New Argosy Owner - Bit of a project!

[brettmancan]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums, and brand new to owning a camper. Decided to chase down a childhood dream of owning an airstream and just do it already. After a lot of research I finally picked a 1973 argosy that went up for sale on a vintage camper site. It's a bit of a project, but I'm handy enough when I need to be.

I have learned though that it's always better to find others with more experience and learn from them so that's where you guys come in!

1. The panoramic wing window curbside is shattered. The previous owner did a good job caulking in some aluminum right away and stored her in a barn, so there's no water damage. But there's no way I'm going to find one of those windows without buying a whole nother Argosy for parts. I'm going to try to get an automotive glass place to replace the window, maybe with Lexan or something, unless one of you happens to have a spare wing window or know where I can find one.

2. They painted it in John Deere colors, but most of the paint has come off. It's kind of cool (I'm in Iowa and would make lots of friends with that paint job ) but the wife and I are planning on a vintage revival. We want to go with white on top and an aqua on the bottom. I've seen recommendations for Dupont Imron paint in these forums, which is perfect because I was intending on using a marine paint. That stuff is like armor. But I have a few questions:
a. How much do you typically need to paint a 22' Argosy? One gallon? Two?
b. I noticed some folks saying that DuPont cannot make the Imron in the classic Argosy white but the Centari line is much closer. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'd like to know how it turned out.
c. Also noticed someone saying that there's a different technique to spraying this stuff but didn't elaborate. If anyone has any experience, again, I'd appreciate it.
d. what primer are you guys using for the aluminum and what primer are you using for the galv steel?
e. last, does the paint from DuPont have any other special needs such as use of thinners, hardeners, etc.?

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll post pictures eventually so you can see some before and after transformations.

[TG Twinkie]

You can still get the windows from A$. But only in smoked tint. No clear. they are about $1K.

[72argosy26]

Congrats on the Argosy! Not sure what your plans are for the interior but we are on the hunt for the sofa backs that convert to upper bunks above our twin beds. If you have these and are planning to get rid of them message me and let me know. Good luck with your restoration! Thanks

[matthewsx]

Welcome to the forum and Argosy ownership. Can’t really help with the paint questions but I’ll bet you’re a long way off on that if your trailer is like the rest I’ve seen.

I documented my curbside lexan replacement in a thread here called “Lexan Window Replacement” just search for it, you should be able to pull it off yourself for a lot less than a shop will charge.

Then you get to start poking at the floor. You may want to do this first since it will determine how deep you need to go.

Good luck, you’ve come to the right place[emoji1474]

John

[brettmancan]

I'm actually closer on the paint job than you'd think. This Argosy was stored in a barn its whole life, so the water damage it does have is very minimal and none of the flooring needs to be replaced. Just a bit of the wood around the door where it was stuck open during a rainstorm. My main concern now is making sure it's caulked, primed, and painted so it stays watertight, so I'm going to order some trempro 635 for that soon. And as for the window replacement, I wouldn't mind taking a crack at that myself if it's not so bad Thanks for the tip John!

Sorry fellas, no bunk beds in my Argosy. The 22 only has a dinette and couch. Bunks would be nice since I've got two little boys. Good luck in your search

[matthewsx]

Barn find, nice
Post some pictures so we can see what it looks like...