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stringm · 03-04-2016, 05:08 AM

Matt

SWBT, Ericsson, DSC, Nortel, AT&T retired. That box is on loan from one of those places !!!

String

rugjenkins · 03-04-2016, 09:28 AM

Not retired yet- great minds think alike! 😃🙈🙉🙊👍

stringm · 03-11-2016, 06:07 AM

I finally took the decision to go back original. I found a sink vanity top at a Airstream restorer in Gatesville Texas. The Bonderosa, Rodney Bond, good guy to meet. Work looks super.

The lower bowl cover section I have carried to a boat place to be glassed and expoxied. The boat guy says he is going to prime the piece with Dupli-Color auto sandable primer. I have not agreed to the final terms yet and I wanted to see what folks thought about this primer. I know some here have used two part epoxy paint to paint the fixtures. Some have used Krylon fusion exclusively. Others use Fusion for a primer and tub and tile as a finish coat.

What say Ye ?

String

aquinob · 03-13-2016, 06:00 PM

Looking good. Even though it's more work when the interior is gutted, it does make a lot of things easier.

Just started getting back into my trailer, havent touched it all winter long, but nothing major planned, all smaller projects.

stringm · 03-20-2016, 02:57 PM

I didn't get much response to my paint question so I just started testing things on the broken vanity I had. I did do as Inland Andy prescribes, which was to sand good. I used 220 grit and orbital. Sanded enough to lighten the color. I primed with Dupli-color auto primer, Krylon Fusion, Rustoleum 2x primer. Then I tried 87MH's appliance paint as a finish coat, rustoleum 2x paint, Krylon MAXX, and just more Krylon. They all were good as for as I could tell. Of course this is spring in Texas, we had two days at 85, and I had the pieces sitting in the sun. It was 40 this morning, so that is the range of temps the pieces have had. Not very long of a test though. I decided to go with the Krylon as a primer and Rustoleum appliance biscuit color as a finish coat. 87MH has the same temps as me and has had success so I went with that because I like the look. If this is a mistake I would appreciate someone telling now.

Started my PEX plumb job. Actually a re-plumb job. Made the mistake of using original check valve and found out it didn't work. That kinda made me undue a bunch of crimps. Dremel tools work pretty good for that. The pics I have attached will show a water diagram. According to this the hot water is the supply for the toilet flush, is that right? We flush with hot water? I can see that being good, I just am questioning the manual. I have found numerous errors.

The last pic is a question. I have no idea what these are for in the bathroom. Does anyone recognize? The next to last pic is a finished piece, the hot water cabinet top. The others are just primed.

Hope everyone will celebrate a happy Easter this coming weekend. My whole family comes for 3 days, and it is a favorite of mine.

String

stringm · 03-20-2016, 03:02 PM

Oh I fired up the furnace yesterday. It works, YEA!!!!

dennis3751 · 03-20-2016, 03:26 PM

Stringm
On our '76 Ambassador the cold water goes to the water heater with a T off to the toilet on the supply side so no hot water to toilet.

Dennis

stringm · 03-21-2016, 11:07 AM

Dennis

Thanks! I have not thrown away anything, but I had wadded up the old copper pipe in a copper scrap pile I have. I knew I wasn't going to use it anyway. I dug that out and I can see that the t for the toilet is on the cold side. The diagram still looks like the cold water is fed from the pump on around to the Hot Water heater, but it goes to the hot output of the tank. The drawing shows the t to be on the cold inlet, but I don't see the routing being right. I still think the drawing is messed up, but I am straight.

String

stringm · 03-24-2016, 06:41 AM

Guess it is a good idea to replace these every once in a while. I see this condition to be more damaging from a morning dew than a driving rain, but sure not waterproof!

String

stringm · 04-03-2016, 05:47 PM

The tanks are back in. Belly pan was a bear, and all I did was help my son. Tried playing with polishing.

String

dbj216 · 04-03-2016, 07:23 PM

I'm in the process of replacing a belly pan myself. It is a bear doing it on a creeper. I feel your pain. Airstream assembles the subfloor, flips the frame, installs tanks and plumbing, insulation, and then the belly pan in one big sheet. Finally the axles are assembled. I saw it done at Jackson Center. What takes them an hour takes me many days. Man my shoulder is sore.

David

stringm · 04-24-2016, 06:08 PM

The following pictures kinda show where I am at. I know this is not like critical information for anyone, but I kinda like to keep a chronicle for myself. The first pic is the piece that really I had given up on. I felt like it put me over the hump that I could not go back original. This whole episode started because I could not get the bathtub out. The drain cross hairs broke on my first spanner tool try. The manual said I could access the ptrap from a portal on the belly pan, only as it turns out airstream folks never cut that portal in the belly pan. Any way the second pic is the finished piece. I was amazed what could be done. Of course it took a month and a half of waiting. That kinda slowed progress. The contractors here in my part of east texas have a different philosophy. If they are fartin on a 100$ bill they ain't in no hurry to work. Anyway I have all the pieces now.

String

dbj216 · 04-24-2016, 08:20 PM

Hello from one old dude to another old dude. The photos of your new plastic bath parts look real good. I hear ya on contractors doing a small job. Sometimes it takes for ever.

I wonder if the shower p trap is sandwiched between the subfloor and the belly pan. My 66 was that way. My sons 69 did have a plastic "pot" screwed to the belly pan that covered the p trap.

David

stringm · 04-25-2016, 05:41 AM

David

Mine was exactly like that. There was suppose to have been an access hole cut in the belly pan, but there was not. The dump valves were cut but not the ptrap. At the time I was trying not to have to drop the pan. If I lay on my back and look at something up close for more than 5 minutes, I get nauseous. I ended up cutting the ptrap inside. Once I had the tub out I discovered the floor rot and had to drop the belly pan anyway. The airstream restore guy that I got the used sink from told be he hasn't seen a rear bath that didn't have floor rot. I guess one should plan on dropping the belly pan if they are incline to do these projects.

String

dbj216 · 04-25-2016, 08:07 PM

I know what you mean about working on your back in tight confines. I just finished the belly pan install on the 69 Globetrotter. It's a dirty hard job. I had the trailer about 20 inches off the shop floor. When I did the 66 Trade Wind, I had it jacked up about 24 inches. That is a bit high as my shoulders got tired holding up tools. You can imagine how much easier it would be if we had the body off the frame and could flip the frame over.

Making an access panel for the p-trap as well as the dump valves is always a good idea. I wonder why Airstream didn't do that for us. Maybe they wanted to build the character of us Airstreamers.

David

stringm · 05-16-2016, 10:04 AM

Progress is slow, but still moving. I found some ultra leather at a Hancocks closeout sale. Got 18 yards for 75$. Planned on covering the bulkheads after I painfully took off all the old wrinkled up vinyl. Then I decided to cover two panels in the bathroom. The ones in front of the tub and under the sink. Both had been carpeted, but that had to go. Made new ones and took them to the same car upholstery shop that was doing the bulkheads. But like I have said, things don't move too fast in East Texas. They have been there 3 weeks now. In the mean time I have started polishing. All the clear coat is gone, and the curb side is about half polished. Sanding out scratches is very time consuming. I guess its better doing that type stuff now instead of the dead of summer.