get man-made variants of these that look fantastic for not too much $$.

[aquinob]

Originally Posted by SuzyHomemakr

I used the roll-on Zolatone, and liked the way it turned out. This was on the skin and endcaps.

For the bulkheads... what about veneer? You get the real-wood look, you can go mild or wild (like I did on my new table). I used Wilsonart 600 contact cement, so it's not going anywhere. Surface is then finished with marine-grade spar varnish, high gloss. I'm thinking a bird's-eye or fiddleback maple... you can get man-made variants of these that look fantastic for not too much $$.

I actually do have 2 4x8 sheets of a very thin (around 1/8" or less) veneer that I might be able to use. I bought it a while back at a habitat restore to use in this trailer and havent gotten around to it yet. It was rolled up into about a 2-3 foot diameter roll and I've had it up in the attic with weights to try and straighten it out. Might also be good to use with some hardwood to build some upper doors to replace the tambours.

So on the fiddleback maple, what do you consider a good price? For straight cut cherry veneer, I've seen about 60 bucks for a 4x8 sheet. I bought the 4x8 sheets of the 1/2" ply I used for the front half of the trailer for about 90 each, so I'm not as thrilled about 60 just for the veneer.

[SuzyHomemakr]

I think that the savings is to be able to use the existing bulkheads. You're probably about right with costs. I used a paperback quartersawn Lagoon Alabaster from Brookline, very easy to work with. Can't remember what I paid for it, I probably blanked it out after my wallet stopped throbbing.

Then again, there's always laminates (Formica), or finding a fabric that you like and fiberglassing it on....

My main wood is a very light European poplar, the featherweight Eurolite plywood that I go on and on about.

One of the things I enjoy about my Airstream project is that I can use all these expensive materials, 'cause I only need a small amount of them. Still adds up, unfortunately.

[spencerhut]

Hi Bob!
Well, as I finally started back to work on the Silver Bullet, I'm finally happy with the paint I put in which took a primer, base and top coat. The color is called Copper Rose and they quit making it after we decided to take the front gaucho out and now I had to match the paint there as well. The paint stuck very well and I'm more than pleased with it. But it lead to me sending out all the window trims to my chrome guy. Really looking forward to seeing how they match up with the metalic paint! Plus I finally got all the parquet out and patched all the subfloor where it was glued enough to rip a full layer off. The choice words will be spared here, but I really like the floating floor I picked out to go with the wall color! I also finally found the back splash I wanted online since they took it out of the big box store I had been keeping my eye on. It went on and is staying on better than I had hoped. The fact it was easy to cut and install made it well worth the wait. Hope this helps since we have such a similar trailer!
Monique

[barts]

We converted our 1971 to all birch plywood as detailed in our blog, Tin Pickle Adventures. I've included a picture...

-= Bart

[aquinob]

Monique
Do you have pictures of the trailer finished up with the paint and floor done, I'd love to see how it turned out. I do like that backsplash material you used. I put up a sheet of aluminum for that already, but I still have the side wall with the oven to contend with.

[aquinob]

Originally Posted by barts

We converted our 1971 to all birch plywood as detailed in our blog, Tin Pickle Adventures. I've included a picture...

-= Bart

I like that look. It's not that I'm opposed to the look of wood in the trailer, Im actually converting much of it over to naturally finished cherry, I just dont want all the dark fake looking wood print in there anymore. I may go with covering it with the thin veneer plywood I have stored. Will have to see about that once I get done with the floor and painting the ceiling and walls.

[spencerhut]

Morning Bob!
I will eventually be changing out the flimsy fake wood panels, just not yet. The only panel getting changed is where the fridge (once I find one!)will go so I can put a flat screen TV on it. After a lot of back and forth on how my finished interior will look, I've decided to keep the darker wood as I think it looks better with my wall color. Plus once I get the rest of my window surrounds back from the chrome shop, all the accents should make it pop. The floor color came out better than I hoped and made me see that I liked the darker color, just not the drab, dull fake wood color that I started with.
As for the wall tiles, make sure your utility knife has a sharp blade and I found pliers helped a lot snapping the pieces. Especially the smaller one. You are cutting through a thin top piece and a thicker bottom piece that you don't see at first. Only stabbed myself once and that was cutting open a package! What's a job in the Airstream if you don't bleed a little?

[kaa4111]

Did you salvage the tambour doors? Are they for sale?

[firemanfrank]

I am just finishing replacing 98% of the dark interior of our 1972/73 23 foot Safari. If you are a do it yourselfer, here is what I have done over the last 2-3 winters (outside in the driveway).
1. I replaced all the wall panels with 1/4 inch birch plywood that I applied 2 to 3 coats of spar varnish.
2. I had a cabinet person install kitchen base and wall cabinets in a light wood finish (expensive).
3. I have ordered new, maple tambour and will coat it with spar varnish before installing it for the over the bunk cabinets. I just finished painting the underside white.
4. The floor is a hickory (light color) laminate.
5. Also removed the strips of laminate (they slide out) on all the cabinet fronts. The bronze color of the aluminum extrusions is much nicer than the walnut.
Just doing the two front wall/separators and the laminate flooring made a huge visual difference.

[Texas Gal 61]

What did you use for your backsplash? It looks great.