A 1963 Overlander named Moonraker!

[65CV]

How about 80 grit sandpaper with a good random orbit sander? It's less than a 2 hour job for the whole trailer.

Yes, it makes a mess, but does the job. Then again, I did mine before the new floor was installed.

Contractor paper -- taped down well -- could make cleanup easier on your new floor.

[Becky B.]

I cleaned up what little I did and washed it all down, then I closed up the trailer, walked outside and noticed the outside seams had black rivulets running down the sides of the trailer. Citrastrip took it of easily but it's not going to be a fun job


Well, you'll kill two birds with one stone if you had any clear coat left on the outside! Did you guys get a bunch of snow today? Spring HAS to come soon!

[reinergirl]

Originally Posted by 65CV

How about 80 grit sandpaper with a good random orbit sander? It's less than a 2 hour job for the whole trailer.

Yes, it makes a mess, but does the job. Then again, I did mine before the new floor was installed.

Contractor paper -- taped down well -- could make cleanup easier on your new floor.

John,

But the black stuff completely covers the rivet lines, you didn't sand the back of the rivets did you?

It does make a lot of sense to sand the overhead skins though, thanks!

[reinergirl]

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

I cleaned up what little I did and washed it all down, then I closed up the trailer, walked outside and noticed the outside seams had black rivulets running down the sides of the trailer. Citrastrip took it of easily but it's not going to be a fun job


Well, you'll kill two birds with one stone if you had any clear coat left on the outside! Did you guys get a bunch of snow today? Spring HAS to come soon!

Snow held off, looks like a good week! Good meaning being in the high forties

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

Snow held off, looks like a good week! Good meaning being in the high forties

Gee, we are in the low 50's! Brrrrr!!!!

[65CV]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

John,

But the black stuff completely covers the rivet lines, you didn't sand the back of the rivets did you?

It does make a lot of sense to sand the overhead skins though, thanks!

We didn't have any black stuff on the rivets. I cleaned them with the pressure washer after sanding.

Heat wave up north! Even warmer here -- looks like Southern CT will be as warm as Mississippi this week.

[reinergirl]

Finally a sign of spring, the peepers are out tonight!

[Becky B.]

Gotta love the peepers! I haven't heard them here yet. Supposed to be 60 tomorrow, so maybe they'll be out tomorrow night! YEAH!!!

[reinergirl]

I keep joking that I need to buy stock in citrastrip, but it's the truth!

2 large containers of citrastrip,
umpteen paper towels,
6 spray cans of Citrastrip later

. . . . and I have finally cleaned all the tar/adhesive off!


These pictures are just one endcap but it took me the better part of 4 days to do the entire trailer. I actually think there were two types of black gunk. The spray adhesive removed really easily, but the black goo that they painted on the seams was tougher.

Initially, I painted on citrastip and just started scrubbing with a green scotchbrite. Took forever and made a real mess. I felt like a creature from the Black Lagoon, but I had a respirator instead of gills!

Time to rethink the approach.



I painted the citristip on , covered it with the thinnest plastic sheeting I could find from the big orange box store. The next day I was able to wipe it off with paper towels. Way easier and not quite as messy.

I can actually see the rivets and seams now.

One of the coolest discoveries was that Citrastrip now comes in spray cans. These were excellent for doing the overhead panels because painting Citristrip on the ceiling was like painting with jello... best left for Kindergartners






Isn't she pretty? Eh. maybe you should squint a little.


While I didn't enjoy the process I am glad I did it because I discovered one of my panels must have been replaced at some point - it was all Olympic rivets! The tar had covered up the hollow stems. I'll have to drill these out and buck rivet them properly later.

Other things I discovered along the way:

Four days in rubber gloves does a number on your hands, mine are still peeling!

The Airstream workers were sloppy about quality control = big surprise! NOT

Rivets too close to the edge - think these leaked?

Rivets way away from the edge (plus large gaps as a bonus).

Don't put Citrastrip in plastic cups, and especially don't leave it overnight!

Lastly, don't use Citrastrip in the presence of bees, it confuses them and they persist in looking for the citrusy smelling flowers. No pictures cause I'm allergic and I was too busy running away!

Next I need to strip the door and get the weather seals on before it rains and start sealing all the interior seams and rivets.



This little guy greeted me as I left the house actually he wasn't little - he was kinda big, that's a full size brick he's on!

I've never seen one of these before. It's a yellow spotted newt that lives underground, evidently they only come out in the Spring to lay their eggs.

I'm glad my daughter is grown cause this is the kinda thing she would stick in her pocket to bring home when she was younger. Imagine finding that!

[Minno]

Wow, that's a lot of trailer to do all that scrubbing on! I admire your persistence. Looks nice: are you going to polish the interior?
Your newt is cute! No pun intended...

Kay

[Becky B.]

I had to bring out my sunglasses!! Wowza!! It's so pretty, it'll be a shame to cover it up. You know, people pay money to have a chemical peel....just sayin' And the newt is pretty cute! I found frogs in the laundry from my boys. I'm sure glad one of those wasn't in there! You go girl! Looks fantastic.

[Someday'59]

That cup is hilarious!
Our daughters have more in common than just their name... I still haven't been talked into keeping one for a pet though.

[goshawks00]

I'm curious why did you have to take all the 'black' off only to cover it back up, did I miss something?
Karen

[65CV]

Shelly,

You definitely get the award for best black gook removal!

I had the same big gap in the endcaps and I think it's intentional on the Airstream fabricator's part. I don't know if you plan to seal the interior before sealing exterior seams, but you may want to consider water entrapment. I was worried about trapping water inside that gap and did my best to seal and test the outer seams first. If water gets trapped in there and freezes, it could open up seams.

From the looks of your earlier pics, you do have a bit of a freeze - thaw cycle up there.

John

[reinergirl]

Thanks Kay., Becky and Lynetta! I know you all appreciate just what a miserable job it was!

Goshawk, my thinking was that sealants today are vastly superior to the tar that was there. The black tar was flaking and leaking, applying a sealant over it was not ideal. My trailer had plenty of layers of sealant that had failed because they had ben applied over older sealants. I wanted to give the Tremco the best possible substrate I could.

[reinergirl]

Originally Posted by 65CV

Shelly,

You definitely get the award for best black gook removal!

I had the same big gap in the endcaps and I think it's intentional on the Airstream fabricator's part. I don't know if you plan to seal the interior before sealing exterior seams, but you may want to consider water entrapment. I was worried about trapping water inside that gap and did my best to seal and test the outer seams first. If water gets trapped in there and freezes, it could open up seams.

From the looks of your earlier pics, you do have a bit of a freeze - thaw cycle up there.

John

Oh crap I didn't think of that! Yeah we definitely have a freeze thaw cycle . . .So did you end up sealing both interior and exterior on those seams? Or just exterior?

I'm pretty sure I haven't gotten to those yet, there's three panels like that. I did put aluminum tape over the exterior on those seams as a stop gap . Sigh

My arms are killng me from using a caulk gun.

[goshawks00]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

Goshawk, my thinking was that sealants today are vastly superior to the tar that was there. The black tar was flaking and leaking, applying a sealant over it was not ideal. My trailer had plenty of layers of sealant that had failed because they had ben applied over older sealants. I wanted to give the Tremco the best possible substrate I could.

I guess that makes sense... then again the tar for the most part has held up well for 40 + years, and new tech. haven't sustained forty + years to prove their supposed superior advantage. I am only now removing the inner skins of our 54 and the 'tar' on the outer walls look good as new, though I will be sealing it with another coat of rubberized sealant as time permits.
Good job on protecting your out skins!
Barry

[65CV]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

Oh crap I didn't think of that! Yeah we definitely have a freeze thaw cycle . . .So did you end up sealing both interior and exterior on those seams? Or just exterior?

I'm pretty sure I haven't gotten to those yet, there's three panels like that. I did put aluminum tape over the exterior on those seams as a stop gap . Sigh

My arms are killng me from using a caulk gun.

I sealed the outside and gave up trying to close the gap on the inside. I worked the exterior seams on the endcaps carefully, then used Becky's leak test idea. So far, no evidence of leaks. Used the Acryl-R, btw, on the exterior seams. I liked the applicator -- it's not as tough on the arms as the caulk gun!

[reinergirl]

Originally Posted by 65CV

I sealed the outside and gave up trying to close the gap on the inside. I worked the exterior seams on the endcaps carefully, then used Becky's leak test idea. So far, no evidence of leaks. Used the Acryl-R, btw, on the exterior seams. I liked the applicator -- it's not as tough on the arms as the caulk gun!

Thanks John,

I have acryl r ready to go. Just was hoping to polish first! I have also become a huge fan of Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure. I heard about it at the Restoration Rally, Uwe liked it. It's done a super job of sealing my leaking rivets. I used the West System 807 syringes and it literally wicks in and disappears. Some of the rivets I had to apply it three times but now it no longer wicks in or leaks. It's going on my yearly maintenance must dos!

It is freakin amazing how much water can come in from one stinking rivet!

[reinergirl]

Well, I've been detoured by getting the gardens ready for planting. The weather has been dreary, 30-40's and wet. I think the yellow spotted salamander is going to take up permanent residence! Not great weather for working outside but once it warms up I would rather be working on the Airstream!

During a heavy rainstorm I started to count the leaks....I stopped counting at 28 separate leaks, it was just too depressing and the leaks were starting to flow as one. Both fan locations, the astrodome and the PO repair made to the refrigerator vent all poured water onto the floor. Three windows have bad leaks as does the fan over stove. Those I have covered in plastic and aluminum tape from the outside and I'll deal with them one at a time. Oh and two out of three of the access/baggage doors leaked. There really wasn't much that didn't leak!!!!! I had buckets everywhere.

I am continuing to seal seams and individual rivets from the inside. It's raining right now and so far it's dry on the inside. It's messy work.... I completely covered my putty knife with masking tape and when I'm done for the day I peel it off! No messy residue to clean up.




My arms are killing me from the caulking gun. I think I screamed a little this morning when I depressed the pump on my shampoo container!

I also stripped the paint off the door and all the flanges where the old gaskets were. There was lots of sealant and crumbling foam. The Citrastrip did a good job at removing all of it overnight.

I put the new gaskets on with the black 3m adhesive.



This stuff is stickier than a gecko's feet ! I stretched the gasket out on a table and clamped it down so it wouldn't twist, took off the self-stick liner and painted on a strip of this stuff. Did the same thing to the door, waited a minute for them to get tacky and carefully pressed it in place. I really could have used a second set of hands but I got it done.

I used the new medium "D" seal on the door within the door and it was perfect. I did not use it on the door like VTS recommends. I found their Gasket seal for the overlay doors for the earlier trailers to work better. Maybe my 63 Overlander is different? It's a tight fit but I can close it and it,s getting easier every time!

I did have to move the gasket out to the edge near the door latch because it was too tight a fit but other than that all went well and so far is leak free. Yippee

Then I followed the forums advice and sprayed all the gaskets in silicone so they wouldn't stick.... and it left a white streaky residue on the gasket. Grrrr.

I also completely sanded the floor with 80 grit and will be fairing with the West system epoxy, filling all holes and sealing all the seams, hopefully later this week as the weather warms up.

In the meantime I have a couple of questions.....

I initially thought that one of the panels had been replaced. It was an area right below a broken window, but what I thought were Olympic rivets aren't. They look like a buck rivet with a hollow stem.

So what are they? Are they original or a repair.... and more importantly should I drill them out and buck new rivets?? They are all along the bottom of the window, the ribs on one side and on the stringer. And they leak, of course.

And speaking of the horizontal stringers, does anyone know what metal are they fabricated from?

All the time I was working, I had a faithful companion hanging out with me.I think he likes to look at his reflection in the shiny belly pan!