Doin' the Full Monte

[Jim & Susan]

It's a piece of cherry that my buddy Eric and I worked up in his wood shop. I missed out on the plastic ones that a forum member had made a few months back, so I thought I try it in cherry wood. It has 6 coats of gloss spar varnish on it. That should stand up to the weather for a while.

Jim

[Jim & Susan]

Thanks for the kind words, utee. I've been saying for two years now that "I've got to get this thing finished" and back on the road so we actually USE it. Some day.

I spent some time in Austin, many, many years ago. "Yes, Virginia, there really is a Balcones." (Did I spell that right?) Great place and hope to make it back there some day.

There is a thread someplace that links to several "Full Monty/Monte" threads like this one. I'll see if I can find it for you.

Good luck with your search.

Jim

[Jim & Susan]

Here's the link: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...ons-35399.html to the other Full Monte threads.

[utee94]

Thanks, that's the very thread in fact that brought me here.

I've now read through yours, A Merry Can's, uwe's, and Sergei's. I'm sure in the coming days and weeks I'll make it through the others as well. I'm eager to start one of my own, and seeing the work that all of you fine people do is certainly inspiring to say the least.

"Balcones" is indeed spelled correctly.

Oh, and as a sometime amateur woodworker, I must say that your cherry cover is beautiful.

[Jim & Susan]

Got a few more things done this weekend. I was hoping to be ready to start putting in the insulation this weekend, but alas, not 'til next week. All that's left before insulating is to finish cleaning the interior side of the exterior walls (for the third time) and a little more sealant in a few places inside.

Here's a couple of pic's. The first one is of the tag holder. It was rusted pretty bad, but otherwise in good shape. So a little sanding and silver Rustoleum and not too bad.

[Jim & Susan]

I had read in another thread someplace that the fresh water inlets were prone to breaking up and falling apart. They're plastic and I suppose dry out, crack and break. PizzaChop had mentioned that he repaired his with fiberglass and resin, so off we go.

I think I kinda got carried away, but it should last awhile now. Still needs some cleaning up, but you get the idea.

Jim

[Jim & Susan]

I've cleaned the inner walls twice, but decided to give it one more going over before the insulation goes in. See the yellow stuff on the walls? That's the remnants of the glue used to hold the orignal pink stuff insulation in there by the guys at the factory. Every time I wash these walls, more of that yellow stuff comes off, but you can never seem to get it all outta there. Has anybody else seen this? I'm wondering if maybe it's the remnants of a heavy smoker. It doesn't really smell like that, however.

[Wabbiteer]

Having worked in the trades I can only imagine what exotic solvents they used back in early 70's; whoever applied that adhesive must've been buzzing off the fumes. I felt fortunate they were sparing with it under liners I've pulled so far... It doesn't appear to be well applied - either spray gun clogging or rollered on.

[malconium]

A great tool for knocking most of the pink stuff off of the outer skin is a wallpaper (or other?) stiff brush.

Malcolm

[safari57]

Originally Posted by Jim & Susan

I've cleaned the inner walls twice, but decided to give it one more going over before the insulation goes in. See the yellow stuff on the walls? That's the remnants of the glue used to hold the orignal pink stuff insulation in there by the guys at the factory. Every time I wash these walls, more of that yellow stuff comes off, but you can never seem to get it all outta there. Has anybody else seen this? I'm wondering if maybe it's the remnants of a heavy smoker. It doesn't really smell like that, however.

My Silver Streak had the same and it was glue, not smoke residue.

Barry

[Jim & Susan]

Thanks guys. That's kinda the confirmation I was looking for. This thing had a pretty weird smell in the beginning, now it's all gone. Just can't get over not being able to get all the "yellow" out. I'll keep ya posted.

Malcolm, thanks for the pm!

Jim

[Jim & Susan]

Well, finally finished up all the “little” projects and have moved on to the insulation. Walls going back in soon!

Here’s what we decided for the insulation. We are using the Reflectix brand of foil insulation for the majority of the wall areas. It seemed the best idea for the narrow distance between the inner and outer walls. We thought about the pink stuff—the same as OEM, nah, not enough horsepower. We thought about a foil type that was filled with Styrofoam (sorry, can’t remember the name). But there was only one distributor that I could find using an internet search. I’m not comfortable going with a product that only has one storefront for several reasons. No competition means higher prices. A couple of folks here have mentioned that they might use it, but I have yet to see any comments from anybody that actually did (good or bad). Is it safe?

I got most of these ideas from a thread that Malconium posted to about a year ago. Here it is: Foil Bubble Insulation Methods - Airstream Trailer & Motorhome Community Thanks Malcolm!

[Jim & Susan]

Products used:

Reflectix brand foil insulation.
Plain old Liquid Nails
Aluminum “duct” tape
Closed cell foam 4 x 8 sheets (the stuff you put on the outside walls of your new house)

The instructions that came with the Refectix said that the product works best when there is a ½ to ¾ inch dead air space between the foil and the walls on both sides. We took the closed cell foam boards over my buddy Eric’s woodshop and cut them into 3/4” strips. These were glued to the outside walls using the Liquid Nails. These are only used as a spacer to keep the foil off the outer and inner walls, creating the open (dead) air space. The walls are roughly 1 ¾ inches thick. The Reflectix is about ¼ inch thick. So, when you do the math, ¾”air space created by the foam glued to the outer skin, plus ¼ inch Reflectix, plus ¾ inch dead air space between the Reflectix and the inner skin should produce the desired “sandwitch” of materials to do the trick.

[Jim & Susan]

Once all of that was glued into place, we are using the aluminum foil tape to close up any air gaps between the inner and outer airspace. Basically, trying to seal things up.

[Jim & Susan]

A couple of observations based on a few days of playing around with all of this. The Liquid Nails seems to need about 24 hours to set up. I’m trying to glue the foam strips up in a section at a time, let them sit until the next day, then come behind with the foil. It’s kinda slow going, but getting finished.

[soldiermedic]

Looks good Jim...keep up the great work.

Steve

[jayray5]

What do the walls sound like if you tap on them. Is it a thud? or a resonation. I am replacing the pink and I want noise deadening characteristics as well as condensation control. Let us know how well you like the finished product.

[Jim & Susan]

I haven't finished yet, so right now it sounds kinda like a drum beat. I would think that you would need a few inches of something like the closed cell (dense) foam to deaden the sound. Like in a recording studio? Is that what your after?

[grakkin]

Your whole project has kept my interest for the last year. I just recently started my own restoration (and started actually posting to the forums). Ive read over this thread about 20 times now trying to soak up as much information as I could before we started our AS. I can't wait to get to the point where I have the floor in so I can start on the fun stuff. Keep up the good work so I can stay inspired!

[Jim & Susan]

Hey now, just remember I'm kinda fumbling thru this. Never taken on any kind of project like this. And that was kinda the point when I started this thread, if a knucklehead like me can do it, just about anybody can, too!

So, where's YOUR "Full Monte" thread?