'63 Safari - It 'Bee' Traded (#8671)

[goransons]

Ok, back when I was doing fiberglass work there were a few of you with experience in that area and I need to call on you for more advice. Am just finishing up a few very minor repairs on the bathtub but it needs a new color coat.

Since its all the way out I was thinking after reading a little that gel coat is best (rather than paint or the tub resurfacer products).

I've found the evercoat 105671 one step gel coat http://www.americanmarinesupply.com/pdf/GelCoat.pdf

Is this the right product for what I'm trying to accomplish. Would be spraying this. I have a regular HVLP gravity gun, a primer gun and the pot spray gun from the zolatone.

[Bo&Susan]

Originally Posted by goransons

Before I start shopping for something close I thought I'd ask if anyone had a few of these laying around. Both in bad shape finish wise, and both were glued in place because screws had sheered off at some point.

How many do you need? I just finished cleaning them lol. Susan

[Bo&Susan]

I believe these are the same. Susan

[Frank's Trailer Works]

not to burst anyones vintage bubble here, but... those hinges. Well you can just buy them at the blue or the orange box. The exact same ones are still made today and the screw holes even line up.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Scott,

It's great fun following your progress, brings back some wonderful memories!!

Your doing a SOOPER job, you should be very proud.

Best wishes to all

Sweet Streams

Picking up ours, 1987...

[utee94]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

not to burst anyones vintage bubble here, but... those hinges. Well you can just buy them at the blue or the orange box. The exact same ones are still made today and the screw holes even line up.

True enough. They also make them in bright shiny silver, exact same hinges. That's what I used on my "non-original" renovation.

Scott, the new work is looking great.

[goransons]

Originally Posted by Bo&Susan

I believe these are the same. Susan

Those look like the right knobs, so they are used on 62 also? Are they for sale?

Thanks guys, taking it slow, but trying to take care of a lot of the little details along the way. I do look forward to getting to the woodwork, but have a long list before I get to that, probably not until fall at the earliest.

[Bo&Susan]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

not to burst anyones vintage bubble here, but... those hinges. Well you can just buy them at the blue or the orange box. The exact same ones are still made today and the screw holes even line up.

True enough, but every dollar saved on reuseable items allows more dollars for upgrades for non-reuseable items. Susan

[Bo&Susan]

Originally Posted by goransons

Those look like the right knobs, so they are used on 62 also? Are they for sale?

Thanks guys, taking it slow, but trying to take care of a lot of the little details along the way. I do look forward to getting to the woodwork, but have a long list before I get to that, probably not until fall at the earliest.

Yes they came off our 62. Bo and I discussed it and agreed that your trailer should have the originals and we can find something close for our trailer. How many do you need? pm us your address. No! not for sale, Gift for your trailer. Thanks for the great thread we really enjoy following it. Susan

[goransons]

Originally Posted by Bo&Susan

Yes they came off our 62. Bo and I discussed it and agreed that your trailer should have the originals and we can find something close for our trailer. How many do you need? pm us your address. No! not for sale, Gift for your trailer. Thanks for the great thread we really enjoy following it. Susan

Wow thank you!!

I just sent you a PM with the particulars, hopefully we can return the favor with something!

- Scott

[goransons]

Not something I had planned to do in my lifetime, but after considering my options on the black tank, I decided to clean it up first and see if I could make it look presentable rather than recoat.

1. The tank is fiberglass, and has a thick gel coat, but the tank does support the toilet and no doubt has some flex, and sees much more use than a tub with these coatings.

2. Most of the coatings are white and it would be difficult to find/make an exact match, and any future scratches, chips etc would be very obvious.

The only issue with the current tank was the finish was very dull, and the tank had seen lots of drips, runs and splatters from various interior paint jobs over the years.

The tank I found off the lead here on the forums and spent about $150 having it shipped to me. Very thankful to have been connected up with Charlie for the tank, he's in the middle of an amazing looking 63 restoration but isn't returning to the original bathroom setup.

I scrubbed the tank with soap and water, to get rid of the years of grime and ehh, well you know. Then I carefully using plastic razor blades, and in a few places very carefully with a metal razor blade, and removed all drips etc of the latex paint. After that about an hour with a rubbing compound for fiberglass and I think it turned out really good.

There are a few tiny chips I can touch up or leave, the strong line on the left is where the vanity meets the tank and will be hidden.

Originally it appears that the toilet bolted through the two holes,but those bolts are long since sheered off or rusted off. My plan is to use a modern repair flange and bolt through the flang, the fiberglass, and the inner steel support with lock nuts from the inside (ooh I can't wait) which should provide a more stable mount for the toilet, which is one of my next projects to clean up, repaint the pedal etc.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Scott, I seem to be taking the role of devils advocate in a lot of situations lately... sorry in advance if I pee on your campfire.

Have you ever used gel coat? I always had the impression that gel coat is like a surface paint that can be applied easily. From Wiki:

A gelcoat is a material used to provide a high-quality finish on the visible surface of a fibre-reinforced composite material. The most common gelcoats are based on epoxy or unsaturated polyester resin chemistry. Gelcoats are modified resins which are applied to moulds in the liquid state. They are cured to form crosslinked polymers and are subsequently backed up with composite polymer matrices, often mixtures of polyester resin and fiberglass or epoxy resin with glass, kevlar and/or carbon fibres.
The manufactured component, when sufficiently cured and removed from the mould, presents the gelcoated surface. This is usually pigmented to provide a coloured, glossy surface which improves the aesthetic appearance of the article, such as a counter made with cultured marble.
Many marine craft and aircraft are manufactured using composite materials. The outer layer is often a gelcoat, typically 0.5mm - 0.8mm in thickness. Gelcoats are designed to be durable, providing resistance to ultraviolet degradation and hydrolysis. The gelcoat will often carry a pigment that provides the finish colour to the moulded item.
Specialised gelcoats can be used to manufacture the moulds which in turn are used to manufacture components. These require very high levels of durability to overcome the mechanical and thermal stresses encountered during the curing and demoulding processes.
Suitable resin chemistries for the manufacture of gelcoats vary, but the most commonly encountered are unsaturated polyesters or epoxies. Within each of these categories, the resin chemistries are further subdivided.
In addition to any pigment a gelcoat will, if necessary, contain a thixotropic additive to assist its tenacity to vertical portions of the mould whilst it cures.

You see, gel coat is applied first in the molding of boats and your toilet surround, then the fiber and resin is used to back it up. You will run into a great deal of difficulty getting a smooth surface you are desiring. A major component of using gel coat is the face of the mold itself.

sorry brother...

BUT!!!! big Butt.. a good quality urethan bumper paint will get you EXACTLY what you are looking for and the color choices are endless. I HIGHLY recommend the following products:

This is PPG commercial paints. You can find them at an auto body supply house. That K36 primer is the coolest primer I have ever used. Two part material that needs to be mixed very carefully with the catalyst K201. It bonds very strong and after the reaction takes place, it can be sanded to a very smooth surface. Any hairline cracks can be filled with the red glaze filler and it will all be prepped smooth as glass very easily.
REMEMBER SCOTT... THE FINISHED JOB WILL ONLY LOOK AS GOOD AS THE PREP.

This is the top coat. Any thing you want matched or any of the 20,000 recipes can be mixed for you. This is what bumpers are painted with. It is made to take a shock and just bounce right back without any signs of the trama.
If you go this route, be sure to buy the proper reducer and thinner. I know many say lacquer thinner is lacquer thinner, but the entire job relies on comparability.

[ROBERT CROSS]

We be still into boating...some of these were featured on a recent tee vee show, sorry can't recall any specific recommendations.

[goransons]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

Scott, I seem to be taking the role of devils advocate in a lot of situations lately... sorry in advance if I pee on your campfire.

Have you ever used gel coat? I always had the impression that gel coat is like a surface paint that can be applied easily. From Wiki:

A gelcoat is a material used to provide a high-quality finish on the visible surface of a fibre-reinforced composite material. The most common gelcoats are based on epoxy or unsaturated polyester resin chemistry. Gelcoats are modified resins which are applied to moulds in the liquid state. They are cured to form crosslinked polymers and are subsequently backed up with composite polymer matrices, often mixtures of polyester resin and fiberglass or epoxy resin with glass, kevlar and/or carbon fibres.
The manufactured component, when sufficiently cured and removed from the mould, presents the gelcoated surface. This is usually pigmented to provide a coloured, glossy surface which improves the aesthetic appearance of the article, such as a counter made with cultured marble.
Many marine craft and aircraft are manufactured using composite materials. The outer layer is often a gelcoat, typically 0.5mm - 0.8mm in thickness. Gelcoats are designed to be durable, providing resistance to ultraviolet degradation and hydrolysis. The gelcoat will often carry a pigment that provides the finish colour to the moulded item.
Specialised gelcoats can be used to manufacture the moulds which in turn are used to manufacture components. These require very high levels of durability to overcome the mechanical and thermal stresses encountered during the curing and demoulding processes.
Suitable resin chemistries for the manufacture of gelcoats vary, but the most commonly encountered are unsaturated polyesters or epoxies. Within each of these categories, the resin chemistries are further subdivided.
In addition to any pigment a gelcoat will, if necessary, contain a thixotropic additive to assist its tenacity to vertical portions of the mould whilst it cures.

You see, gel coat is applied first in the molding of boats and your toilet surround, then the fiber and resin is used to back it up. You will run into a great deal of difficulty getting a smooth surface you are desiring. A major component of using gel coat is the face of the mold itself.

sorry brother...

BUT!!!! big Butt.. a good quality urethan bumper paint will get you EXACTLY what you are looking for and the color choices are endless. I HIGHLY recommend the following products:
Attachment 98056
This is PPG commercial paints. You can find them at an auto body supply house. That K36 primer is the coolest primer I have ever used. Two part material that needs to be mixed very carefully with the catalyst K201. It bonds very strong and after the reaction takes place, it can be sanded to a very smooth surface. Any hairline cracks can be filled with the red glaze filler and it will all be prepped smooth as glass very easily.
REMEMBER SCOTT... THE FINISHED JOB WILL ONLY LOOK AS GOOD AS THE PREP.
Attachment 98057
This is the top coat. Any thing you want matched or any of the 20,000 recipes can be mixed for you. This is what bumpers are painted with. It is made to take a shock and just bounce right back without any signs of the trama.
If you go this route, be sure to buy the proper reducer and thinner. I know many say lacquer thinner is lacquer thinner, but the entire job relies on comparability.

Frank, just between you and I,you should be careful peeing on so many campfires, that moisture on such a hot surface creates a lot of steam, and that could cause some pretty painful burns if you catch my drift

Nope, can't say I've ever have worked with Gelcoat, thus the questions on using it. I had heard that spraying it was not hard, but then it needed to be color sanded and buffed to match since the whole mold texture (or lack of).

I hadn't heard much so I'd kinda just started to move back towards tile doc or an epoxy auto paint, but the bumper coating is a great idea.

I'll check with out paint supply, they carry all the ppg stuff. I've never used thinner etc, always just bit the bullet and used the reducer etc that goes with the product.

Anyway, no worries about the campfire, I asked for the info to make the best product choice I can. Thanks for the details.

[goransons]

well I started cleaning up the donor toilet, a saniware manual flush model. I started by stripping the many layers of paint off the pedal mechanism, talked with Wally and found out he had a white bowl laying around (the bowl I ended up with was yellow). When I started taking the flush mechanism apart to clean I realized that the aluminum casting had just turned to dust inside. Someone had repaired it with lots of silicone. I know I could epoxy it and rebuild it, get a few more years from it, but not sure I could ever get the flapper to seal correctly.

After more reading about teh saniware toilets, I also saw many suggest the sealand traveler light as a replacement. When I went to do some research on that toilet, I noticed the low profile and standard height. I'm wondering if anyone with the 63 style tanks like this had a preference on what was most comfortable. I'm not 100% sure what was original for height.

Any suggestions?

[vswingfield]

Hi Scott,

Looking at your photos in post 712, you (or anyone else for that matter) will be in the seat with you feet on the floor in front of the tank, not on the tank, correct? That means that the height of the tank is added to that of the toilet for the total seating height. You need a low profile for this design. If you use a standard height, it would be like sitting on a barstool. Your feet would not reach the floor.

I just put a SeaLand 510H (Standard Height) in my Excella last week. It is perfect mounted on a flat floor like mine.

[goransons]

I guess I need to get the tank in place before making that final decision, because that is exactly the worry I have. See this is a weird placement for a toilet, very tough to get to. Here is a photo from another forums member with the same layout. There isn't much room, I THINK the intention is feet on the floor, but in this photo, and the evidence from other photos is full height saniware toilets or plastic. I was thinking the low profile would be better. But don't want to buy the wrong thing.

[vswingfield]

You're right, it is sort of an unusual placement. That's what my imagination came up with from looking at your earlier post, but I was reluctant to accept it.

From those photos, it does look like you would place your feet beside the toilet on the elevated area on top of the tank. In that case, the standard height like I got would be the one to get.

What I would do is put the tank in place and then test drive it with a bucked or stool and see where my feet were comfortable. Dry run, of course.

[utee94]

Yup, you need the low profile. Forums member ByamCaravanner (Steve in Wisconsin) has a 63 GT with the same tank/toilet layout. If you ask him or PM him, I'm sure he will offer his help.

-Marcus

[goransons]

Thanks Marcus, I just confirmed via PM with Steve that a low profile is comfortable, which is great. Don't want to feel like I'm on a bar stool, but also didn't want to have to figure out how to sit indian style while on the thinking chair.