New vinyl walls before reinstall?

[Minno]

I am thinking about trying to revinyl the interior wall panels BEFORE we reinstall them, when we redo the floor. Has anyone done this? I think that I would then get the rivets on top of the vinyl instead of covered by the vinyl and it might look better. Our vinyl interior was partially repainted at one time, and has ripped in the bathroom area, so I'll need to repair that anyway. I'm planning on doing a thorough wash job when the panels are out (with a long handled brush). Any opinions out there?

[Minno]

WOW!! I stumped the forum! No one has done this, or even has an opinion? I have a hard time believing there's no opinion even...

My only big concern with doing it this way would be potential warping or bending of the walls. Whatcha think?

Kay

[rangebowdrie]

I think that many forumites, given the chance, would rather have NO covering on the inside metal,(polish the inside), or have one of the classic interiors, where all the interior lining was birch.
IMHO, nothing can match the warm, honey glow, of a varnished birch interior.

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by Minno

WOW!! I stumped the forum! No one has done this, or even has an opinion? I have a hard time believing there's no opinion even...

My only big concern with doing it this way would be potential warping or bending of the walls. Whatcha think?

Kay

Do you plan to remove the old vinyl first, or are you thinking about just cleaning the old stuff then applying the new over top?

Do putting new vinyl over the old

Regards,

Kevin

[Minno]

I was going to put the new over the cleaned old vinyl. The only place that it's not attached completely well is in the bathroom in a couple of spots.
We're going to do our woodwork in hickory, and we've toyed with the total wood interior walls (haven't convinced hubby yet). We wouldn't do them in hickory...maybe something a little darker? Don't want to darken the interior too much......
We're not into the polished aluminium walls - not the retro kind of people (except maybe 70's music).
I liked the idea of using wicker on the ceiling like we saw in the Airstream mag a few months back.

[Kevin245]

New over Old may work if the old stuff is tightly adhere and properly prepped. The other thing to consider would be any differences in the expansion coefficient may lead to bond failure.

I think the wicker would be very unique and attractive.

What did you two ever decide about covering your windows?


Best of luck,

Kevin

[Minno]

Well, now I really think these forums are great - I can learn all sorts of things here, like wanting to do hickory all on the inside walls, putting wicker on the ceiling... Bet I'll pay for that comment later!

In all honesty, we have talked about putting wood veneer on the inside of Litte Girl - I just don't know where I would find hickory veneer. But, I haven't really even looked yet.

The old vinyl is solidly attached to the walls. To the point where we dread trying to strip it off. So the real question is: would contact cement on the surface of the vinyl cause it to separate from the aluminum skin?

And then the second question: has anyone put new vinyl or other covering on the skins before re-installing them? Either over the old vinyl or after stripping the old vinyl off?

Regarding the windows, we've decided we're not moving them. Or the bathroom either. We're going to do a rear bath, middle bedroom, with a double bed on one side rather than twin beds. We figured that is by far the easiest thing to do, and the deciding factor wasn't just the need to move window, it was also the need to move the outside storage hatches and the water heater.

Chris

[Tom Nugler]

Wow. A lot of interesting ideas being thrown out here.
I need to redo the interior of the Tradewind, I'm keeping an eye on you.
I would be hesitant to try to glue new vinyl over the old. The stuff cleans up, but in a year or two seems to sticky again. For some reason the TW has a bigger problem with this than GT did. I have no idea how a contact cement would hold up.
As far veneer it's available. This is the outlet of choice in the Chicago megopolis Owl Hardwood Lumber Company, but I'm sure there are similar stores up by you.
Good luck keep us posted.

Tom.

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by Tom Nugler

Wow. A lot of interesting ideas being thrown out here.
I need to redo the interior of the Tradewind, I'm keeping an eye on you.

Tom.

The issue of re-emerging residual is a valid point to be considered. I'd hate to invest lots of labor and expense into something unknown, and the lack of posters to this thread may be an indicate that you're exploring unknown waters so to speak.

Chris/Kay...What are your thoughts about re-covering an easily accessed area of the room and see what happens over time? And who came up with the wicker idea? I think that sounds very unique.


Tom,

You're correct about keeping on eye on Minno. They will pull the old switch-a-roo on you. Kay will post a question, you will reply, then Chris posts to your reply....I never know who's on 1st with them .

Kindest regards to all Y'all!!

Kevin

[Minno]

Kevin, that's because we're interchangeable. What he doesn't think of, I do, or we will say: "I was thinking about..." and the other will say: " reading my mind again?" I think it's the 32 years of marriage.

I think you're idea about covering an area and seeing what happens might be a good idea. Our interior is very dirty right now, but I don't think it's sticky, as I've read on so many other threads. I think I'll go find something and try it. I'll let you know...

Kay

[Minno]

BTW, the wicker ceiling idea actually came from an Adairondacks trailer redo that was in the Airstream Life mag. Wonder what's behind it?

Kay