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rluhr · 02-18-2005, 11:06 AM

Chuck, here's what we did to prep and paint the ABS plastic pieces in the bathroom.

1) Removed all hardware and silicone caulk, including rivet fragments
2) Thoroughly cleaned and degreased with Purple Power automotive degreaser.
3) Cleaned again with mixture of water and Lysol All Purpose Cleaner (mostly water)
4) Lightly sanded with a black mesh sanding pad (3M) bought at Home Depot in the paint dept.
5) Dusted
6) Painted with Plastic Primer from a spray can. Let dry.
7) Painted four coats with spray paint designed for plastic (from Lowe's), allowing to dry between coats (10-15 minutes) between first three coats, then 24 hours before last coat.

Note that we painted with a dramatic red color. I didn't want an all-white or bone bathroom, although I recognize that it is the preference of many people. This helped cover the rust stains and sun discoloration. But it did take all four coats to get good coverage.

Chuck · 02-18-2005, 11:25 AM

Wow. that IS dramatic. going for the modern trendy look, I see.

So, what is this "plastic primer"? is that something that makes regular spray paint stick to plastic? What kind of paint did you use?

I bought a can of something-or-other recently that is supposed to be especially made for plastic. I think its called "fusion" by Krylon. got good reviews here. So I thought I'd try it out on the A/C shroud inside, which has yellowed. haven't gotten around to it yet, of course.

The stuff Andy (balgrn) used looks fabulous...but it only comes in one color. and that doesn't exactly match the rest of the bathroom interior....although, I wonder if you could just paint that, too. the walls and cabinets, etc.; they're just "formica" type laminate, right? but then there's the vinyl wallcovering too...

rluhr · 02-18-2005, 11:40 AM

Yes, the plastic primer is a hardware store item. It sits right next to the other spray paints at Lowe's and Home Depot. We used the spray paint formulated for use on plastic, but supposedly with the primer you don't have to do that. I was concerned about durability too, so I thought I'd play it safe.

I wouldn't use an abrasive cleanser on the painted surface, but otherwise it seems like it will hold up well. Time will tell.

We used the same system to repaint the AC cover (inside). We painted it metallic silver to match the new aluminum interior and it worked pretty well. There, durability isn't as big an issue, so I'd definitely recommend that.

The cabinet and doors in the bath of Vintage Thunder are some type of laminated surface on luan, but it isn't like Formica. It's more like vinyl wallpaper. We haven't figured out yet what we need to do to cover that. It is possible that later we'll just remove and replace those panels, but not THIS week!

So far those areas have cleaned up OK so it's not a big issue for this project.

gotair · 02-21-2005, 10:22 PM

well , I finaly got to see the project. thank you for the help.... you are realy storm'n the trailer the shots that i saw on the blog show a wood lam floor wood lam cabinets with aluminum skin in most areas.. also just saw a chandlier ... looks cool ..I think it will be a realy great finished product...

FireFighter · 02-24-2005, 01:39 PM

Some where either in these posts or in the blog there is a reference made to finding parts resources along the way to complete vintage thunder. i am desperatlry looking for parts for my stream can someone put together a listing of all of the trailer salvage yards that are being used in vintage thunder? if this already exists some where someone please point my stupid self in the right direction. Thanks everyone.

sfixx · 02-24-2005, 07:51 PM

Hi, I recently emailed a bunch of salvage yards and received a couple of replies.

I found a list here:

http://www.timberman.com/salvage.htm

http://www.azrvinc.com/ replied with the best price. They have at least some Airstream parts on site and it's certainly worth it to call them.

Arizona RV Salvage inc.
* 2737 W. Lincoln St. Phoenix, AZ 85009
Voice (602) 272-0301 Fax* (602)*272-3072
* Toll Free 1-877-824-8242

Good luck hunting,

Steve

87MH · 03-02-2005, 10:06 AM

I just noticed that the costing has been updated at the AS Life website.

I think the itemization of the actual costs and the inferred estimates of the man-hours involved in the project will be a benchmark for others contemplating such an undertaking.

I have kept a daily diary (not itemized) of the time and costs for both the 345 MoHo and the 31' Sovereign, it gets scary when the time and money are totaled up.

Kudo's to Rich and Brett for advertising their successes, failures, costs, and time expenditures to allow others contemplating such a project to review a "reality" project.

rluhr · 03-02-2005, 05:54 PM

Thanks, Dennis. I only wish we could really detail everything we had to do and all the hundreds of decisions that were involved. My eyes have been opened as to the difficulty and expense of doing a full restoration.

The budget will be updated again next week with a lot of late expenses, and I expect it to grow by at least $1k- 2k. That's prior to paint, which will probably cost another $3k-4k. If we'd had serious frame issues, the budget would have been even higher -- and that's just parts!

The big cost drivers on this project were the appliances. Refrigerator, oven, water heater, A/C, pump, toilet, and furnace can easily pass $3k. My advice to buyers of project Airstreams would be to consider carefully the condition of appliances before launching into a refurbishment.

On the other hand, problems with floor and frame (including bumper and hitch) are the big drivers of labor cost or time. Any floor rot necessitates a thorough search of the entire unit, usually with considerable removal of interior finishings. It's a job, but there's no good option.

The downside of having done this is that I'm now really suspicious of "makeovers". There's a lot that goes unseen (and unnoticed) if you don't strip it down and take a good look.

**Stefrobrts** · 03-02-2005, 06:18 PM

I agree, the floor repair is labor intensive, but relatively cheap. The appliances are big budget items. Most of the money I've put into my unit has been the appliances and the axle.

I have always been suspicious of makeovers. My first classic mustang came with a shiny new paintjob. I will never trust shiny paint again. The thing was a basket case. I'd rather have something that shows honest wear and tear, at least you have an idea of what you're getting into.

Good job documenting the resto!

Pick · 03-03-2005, 06:29 AM

Big ticket items on our 31 were axles, tires, water heater, plumbing, water pump, Fantastic fan, new stereo, drapes and upholstery. As Rich says, lots of stuff is not obvious, until you start digging in. Kind of like the "Domino Effect".

thenewkid64 · 03-06-2005, 01:42 PM

Ya know, just when I throw out the old furnace, you get a Cat heater to go in it's place.

Seriously though, the furnace was DOA anyhow. I know you will like the Cat heater!

3Ms75Argosy · 03-27-2005, 09:56 PM

I KNOW I have too much time on my hands! I've been studing your blog photos (again!), and have to ask, how was it taking off the center aluminum rub strip? Did you just drill out the rivets? What was underneath - a seam? I've stripped the paint off of my Argosy (I'm going for the polished look), and am thinking that without the rail, it would look even more like a newer one. I'm not really fond of the rail.

Taillights - how did you recess the newer style lights? Did you just take off the fiberglass back and cut them in? I've also toyed around with calling the factory to see if I can order the new CCD style ones from them. I'd think they would just wire up. However, they might be pricey.
Thanks again! I'm having fun reading your blogs. I'd love to see more interior pics though... more fuel for my future remodeling plans.
Marc

rluhr · 03-27-2005, 10:16 PM

Here's a picture of what's underneath the rub rail... just a normal seam. We plugged the extra holes (from the rub rail) with Olympic rivets and polished them.

thenewkid64 · 03-27-2005, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

Taillights - how did you recess the newer style lights? Did you just take off the fiberglass back and cut them in?

Marc,

You got it in one!

The scariest part of the whole project was cutting the holes for the tail lights

The wire color code is the same so all I had to do was find a good ground source.

The Factory CCD style was what we were looking to use, but we had a bit of a problem. The holes drilled by the original build team were so far out to the sides that I would not have been able to mount the light binnacle in such a way to cover the old wire hole

We also found a new source for the LED lights. All of the exterior marker lights are LED models. www.led-r-us.com is where we got them, and he has many of the led modules at a fraction of the cost of most sources I checked.

Be patient on the interior shots. We are in the process of taking an IPIX photo of the interior so all of you can take a virtual tour. That will be in the blog in a week or so.

3Ms75Argosy · 03-27-2005, 11:30 PM

sigh..... I guess it's like my kids waiting for the Easter egg hunt today.... nothing ever comes fast enough!

Wow- you guys are fast! Thanks for the replies. I'll check out "led R us" for my clearance lights. I've been thinking about upgrading those too. Thanks for the photos on the rubrails - course, now my wife tells me she LIKES the strip. Oh well.......

I'm looking forward to the IPix! These blogs are better than tv!
Marc

rluhr · 03-28-2005, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

I've stripped the paint off of my Argosy (I'm going for the polished look)

Interesting ... we considered that but didn't know quite what to do about the steel end caps. They won't polish like the aluminum. What's your plan?

I figured that one of the many advantages of an Argosy is that you can paint it. This gives us a wide range of ways to personalize the exterior (paint schemes, vinyl graphics, striping) that I would never consider on my 68 Caravel. Wait till you see what we do with this one!

3Ms75Argosy · 03-28-2005, 04:46 PM

At first I was thinking about painting them silver... but I just got the new Sunset Magazine, and they had a tabletop they made out of galvenized steel. They sanded it and polished it with wax... it came out looking very nice - kind of a mottled aluminum look. I might just try this. Failing that, I'm going to paint them silver. Andy (Inland) posted a picture of a polished Argosy with painted caps that I have bookmarked. It looked really nice.
http://www.airforums.com/forum...ghlight=polish I've also thought about the color shifting paints too - I too think you have a bit more leeway with fun with the Argosy's, it seems less blastfamious (sp)!

I will paint my bananna wraps either dark grey (as pictured) or an eggplant color to match the van. Just FYI, I too thought about repainting, but the basecoat was peeling so badly, that I figured it needed to be stripped first anyway. I used ICI Paints "hydrostrip 502" aka Napierenvironmental's stripper. It really works well, and no nasty byproducts. I also thought about going really wild with zebra stripes too!

I'd also like to put the window in the door like this one too.
Marc