Good Products to Clean Vinyl Walls, Ceiling? We're Restoring Our 67 Overlander

[stephiejo]

done one scrubbing with Spray 9 and also used a heavy concentrate of simple green, it's looking good on first round. Talk about some buff arms!
I really want that white look ( I know it's not white white) to pop.
So I'll give. The future floor wax a shot and see how it goes.. good thing these vinyl walls can handle about everything!
I'm a little curious to use comet and a scrub brush and see the results..
Hmmm, thanks for the advice!

[stephiejo]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

I wouldn't use bleach! We used a product called Spray-Nine; it is not only a marvelous cleaner but an effective antivirus, antibacterial agent as well, that is safe to use and smells pretty good to boot. We must have used 3 gallons on our 310 before it was all spic and span.



http://www.spraynine.ca/product/spra...duty-cleaner-7



Cheers

Tony

Love the spray 9, seems to be doing the job.
It's going to take 2-3 scrubbings though.
Thx Tony

[featherbedder]

I used krud cutter one time, not happy with results.

[Dingo Girl]

No floor wax. Just used Marine Clean diluted 2:1 the sticky has never come back. Marine Clean did not harm anything except the filth.

[Dingo Girl]

I took the plastic refrigerator vent out as well and it was black underneath it. When I find the pics I will post. Never thought it would come clean under it but it looks amazing.

[Dingo Girl]

The future floor wax is to coat the walls when you are done cleaning. It is supposed to seal them so that sticky feeling doesn't come back.

[ALUMINUMINUM]

Hello again,


Welcome to the dichotomies of a late sixties Airstream, working through the inexplicable absurdities, yet marveling at their inherent cleverness. These old trailers can get very time consuming when you get to digging deep. Looks like you have a supportive crew.


Your wood walls can be referred to as bulkheads, They're made of roto-cut ash plywood in the Land Yacht trim, or walnut in the International trim. Your 1967 Overlander is a Land Yacht.


Ash isn't a common furniture wood these days, but it is certainly among the noblest of hardwoods. Babe Ruth's baseball bat, Gordie Howe's hockey stick, Fred Bear's longbow, your wheelbarrow, shovel, hoe, and rake handles...celebrate its functionality, how cool and uncommon to have ash as the primary wood in your travel trailer. People will smooth their hands over your woodwork and exclaim, “This is real wood!”. They won't say “I love the phony repeat photo image wood-grained melamine veneer on this particleboard”.


In 1967, Airstream fogged a light veil of lacquer onto the wood as the sealing finish. Only enough to make it “look” good, not really a durable coating. In fifty years, most original lacquer finishes have evaporated, or oxidized so the finish can appears a little cloudy and dull. The good news is that it's only lacquer left in the pores of the wood's grain. Since the finish is hardly there anymore, if you wipe the bulkheads with lacquer thinner, you'll get an idea as to their true color. Some very light sanding will get enough of the remaining old finish off so that you can adjust the color with something easy like blended Minwax stains to “re-nutrient” the wood, and then perhaps seal with their satin polyurethane. Lacquer does not object to a polyurethane over-coat, nothing weird will happen.


Alternatively, if you agree with the original wood color, you can just prep and wipe it with clear lacquer, and it'll look like new. Lacquer goes on best in multiple thin coats. Other folks find all that is needed is a bottle of secretly formulated magic-refinishing juice by names you may have seen advertized. More than one way to skin a cat.


Late sixties Airstream cabinetwork and joinery was pretty much junk fifty years ago. They're lightweight, but a finish carpenter schooled in site-built cabinets could be helpful if you get to fix/repair/replace them.. Setting today's factory-made kitchen cabinets as replacements is way too heavy. Keep conscious of weight, it adds up.. I'm always asking “How can this trailer be lighter?” My bath closet door weighed 18 pounds… To me, that's a bagful of Nikons, an 80mm spotting scope and 10x50 binocular. Much more camping value than an annoying door that was un-ergonomically hinged on the wrong side by the Airstream cabinet designer. “Jettison the door” (actually re-sawed into the dinette seat-back).


I cleaned and re-sawed every stick and sheet of my original ash interior into a configuration that better suited me. I color matched and joined shop scraps of cherry, oak, birch, cedar, maple, mahogany, redwood, bamboo, spruce pine fir, ash, wherever suited. No one has ever contested when I say the interior is the original ash. I carved and fired terracotta clay for the 24” header (Ranma) over the bathroom pocket-door (shoji screen of old growth Douglas Fir and plasticized rice paper)…


There will be nay-sayers about bamboo floors, but it's a viable choice. If it's what you love, definitely do it at any cost. Floor covering is a hotly opinionated topic like hitches, tires, and coffee making. Your feet are sensitive and tactile. If bamboo makes them happy… It's definitely OK.


Best for me was engineered Canadian maple with catalyzed titanium oxide coating, glued down and pin-nailed.... The old floor tiles that you'll be removing (BTW if they are 12”square, they have no asbestos) weigh close to 10mm engineered wood /sf, so weight is a wash. In my bath, I glued down coin-stud Pirelli rubber and I like it very much.


Not my first choice in a trailer, but Corian is great stuff. Dupont won't disclose the exact recipe, but I know it to be primarily polymethylmethacrylate and alumina trihydrate... That's bulletproof glass mixed with clay, how cool is that! I made counter-tops with Formica and a fluted T-metal edge-band. I wouldn’t say that they weigh significantly less than Corian..


I could write a book about the '67/'68 bath. The box-store bath restoration epoxy kits come in white or beige/bisque/almond color. I prefer alkyd base to water. Any autobody shop can tint them. If you walk in the front door you may or may not get cooperation. If you hang out by the back door with your kit and paint color-chip, waiting until the painter stumbles out for fresh air and a cigarette, he'll probably give you a few squirts of tint for nothing.


Since your bathroom plastics are ABS, melamine, PVC, and fiberglass, they've faded and stained and oxidized to colors differing original. If you mask a couple inches up the tub-wall, who'll care if it's a little different color? You'll find a website explaining how to prep the common web-cracks in fiberglass. Since it's not structural, and somewhat normal, you probably don't have to dig it all out with an angle grinder and re-cloth the area. If the cracks to the tub were caused by the floor flexing, the floor may be detached from the shell, or the steel frame can be weakened from rust or cracked. A dreadful adventure of repair that will set back your bamboo floor installation.


Follow the direction on box. Painting the tub floor, which thankfully, is textured, will take two coats. Only mix and tint enough A and B for two coats. Yes, although mixed, it will keep from setting in the freezer overnight so you can second coat the next day. You can leave the epoxy soaked brush saran-wrapped in the freezer too. If the mix seems a little thick, you can thin it with Xylol/Xylene. Stir well. The brush you choose, and of course diligent prep-work, will make or break the job. I have at least 300 paintbrushes at hand, and no one will convince me that there is a better brush for this job, than a PURDY 1” synthetic bristle sash brush. Wear a respirator. Might as well invest in a reusable one as the carcinogen exposure phases of renovation are many.


Here are some threads pertinent to '67


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f48/...re-159949.html


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f7/a...od-129180.html


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f454...nt-111812.html
]
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f7/p...ce-128019.html


As long as you keep the trailer in safe rolling condition, You can camp out in it during stages of renovation. Camping in a “tin tent” often adjusts and prioritizes ones perspective of needs and wants. Take your time, and enjoy the process.


Beer was invented so that carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

[Dingo Girl]

Very interesting read, thank you.. Did not know my interior was ash.

[Dingo Girl]

Your trailer interior "after" is beautiful by the way.

[Dingo Girl]

Did you have to put Luan down before the rubber floor went in?

[ALUMINUMINUM]

Seems there are few known “instructions” furnished by most flooring manufacturers regarding trailers except “not recommended”.


Where I replaced the bath floor over the black tank, I used two pieces of both sides enameled 5/8” “Exposure” grade plywood, joined with a plywood cleat. I covered the screws and seams with fiberglass matte and resin. I planed it flat by hand, with an auto-body rasp. Over that, plain old Bondo for the final smooth and sand. Bondo sticks to paint just as well as paint sticks to Bondo. Same with polyester resin.


The GT's entire sub-floor is enamel painted. The first coat of enamel is thinned to a “penetrating” consistency with paint thinner, and the second is normal. Likewise with the fiberglass resin. You can pay big bucks for the penetrating West System, or you can Hillbilly your own good enough mix by thinning your polyester resin into a penetrating liquid with a few well stirred splashes of Xylene, which is a handy carcinogen to have around the shop.. The "dry time" is extended by a few hours, but it does dry to the correct "tack" for the final coat..


The reason for the enamel is that it seals and grips the plywood so that the adhesive for the flooring doesn't dry out as it attempts to penetrate raw wood. Dry wood can suck out the volatiles from the adhesive before they can react with the mix, thus diminishing the bond quality. With 1.5 coats of paint, the plywood still has plenty of “tooth” in its surface, and the adhesive or resin is happy to stick to the fresh (not wet) coat of paint. Just like how you prep a crack in a plaster wall with water spray first, so the new patching plaster doesn't dry out and lose its penetrating ability before it gets a grip into the old plaster.


It's OK to paint your floor with alkyd enamel, It's OK to level the seams with polyester resins.


Thankfully, I painted the floor a few colors similar to what rubber was available before I selected the final shades and tones. Green was wrong, as was terracotta. The sandy beige from the striped factory melamine walls and doors made the floor color recede, so the coin texture is what creates interest(and function).


The seamless single sheet rubber flooring is glued directly onto painted plywood sub-floor. No underlay..

[stephiejo]

Originally Posted by ALUMINUMINUM

Hello again,


Welcome to the dichotomies of a late sixties Airstream, working through the inexplicable absurdities, yet marveling at their inherent cleverness. These old trailers can get very time consuming when you get to digging deep. Looks like you have a supportive crew.


Your wood walls can be referred to as bulkheads, They're made of roto-cut ash plywood in the Land Yacht trim, or walnut in the International trim. Your 1967 Overlander is a Land Yacht.


Ash isn't a common furniture wood these days, but it is certainly among the noblest of hardwoods. Babe Ruth's baseball bat, Gordie Howe's hockey stick, Fred Bear's longbow, your wheelbarrow, shovel, hoe, and rake handles...celebrate its functionality, how cool and uncommon to have ash as the primary wood in your travel trailer. People will smooth their hands over your woodwork and exclaim, “This is real wood!”. They won't say “I love the phony repeat photo image wood-grained melamine veneer on this particleboard”.


In 1967, Airstream fogged a light veil of lacquer onto the wood as the sealing finish. Only enough to make it “look” good, not really a durable coating. In fifty years, most original lacquer finishes have evaporated, or oxidized so the finish can appears a little cloudy and dull. The good news is that it's only lacquer left in the pores of the wood's grain. Since the finish is hardly there anymore, if you wipe the bulkheads with lacquer thinner, you'll get an idea as to their true color. Some very light sanding will get enough of the remaining old finish off so that you can adjust the color with something easy like blended Minwax stains to “re-nutrient” the wood, and then perhaps seal with their satin polyurethane. Lacquer does not object to a polyurethane over-coat, nothing weird will happen.


Alternatively, if you agree with the original wood color, you can just prep and wipe it with clear lacquer, and it'll look like new. Lacquer goes on best in multiple thin coats. Other folks find all that is needed is a bottle of secretly formulated magic-refinishing juice by names you may have seen advertized. More than one way to skin a cat.


Late sixties Airstream cabinetwork and joinery was pretty much junk fifty years ago. They're lightweight, but a finish carpenter schooled in site-built cabinets could be helpful if you get to fix/repair/replace them.. Setting today's factory-made kitchen cabinets as replacements is way too heavy. Keep conscious of weight, it adds up.. I'm always asking “How can this trailer be lighter?” My bath closet door weighed 18 pounds… To me, that's a bagful of Nikons, an 80mm spotting scope and 10x50 binocular. Much more camping value than an annoying door that was un-ergonomically hinged on the wrong side by the Airstream cabinet designer. “Jettison the door” (actually re-sawed into the dinette seat-back).


I cleaned and re-sawed every stick and sheet of my original ash interior into a configuration that better suited me. I color matched and joined shop scraps of cherry, oak, birch, cedar, maple, mahogany, redwood, bamboo, spruce pine fir, ash, wherever suited. No one has ever contested when I say the interior is the original ash. I carved and fired terracotta clay for the 24” header (Ranma) over the bathroom pocket-door (shoji screen of old growth Douglas Fir and plasticized rice paper)…


There will be nay-sayers about bamboo floors, but it's a viable choice. If it's what you love, definitely do it at any cost. Floor covering is a hotly opinionated topic like hitches, tires, and coffee making. Your feet are sensitive and tactile. If bamboo makes them happy… It's definitely OK.


Best for me was engineered Canadian maple with catalyzed titanium oxide coating, glued down and pin-nailed.... The old floor tiles that you'll be removing (BTW if they are 12”square, they have no asbestos) weigh close to 10mm engineered wood /sf, so weight is a wash. In my bath, I glued down coin-stud Pirelli rubber and I like it very much.


Not my first choice in a trailer, but Corian is great stuff. Dupont won't disclose the exact recipe, but I know it to be primarily polymethylmethacrylate and alumina trihydrate... That's bulletproof glass mixed with clay, how cool is that! I made counter-tops with Formica and a fluted T-metal edge-band. I wouldn’t say that they weigh significantly less than Corian..


I could write a book about the '67/'68 bath. The box-store bath restoration epoxy kits come in white or beige/bisque/almond color. I prefer alkyd base to water. Any autobody shop can tint them. If you walk in the front door you may or may not get cooperation. If you hang out by the back door with your kit and paint color-chip, waiting until the painter stumbles out for fresh air and a cigarette, he'll probably give you a few squirts of tint for nothing.


Since your bathroom plastics are ABS, melamine, PVC, and fiberglass, they've faded and stained and oxidized to colors differing original. If you mask a couple inches up the tub-wall, who'll care if it's a little different color? You'll find a website explaining how to prep the common web-cracks in fiberglass. Since it's not structural, and somewhat normal, you probably don't have to dig it all out with an angle grinder and re-cloth the area. If the cracks to the tub were caused by the floor flexing, the floor may be detached from the shell, or the steel frame can be weakened from rust or cracked. A dreadful adventure of repair that will set back your bamboo floor installation.


Follow the direction on box. Painting the tub floor, which thankfully, is textured, will take two coats. Only mix and tint enough A and B for two coats. Yes, although mixed, it will keep from setting in the freezer overnight so you can second coat the next day. You can leave the epoxy soaked brush saran-wrapped in the freezer too. If the mix seems a little thick, you can thin it with Xylol/Xylene. Stir well. The brush you choose, and of course diligent prep-work, will make or break the job. I have at least 300 paintbrushes at hand, and no one will convince me that there is a better brush for this job, than a PURDY 1” synthetic bristle sash brush. Wear a respirator. Might as well invest in a reusable one as the carcinogen exposure phases of renovation are many.


Here are some threads pertinent to '67


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f48/...re-159949.html


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f7/a...od-129180.html


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f454...nt-111812.html
]
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f7/p...ce-128019.html


As long as you keep the trailer in safe rolling condition, You can camp out in it during stages of renovation. Camping in a “tin tent” often adjusts and prioritizes ones perspective of needs and wants. Take your time, and enjoy the process.


Beer was invented so that carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

Aluminum, you're my hero! My wise man!
Thank you! I'm saving all your info....
I asked a few questions in the flooring category today if you have time to take a peek, I'll send you a NW 6pck of good beer and good karma to boot!
My AS angels are showing up, so grateful[emoji1365]

[stephiejo]

Aluminum, you are my AS angel, even if you're bearded ( I'm assuming there's a beard involved, artsy woodworking type beard)[emoji23]
I posted a new topic on flooring questions today and would love your input and to look at our list of mama to-do's?
Hubby just downloaded 67' Overlander floor plan today (free) and the owners manual- that probably should have been bullet #1
I'm going to do a little tester stain on the
bulkheads, just bc I wanna see what happens. I agree the natural Ash looks more like wood than plywood, but I'm pretty crafty and have some fun ideas in keeping w original 60's funky theme
Anything we do replace, I will take originals and store. We are trying the minimalist approach, as SIMPLE works well in our family. Trying not to make more work, keep original as possible, mantra.
So thank you!
I'll send you some more photos, but cool thing is "Granny Jo" ( my grandmothers AS named after her) is solid. Really solid!
The forum here is a little tricky to get around and figure out- figured out the search button- that was cool
But overall, you have to dig deep
I guess that can go for many tough projects, dig deep.

[stephiejo]

Oh and I LOVE the rubber floor in your bathroom! We have to do! Makes complete sense!
At one point I was dreaming of just having a rubber bathroom wall to floor w drain in middle, so you could shower in the bathroom and get rid of that silly doggie wash station tub, and have a long shower head you can move around but it wouldn't matter where water went bc it's all rubber!! You could sit on toilet seat cover and shave your legs and wash your hair and have a splash party!!!
A RUBBER ROOM, lol
Sounded pretty good to me[emoji4]

[stephiejo]

First trip from Oregon will be either Canada (Victoria) or Wyoming/Montana
Can't wait!