It's a girl!!!

[Zeppelinium]

Damn fine work!

I am particularly proud that you elected to buy all this gear for "other" projects...

Aerowood
Bedfords
23333
and Me!

We're all real real close...

Zep

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by Zeppelinium

Damn fine work!

I am particularly proud that you elected to buy all this gear for "other" projects...

Aerowood
Bedfords
23333
and Me!

We're all real real close...

Zep

Uhhhh, well...I think you may have to make a deal with the Mr. for "those" other projects!!! Nice try though ~

Shari

[utee94]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

Uhhhh, well...I think you may have to make a deal with the Mr. for "those" other projects!!! Nice try though ~

Shari

Looks to me like an intriguing business opportunity.

The zolatone looks amazing, you guys are really doing a fantastic job!

-Marcus

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by utee94

The zolatone looks amazing, you guys are really doing a fantastic job!

-Marcus

I'd have to agree. It really looks GREAT!

[InsideOut]

Being the impatient souls that we are...we left work early, went and picked up our 2 quarts of Apollo Gray and came home to finish up the Zolatone project! No new pictures today...but I do have "the list".

Things we already had

• Cloth drop cloth for the garage floor
• one electric heater
• two propane heaters
• (2) 5 gal. Mixing Buckets
• "We can do it" attitude

Tools & Equipment

• Husky single stage 3-1/2 HP 60 gallon 135 psi - $250 used
• 2mm (Zolatone) Spray Gun w/2L pressure pot & hoses - $65 ebay
• 1.7mm (Primer) Spray Gun (works with the same pressure pot) - $15 Harbor Freight
• Box Fan & A/C Filter - $20 WalMart
• Electric Heater - $15 Home Depot

Sub-Total = $365

Materials

• Epoxy Primer - 1 gal. - $81
• Epoxy Hardender - 2 qts. $32
• Zolatone - 2 gal. Desert Camo - $232
• Zolatone - 1 gal. Gray Stone - $116
• Zolatone - 4 qts. Medusa Gray - $154
• Zolatone - 2 qts. Apollo Gray - $77
• Respirator - $19
• Coveralls - $8
• Spray Sock - $2
• Dropcolths - $4
• Mixing/Measuring Cups - $2
• Solvent - $14
• Spray Gun Filters - $7
• 4 rolls 3M Green Masking Tape - $21
• Spray Gun CLeaning Kit - $11
• Rosen Paper - $15

Sub-Total = $830

TOTAL = $1204

Aesthetic Cost > Priceless!

We'll take a look tomorrow after it dries and probably do a little touch-up...then we're done! We got the lighter color and large "white" flecks we were looking for by adding the Apollo Grey. The splatter coat went on thicker - we ended up with about 3/4 gal. left over...our estimating wasn't too far off - if we hadn't have added the extra two quarts today, we would have finished with only 1 quart - which I don't think is enough "just in case" we forgot something.

Shari

[safari62]

Major step in the process. You are doing it right for sure. Thanks for the photos and info. along the way.

If this was my project it would call for a celebratory toast to the work you have done so far. So here is a toast to your fine work! AH!!! that's some fine Champagne.........

Now back to work. No time to be admiring your labors.

But really...great job so far. (just looking at the window work wears me out)

gary

[safari57]

It sure does look good Shari. I expect we'll be seeing this one out and about this summer?

The only problem with finishing a project is that then you need another one and there is only so much room to store them for most of us.

I guess what I struggle with is the shiny thing. Mine looks like a batchelors bathroom mirror no matter what I do to shine it up. Yours look like a mirror. Oh well.........

Barry

[InsideOut]

That's the goal Barry! We plan to take Birdy to Madison International and also to the Oshkosh Air Show June/July 2009...we still have LOTS of work to do though ~

I'm embarrassed to say, Maxwell's polish job has taken a back seat since we've been working on Birdy...not nearly as shiny right now. As far as the next project goes, we have a list of mini-projects for Maxwell to keep us busy...it's been 7 years since we started Maxwell - time to address the items we didn't do then. New black tank, new toilet, change out the old Univolt to an IntellePower, new axle, switch out the smoke-plexi Fantastic Fan for a newer gray one, possibly replace another panel or two (small dents - but they bug us), re-polish...I think that's about it - enough to keep us busy so we won't be needing any more trailers - maintaining 2 will be enough! Some of those projects seemed overwhelming then - now, not so much!

Besides, I promised...the next "new project" will be in a hanger, not at home ~

Shari

[3Ms75Argosy]

Wow! That's some great work Shari! Thanks for sharing the nitty gritty with us. So, looking for a "hanger" queen are you? There's some nice aluminum vintage jobs out there too!
Marc

[InsideOut]

I went out this morning and took a picture...it was still kinda dark and the masking is still over the windows, but this is what it looks like. I've also included a scan of the old & new colors side by side. The old one is kinda cold & flat with a green tinge and the new is warmer with more depth.

Shari

[InsideOut]

Wow...colors sure look different on different computers! It was pretty accurate at work - but way off at home. The actual color is like the beach sand I grew up on in So Cal it's a lot more beige than gray and a lot lighter than it looks in the photos ~ oh well, you'll just have to take my word for it or track us down at a rally to see for yourselves!

Shari

[66Overlander]

Yeah the colors are way off on my computer, too. The trailer inside looks good, but the new "sample" piece (must be a cover plate of some type because of the rivet holes), appears 10x darker than "before" and nothing like the trailer interior photo. If the interior shot is the correct color, it will be great.

Good Work!

[CanoeStream]

Great looking (and huge!) job Mssr & Mme Inside Out!! It will be fun seeing comparison objects against your final job. Penguin time... Without correction, automatic camera exposure will turn both a dark object and a field of snow to 18% gray value.

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by 66Overlander

Yeah the colors are way off on my computer, too. The trailer inside looks good, but the new "sample" piece (must be a cover plate of some type because of the rivet holes), appears 10x darker than "before" and nothing like the trailer interior photo. If the interior shot is the correct color, it will be great.

Good Work!

The "real" color is much more like the interior shot, it is darker than the "original" but not as dark as it appears in the scan. It looks like coarse beach sand in real life.

Good guess Joe! It's a cover plate for the access to the truck wiring harness - it's up front under the kitchen cabinet so the PO had never gotten to it with her sponge painting. I wanted to keep a sample of the old, so we made a new coverplate to use instead.

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

Great looking (and huge!) job Mssr & Mme Inside Out!! It will be fun seeing comparison objects against your final job. Penguin time... Without correction, automatic camera exposure will turn both a dark object and a field of snow to 18% gray value.

I know photo variations occur, but it's disappointing not being able to portray the true feel of the color. I scanned the coverplates at work, and took pains to get the colors "right" there and then they are so different at home and I assume on everybody else's computer - who knows what you all are seeing! Oh well...

We stripped off all the masking last night and I've got a late meeting this morning, so I'll be home in the daylight (for a change!) and be able to take some more pics...otherwise, it'll be about two weeks before I get another chance - I leave town Friday for 10 days.

Shari

[53flyingcloud]

Shari & Rob,
Nice work~

[Ed Emerick]

I'm going home and gutting the 54 and sending it to CO! That job is so cool, what a great job. So let's talk about a paint job!

[whitsend]

Shari - Can you tell me something about the window screen you used? Some have told me to look for aluminum screen material. Well, can't find it, at least locally. Did you use regualr galvanized screen?
Ya'll do beautiful work, and your descriptions, or "how to's" are very helpful. Thanks for posting.
Jim

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by whitsend

Shari - Can you tell me something about the window screen you used? Some have told me to look for aluminum screen material. Well, can't find it, at least locally. Did you use regualr galvanized screen?
Ya'll do beautiful work, and your descriptions, or "how to's" are very helpful. Thanks for posting.
Jim

Jim,

You need to use a galvanized screen, not the aluminum type available at the local home center or hardware store. I purchased screen for my Liner at a local glass and screen store. Vintage Trailer Supply now has it available also. Galvanized Steel Window Screen

Bill

[InsideOut]

I agree with Bill, I think you have it backwards. Aluminum screen is pretty readily available - galvanized is more difficult to come by. It's the used is what you need to use in the 50's Hehr windows. The aluminum is not strong enough to hold the crimp to stay in the frame. There isn't anything else that holds it in, just the screen itself. We were able to find the galvanized screen at our mom & pop hardware store before when VTS carried it - but it would have been a lot easier to have just ordered it - we ran all over town before we found it, big box stores only had aluminum & fiberglass.

Shari

[InsideOut]

Now that the Zolatone is done, I've ordered our linoleum. It will be installed next week...we decided to go with Marmoleum's "Artoleum" Mineral - Color: Tiger Eye #5713. It'll blend really well with the Zolatone and all the wood cabinets.

In the meantime, we are going to be starting the cabinet work this weekend. We will be re-building the dinette, building the twin beds from scratch based on the "hacked up twins turned double" that were there and re-veneering most of the cabinet doors to get rid of the white paint and water stain remnants. Then re-finishing everything to match the original birch interior as close as we can.

I'll take pics as we get into it and along the way - stay tuned!

Shari