'68 Overlander FullMonte

[SonOfAnder]

Ready to paint! Plan on using POR15. I know there are a lot of forums on this stuff, and I have read tons of them, but what are your thoughts on using metal prep vs just painting right over the freshly blasted frame? It seems almost crazy to me to get that frame wet and rusty all over again. I know, POR needs rust to adhere, but it also sticks to blasted metal. And isn't the metal prep really just a rust remover and a metal etcher? The metal prep would get the little bits of rust that I didn't blast off... So that being said, if POR 15 really does want a rusty frame, I guess that means I can stash it away in my garage for a few days till it is a nice warm long day again.

[Wabbiteer]

The factory frame paint on my '73 had a creosote-oily base to it, something a close cousin to undercoating vs. a true paint... A wire wheel slung enough of it back on me stripping my frame and staining my skin we'll vouch for that. So even with your blasting the stuff off there are residues left if just from dust and the rough surface snagging some as it whizzes by. Do a scrub-down with POR-15 Cleaner Degreaser and follow through with the POR-15 Metal Prep., maybe $100 for a gallon of Prep and quart of cleaner, you won't be sorry.

Doing the zinc 'metal prep' process will change the surface of the metal to something resembling 600 grit wet-dry sandpaper; POR-15 locks onto that surface and becomes part of the plating.

I had to use six or so aerosol cans of Chemtool B12 carb cleaner to wipe the creosote 'angle grinder wire wheel' smear off my frame - you might try spraying a foot long section with brake or carb cleaner and see it the solvent chases off anything, leaves a ring or stains a cloth wiping it down.

[rugjenkins]

The metal prep is a great and needed component to the por-15 system. It's call por-15 for paint over rust. I know the logic" then why did I remove all if it to rust it again". The zinc coating really does a make a Hugh difference in the boding of por-15. I had to grind some off for mods. It was harder to get off than the other I painted straight por15.

[SonOfAnder]

A little late on the update... After sandblasting, marine clean, metal prep, and a couple days waiting for warmer weather... I had a rusty frame again! Surface rust is what POR15 wants I guess.

[SonOfAnder]

Por15 silver first coat took me way longer than I expected. 5 hours using a foam brush, and I went through a quart. Ran out Still had a few sections to go. And then it was dark. so much for a second coat while it was still tacky!

[SonOfAnder]

New wheel wells made up from a local sheet metal guy. Going to spray the inside with rubberized undercoating to hopefully make them a little more resistant to all the salt and road grime in RV life... And Yes, my silver frame turned GOLD! POR 15 is not UV protected, and two weeks of sun changes the color!

[hippiechick]

You have taken on a big big job. Looks like it's going well. We bought a 66 trade wind a few years ago and started off gangbusters. But a lot of other projects took precedence so we are just now getting back into it. Praying to get it finished up and on the road this summer. We've done a lot of the hard stuff but didn't have to take ours down as far as yours. I'm back on the forums trying to get some inspiration and motivation. You're thread gives us a kick in the rear. Keep up the momentum. Great job.

[rugjenkins]

I like those wheel wells. The frame looks good. Try a good paint brush instead of the foam. The por15 flows well. All the brush marks smooth out. Looks great. Keep it up

[64airstream]

SonOfAnder,

Looks great. We're getting back to work on our 68 Overlander this spring, so it's great to follow your thread. Fortunately our frame is in good shape, so the shell stayed in place.
Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your progress,

Roy and Marie

[ArtisanAir]

You are doing well so far! You a certainly adding decades of life back on to this beautiful trailer. I admire your attention to detail. Its a long road, but you will just love the feeling of looking back at your progress.

[SonOfAnder]

Thank you for the compliments and motivation! It is a lot of work and hours, but i know it will all be worth it! @Hippiechick, glad to help inspire! Do you have a thread? I would love to see your progress. I find a ton of help on Instagram too actually. There is a whole little group of us who share ideas and techniques. Just check out #airstreamrenovation and go from there. @rugjenkins Thanks! The wheel wells turned out pretty good. The guy kind of skimped on the rivets, so I doubled them up and put a serious bead of caulk on all the seams. The rubberized underbody spray is now tough as nails on it. I'm happy with them. Also, I painted the second coat black with a brush. Works so much better. Also, I used a small zip roller for the flat parts. SO much faster! And it cover really well and evens out. Really wish I had started out that way from the beginning and had worked in sections. I could have second coated while still tacky. Oh well. It's done now. Silver top coated the front, step, and tail section. The POR TopCoat is a totally different paint. It dries VERY fast and will start to build up and shows brush marks. @artisanair, thanks! I'm looking forward to a custom trailer to last me the rest of my days!

[SonOfAnder]

A little bit of progress is happening now that the weather is finally staying warm and dry! The Gold Frame is now Black! I called the costumer service at POR15 and asked them about how bad it was that my frame had sat for two weeks in the sun between coats, and the silver had turned gold. He wasn't concerned at all. He did say though that the second coat would not stick unless the entire frame was scuffed with a red 3m pad or 300 grit sand paper. His exact words were "you don't have to go crazy, just take the glossy shine off of it" Well, that's easier said than done on a 26' frame with nooks and crannies! Plus, that silver paint has metallics in it, so it's seriously strong and shiny. It sucked. I cursed, wore my finger tips out. But whatever it is done. Lesson learned! Next time, either do the POR in more manageable sections, don't use it at all, or pay someone to sandblast and paint!! Anyways... The black went on easily and looks great!

[SonOfAnder]

AdvanTech Subflooring. 3/4 inch thick 4x8 sheets. Six of them. These boards are not just your typical partical board or OSB. I thought long and hard about this. I see so many people talking about marine grade plywood and epoxy painting the outside five times or painting all around the edges of normal ply... Well, this stuff has zero voids just like marine grade, has water proof resin mixed throughout the entire board, and is pressed together with so much oriented strand that it is stiffer than plywood and with better pull out strength too. Yes, it weighs 78lbs a board, but that only adds about 60lbs to the floor. Plus, I don't have to spend $100 a board for marine grade, another $100 for epoxy/paint... Not only that, but they are so sure of their product, that they have a 500 day outside guarantee. Basically, if you didn't finish building your house, they say this can stand up to the open weather elements, rain, sleet, snow for almost two years... And at only $25 a board??? I'm sold. Now all I have to do is hope my jigsaw doesn't burn out trying to cut those curves!

[rugjenkins]

I like the black better than the silver.
Great choice on the advantech floor!! That what I put in mine. I used it in my house 13 years ago and had a sheet let over that sat on the ground in the weather for 9 years. I needed some it some project and dragged it from under the leaves. Cut it up and used it. It still looked great except for grey weathering. Awesome stuff. Keep going you'll have the shell on soon!

[SonOfAnder]

Thanks rugjenkins! Nice to have someone else with a good review on the AdvanTech! I think a lot of people assume it is just like ordinary OSB, but just by looking at the small little sample they had at the lumber yard, I could tell it was tough stuff! I also bought a board of Huber Lumbers 1/2" Zip sheathing board to use underneath where the boards originally joined together. This AdvanTech, being tongue and grooved, might have to be laid down long ways instead of across. I'm yet to experiment with that! I was too busy trying to unload my new axles off my truck that finally arrived from Colin Hyde today! Oh... And spreading the three yards of mulch my wife wanted spread around her flower beds 💪

[SonOfAnder]

So when I brought our Overlander home and decided to left the shell, almost all of the perimeter rivets holding the C-channel to the shell were already popping loose. So I just took it off completely and decided to make new channel. The old channel is extruded aluminum that is obviously bent with a precision machined curve at the factory. It seemed to me that tracing that curve would be way easier than trying to trace an old rotten out wooden board! It was...

[SonOfAnder]

I spent the afternoon leveling out the frame as best I could on my neighbors gravel "parking lot" (very thankful to him for letting me park her there, I even have a nice big tree for shade from the sun) my frame tends to want to twist a little I have noticed. But I managed to flatten it out with some blocks and shims. Then I started cutting up some AdvanTech! 88" wide across with a 6" board of their 1/2 "zip board" for the joint areas between boards where they recessed the frame. Retraced the back curve with the old c-channel and it was an easy cut with the jig saw... Tomorrow I hope to finish up and find some elevator bolts locally that won't break my bank. The big blue box has them at $1.05 each!? Yikes. I saw vintage trailer supply has a box of 50 for $15, so after shipping that is still half the price! Either way, it's nice to see some curves on her again!

[rugjenkins]

Looking great! That's exactly how I did the curves on mine. When I made the 1.5 inch metal tube curve I used the same template also.
Fastenal has elevator bolts. They would have had to order the zinc plated so I just got the plain and painted with por-15. The price was about the same as vts.

[SonOfAnder]

The pup is claiming her spot on the brand new subfloor! I actually took this picture almost two weeks ago, but then it started to rain... And it didn't stop for over a week! I did cover the AdvanTech with a tarp just because I had my doubts, but to be honest, the scraps that were in the driveway didn't even swell. I'm pretty sold on this stuff... I did paint the edges with a coat of KILLs oil based primer since I cut most of the factory finish off. Not sure it was necessary but it looks cool! Hoping to finish fastenning everything down over the next few evenings and start on the C-channel. Then, to flip the frame or not flip the frame

[Unka Jack]

I flipped with the gantries. Never regretted the decision. Made life so much easier not having to work upside down plus gravity makes a great assistant.