'68 Tradewind Work in Progress

[68tradewind]

We've been Airstream owners for about two years and are finally getting near the end of our restoration project. When we found it, the trailer had been sitting outside and was full of mold, rotting wood, and lots of rodent evidence. The day after we got it home, we ripped out all the unsalvageable interior parts and began our journey. We replaced rotting wood under the front window and laid down new Marmoleum. The cabinetry was rebuilt using the old frames for patterns and we stripped and reused the original doors. After the first year, it was useable and we took it on our first rally. Then we had the axles replaced and an awning installed, made new cushions and started on the exterior. We were able to get the clear coat off and were resigned to bringing the skins to a mirror finish until we found someone who knew how to get the factory "satin" finish that we really wanted and he showed us how to do it. Once we were done with the polish, we had it clear coated, so hopefully we'll have many years of use before having to polish again. Now we have the trailer up on a lift and are repairing the belly pan and reinsulating. It's been a lot of work, but so worth the effort! We're looking forward to many years of enjoying our Tradewind.

[KathrynOKC]

68Tradewind. That looks great. Did you remove the shell to replace the flooring?

[StPierre]

68tadewind Great job, Iam starting the polishing job after a 2 year rebuild from the axel up.What a ride. I hope my shell comes out as nice as yours

[HiHoAgRV]

Great work, it looks beautiful!

[68tradewind]

Kathryn,
Thanks!
No. We didn't remove the bathroom fixtures or the rear closets, so the installer made a pattern that followed those edges the flooring fit perfectly. Once the marmoleum was installed, we had some caulk tinted to match/blend with the flooring and we went around the exposed edges with that.