Has anyone ever tried to upholster A/S walls??? I would rather not paint the walls, or strip them down to the aluminum (mostly because of the plastic ends). I just want to consider a fresh modern look.
I am in the planning stages right now, mostly to keep the bed room better insulated, and improve the ambiance of the Living area.
Am measuring and cutting kraft paper as a pattern to fit in the curves.
Then I will laminate (Contact cement) a decorative cloth to the foam, then cut per pattern, then glue the finished structure to the walls.
The curves in the corners are compound, and a bit tricky.
Dick
Here's another thought. Our bed has an upholstered strip around it since it is right up against the walls.
The strip is cardboard covered with upholstery fabric. The strip is screwed to the wall with a few screws. This might be a way to do the entire wall instead of only a one-foot strip.
Airstream has offered variations of upholstery on the walls of its coaches at various times. Some of the later model coaches have a lightly padded wall covering that resembles a very fine short pile carpet (for lack of a better description). My '64 Overlander International came from the factgory with upholstered cieling and walls in the bedroom area - - it is diamond pleated vinyl in a medium-light brown color. The ceiling upholstery is riveted directly to the ceiling (it is something like a quilt) - - on the walls, there is a backing of what appears to be .25" luan plywood - - the ceiling uphostery is original, but the wall upholstery was nearly worn out so it was replaced with a fabric that coordinated with the new interior.
Good luck with your restoration!
Kevin
P.S.: I found a digital photo of the ceiling taken before the interior restoration was completed (the ceiling, however, was not touched as it remains in mint condition). The view is from the bathroom looking forward.
__________________
Kevin D. Allen WBCCI (Lifetime Member)/VAC/Free Wheelers #6359 AIR #827
1964 Overlander International/1999 GMC K2500 Suburban (7400 VORTEC/4.11 Differentials)
1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre/1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (8.2 Liter V8/2.70 Final Drive)
I watched some tradesmen install the interior for a high end elevator-they glued 1/4" foam-like a wet suit-to the walls and then glued on the fabric. Expensive but elegant. The quality of the foam was important.
One of my earlier experiences required a similar product. I had great luck going to Thomas Register. I found a source-one of the BIG distributors-don't remember the name. The $ savings are worth the effort. 11 yrs ago their min was $100.
"Then I will laminate (Contact cement) a decorative cloth to the foam, then cut per pattern, then glue the finished structure to the walls."
Contact cement the cement used with laminate plastic would be very difficult, if even possible, on a vertical application using a flexible material. In the trade, before retiring, we used an adhesive that was used to install commercial carpet tiles. This cement stays flexible after curing but holds. It's purpose was to be able to replace the tiles when needed. At times the backing stayed stuck to the floor so you don't have to worry that your wall material peels off your walls.
Hope this helps.........Steve
I cant help but think that once you apply glue to the surface, especially a good adhesive such as contact cement, or Scotch spray adhesive, you or anyone in the future will not be able to remove the glue without butchering the original surfaces. I would recommend the approach that AS did,
Upholster a heavy cardboard panel and screw it to the walls,
That way you can always change the fabric and even remove the panels if you wish. You will just have lot of holes to fill.
the beauty part of using the ,non contact cement, adhesive is that when and if a future owner of the trailer doesn't want the wall covering they don't have to deal with screw holes.
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