New life for the compartment doors

My compartment doors all leaked, big surprise.   So I decided while I have the skins out to remove them from the trailer and clean them up.



And there was plenty of cleaning to do on the frame, I used  both Citrastrip and mineral spirits (no - not at the same time!) to clean off the gunk.   It took a while. That is an understatement.  I used a lot of good old fashioned hand work.







I drilled out the pop rivets on the sides of the door and revealed the interior, thankfully minus any skeletons.  There was a surprising bit of corrosion, due to water intrusion I'm assuming.  I did some fairly serious grinding with a dremel to get rid of it.  I contemplated getting a glass bead blaster like this but didn't know if it would work.  Anyone use one of these?



Re-insulated with Prodex using strips of Prodex to maintain an airspace.

I just used Tremco 635 as an adhesive, my intention was to use 3m 4200 adhesive but it runs $30 a caulking tube and has to be used up within a day or so.  Still planning on using it for the rest of the insulation but not worth it for this application.

Two layers of Prodex because I am an avid admirer of overkill!

Test fitting

Instead of  Tremco 635 or butyl tape I decided to use Eternabond to attach the compartment frame to the airstream skin.  I figured in tape form it would be cleanup friendly, and it's praised highly in other RV forums.  Plus if it doesn't work out it's one of the few areas I could uninstall and install without removing the interior skins again!

Clean frame, ready to go with Eternabond already applied and holes punched with a bamboo skewer.  This stuff is STICKY. I butt cut the corner seams horizontally as a vertical seam is more likely to leak.

Ready to rivet, actually I discovered I didn't have 1/8 inch rivets so I drilled them all out to 5/32 and replaced the gold clecos with the black ones.   I actually test fit this before adding the Eternabond.

Did I mention this Eternabond stuff is sticky and that it never really hardens or forms a skin like Tremco?

I cut away any "squeeze out" with my plastic razor blades the remaining Eternabond would stick to itself (reminds me of the postertack that you use on your walls to hang posters without damage) so I used little balls of it to clean off the residue.

With some work I was able to get a good clean edge.  I have my suspicions that it's going to catch and hold dirt, but it was leak proof in the last few down pours!  We'll see - I'll report back later on how well it's doing.  I intend to use it to install my fantastic fans, but in that application it will be covered by 4 inch wide aluminum Eternabond tape so "squeeze out" removal won't be an issue.  I liked it well enough that I'll use it for the rest of the compartment doors.

I used this hand squeezer for buck rivets from VTS to buck rivet the compartment door in.  You'll need to buy both squeezer dies here and here.  Don't be like me and buy only one die, the shipping on the second little piece is a killer!

As usual,  it comes with no instructions but I assure you the dies do fit into the holes on the "c" of the  puller,  it's just a tight fit! Here they are just barely pushed in.   The cupped piece goes on the tip of the "c" while the flush piece goes closest to the handle. Put a piece of blue tape on the cupped end, it won't slip off the head as easily and won't transfer any marks on the die to the pulled rivet. You'll have to replace the tape frequently.

  The pull can be adjusted by turning the bottom piece (that the flush die sits into) like a screw. This makes all your pulls the same.  When my squeezer came that piece was really stuck, I had to clamp the squeezer into a vise, lubricate it and use pliers to get it moving.  Some instructions would have really helped, especially since I didn't realize it was adjustable... I thought you just pulled it until you were happy with the tail....thank god for youtube.

Anyway, with a little help from my daughter I got the compartment frame buck riveted on.  It was a little tricky because the aluminum extrusion got in the way of the rivets expanding but it seems to be on firmly, definitely was a two person job.  She put the squeezer die on the head and held it there while I squeezed.  It was also tricky to get into position, tight fit.  Once you have it on you leave the  squeezer in place and just slide it over to the next rivet.  Hope that makes sense, it will once you realize how hard it is to get the squeezer into a position where it can squeeze. That's gonna take the cake for the most incomprehensible sentence I've written since I started this blog!

One last little note, the rivets that hold the door hinge on are something different. They are tubular rivets DF11-*-ST rivets  I did manage to track down a replacement, for anyone who is a purist you can find them at Hanson Rivet and Supply Company. The"*" is the length in 32nds  I just ended up replacing them with pop rivets because I didn't want to buy another set of dies for the rivet squeezer. 

Incidentally, these rivets make a good replacement for the tubular steel rivets on the arms of the jalousie windows.  If I ever do pull that window apart, (which f you know me you know  I will!) I probably will use them there.  The steel ones are an rusty eyesore (even if you hit them with aluminum paint like the PO did,  Lol). 

The one on the bottom right is the tubular rivet, I wish I had thought to take a picture of the other side.  The post is hollow and the die rolls back the edges.   I'll add a picture when I pull the next compartment.

Here's the final picture, note the lock because that's my next post! I still have the final polishing to be done and the aluminum gutter..... baby steps, people.

This was a stupid idea...

These gutters were only used for a year or two,  then Airstream smartened up and made the gutter longer so it didn't dump all the rain right on the edge of the window.  Talk about a leak factory!  No wonder all my leaks are at the windows.  There is a ton of sealant on all the window seams on this trailer.  

I'm in a quandary, I really wanted to keep the outside of this trailer as original as possible but these are proving to be a nightmare.   I'm actually considering replacing them with the earlier eyebrows. The eyebrow style was discontinued in 1963,  so theoretically my trailer would have had them if it had been built earlier in the year. Okay, I'm justifying the decision a little....

But the thought of removing them all and replacing with the ones VTS carries is daunting.  Especially when I hear the white paint they come with is nearly impossible to remove.   Is there a way to modify them?  I have the tools but.....

What say you? 

Since I can't seem to......

....stop the leaks,  I decided to do the next best thing, Seal the floor!    Actually, I did this as soon as the weather warmed up so this post is long overdue.

These were my tools of choice.  I've always liked the West System.  It's a two part epoxy but the handy pumps make it foolproof even for a beginner.  Five parts resin to one part hardener but the pumps take care of the measuring. One pump from each dispenses the perfect ratio. 

It was a bit of a slow start as I noticed the neck of the large pump had a crack in it and I had to McGyver it with a hose clamp.  It soon broke anyway and the spring in the pump fell into the can,  I spent 15 minutes with a coat wire fishing it out and then called my local boat place to get a replacement pump.   Like I said, slow start!

I needed to fair (level) the floor first, fill all the holes from the elevator bolts, and fill the plywood seams.  So I mixed up batches of 12 pumps each, added the 407 filler, mixed again until it looked like peanut butter.  I used a putty knife covered with masking tape to fill in all areas and stripped off the tape after each batch so I could start with a fresh blade.

I had a bunch of plastic mixing cups, which I set aside after each batch, when the epoxy dries it's easy to pop out the hardened stuff and reuse the container,   Some places needed a second layer, which is important to do before it cures completely, otherwise this product can get something called an amine blush.   Which requires mechanical removal in order for the coats to bond.   Which would suck!

The next day, I sanded it all down and gave it three coats of the epoxy, again all done within a couple of hours to avoid the dreaded amine blush. 

I'm still going to have to go back and refair some areas and I missed one of the bolts, see right in the center?  Gheesh, how'd I miss that!  
 I also had a slight problem with bubbles in the epoxy, evidently this was caused by the temperature increase inside the trailer during the curing phase.  I probably should have waited for a cloudy day but they are cosmetic and won't show under the finished flooring anyway.

After the fairing and sanding

And after the three coats of epoxy.  I'm happier than a slinky on an escalator. So bring on the rain! 

My helper chose to spend the day with me, well actually I tied him up .....so forced to spend the day with me would be slightly more accurate (notice where he chewed through the  leash?) . Good thing I did too, cause look what saunters out of the woods and parades right in front of him?  

My trailer was fully chocked or I'm pretty sure Finn would have reinacted this:

Without the bike of course, Finn's smart but not that smart!!

Painting the tongue and bumper

Well, it turns out polishing is not something that can be done for 8 hours a day.  I average 3 hours and at the end of that my hands look like crab claws!  It's really not easy to type that way! I know    .....Excuses, excuses ... The truth is I've been ignoring this blog because I am so far behind in catching it up.

I had my tongue and bumper covered with black plastic since we brought Moonraker home, evidently POR 13 is sensitive to UV exposure.  So as soon as the temps began to rise, I wanted to topcoat them. The step also needed to be topcoated.

I decided to use the POR Sterling silver paint.  I wanted something that was extra tough and hopefully last for a few years.  At $27 a PINT, this stuff better!   I also bought the POR self-etching primer because at this point the bumper and tongue had fully cured.

I always tape off the rim when I pour paints, it keeps the channel clean and its especially important with the Sterling Silver paint.

Evidently the paint adheres so strongly to metal that it will actually glue the lid on permanently! I put a piece of heavy plastic under rim between uses and didn't have a problem



I cleaned with Marine Clean, scuffed up all the surfaces with 300 grit, taped off anything I didn't want to get paint on ( I will return to this point later.  I know, you can't wait! ), painted one medium coat with the primer and a foam brush, waited thirty minutes for it to dry and then did 2 coats with the sterling silver.  Voila!

No pictures of the bumper cause I'm an airhead

My impressions?   I'm glad I used the primer which was light gray in color.  The sterling silver paint was like water, very hard to get a even coverage. If I had been painting it over the black POR I think it would have been more difficult.  I got a mostly streak free finish but I understand why people complain about this paint being streaky.

Would I use it again?  I don't think so.

First it's expensive -  $27 for the paint, $30 for the primer plus shipping!  And honestly I've gotten a better finish out of rattle cans.    And as I already own a 4 stage HVLP Fuji Paint sprayer (I collect tools the way old ladies collect cats!)  I probably would have been better off with an automative paint.

Remember that story I alluded to earlier?  Well when I removed the painters tape (the delicate stuff no less)  it actually removed the so called powder coat on my Bull dog jack!I just ran out there and took a picture of it in the poring rain so you could see. I'm nice like that.

 Powder coat that scrapes off with my fingernail?   Good job Bulldog!  I deliberately chose this jack because it has metal gears and is made in the USA.  Sigh, I think I'll rattle can it and see what holds up better!



On a side note My helper turned one recently..... Happy Birthday Finnegan!

Shiny, sort of.

Polishing is kicking my butt!  I try to keep posts to this blog light hearted but it turns that polishing may be a dark art, disturbing and unsettling in it's very nature.  I have tried a variety of polishing methods but I'm sorry to report that shortcuts don't exist. 

I finally settled on the Jestco method that I saw demonstrated by Levon at the Restoration Rally in New Mexico.  See here for the instructions.   Jestco actually makes an Airstream polishing kit.

Levon's a funny guy and I'm starting to think that a sense of humor is necessary.   At the very least it helps.  

 I started with the grey rouge bar but had to drop down to the more aggressive black black bar that I got from Caswells.  The grey just wasn't cutting it...... literally.   I'm about 25 hours into it and still learning.  That's a heck of a learning curve!  There's an optimum speed, amount of polish, even a temperature of the metal and air.  I'd share with you what they are but I haven't figured it out yet!   All I know is that some days it goes great and other days I feel like I'm going backwards.    Every single panel seems to have a "sweet spot"  and none are exactly alike.

Today, I started getting little tails of dried polish under where I was working.  What's up with that!  I had to keep stopping and removing them.  Maybe because it was too cold?   I use the rouge pretty sparingly. 

I also  find myself going through something like the five stages of grief  errr  polishing: 

Denial - I know everyone says polishing is bad, but it won't be for me.. after all.I like the detail stuff, some Itunes and the right tools and it'll be great!

Anger - Four hours  today and that's all I have to show for it!! A cloudy mess!!

Bargaining - One more pass, just one more pass and I'll be able to move on. 

Depression -  Okay, it  took me 20 Hours to do this one section, if I continue at the same rate I'll be done uh uh uh   next year?

Acceptance  - Looks pretty good..........from 25 feet away!

I just got a phone call from my sister,  turns out my daughter called her and said " You have to talk my mom down from the polishing tree."    Ha Ha Ha     Sis tried to commiserate with me but since her husband has done all the polishing to date, I'm not buying it.  Hey sis, call me back after you've put in your first 25 hours.

Tomorrows another day and no,  I'm not posting pictures.   I'll post pictures when I'm happy with how it looks,  maybe never.

Sealing the rivets and more!

Well,  I've been detoured by getting the gardens ready for planting.  The weather has been dreary, 30-40's and wet.  I think the yellow spotted salamander is going to take up permanent residence!  Not great weather for working outside but once it warms up I would rather be working on the Airstream!

 During a heavy rainstorm I started to count  the leaks....I stopped counting at 28 separate leaks, it was just too depressing and the leaks were starting to  flow as one.   Both fan locations, the astrodome and the PO repair made to the refrigerator vent all poured water onto the floor.  Three windows have bad leaks as does the fan over stove.  Those I have covered in plastic and aluminum tape from the outside  and I'll deal with them one at a time.  Oh and two out of three of the access/baggage doors leaked.   There really wasn't much that didn't leak!!!!!  I had buckets everywhere. 

 I am continuing to seal seams and individual rivets from the inside. It's raining right now and so far it's dry on the inside.   It's messy work....  I completely covered my putty knife with masking tape and when I'm done for the day I peel it off!  No messy residue to clean up.

My arms are killing me from the caulking gun.  I think I screamed a little this morning when I depressed the pump on my shampoo container! 

I also stripped the paint off the door and all the flanges where the old gaskets were. There was lots of sealant and crumbling foam.  The Citrastrip did a good job at removing all of it overnight.

I put the new gaskets on with the black 3m adhesive. That stuff is stickier than a gecko's feet ! I stretched the gasket out on a table and clamped it down so it wouldn't twist, took off the self-stick liner and painted on a strip of this stuff.  Did the same thing to the door, waited a minute for them to get tacky and carefully pressed it in place.  I really could have used a second set of hands but I got it done.

 I used the new medium "D" seal on the door within the door and it was perfect.    I did not use it on the door like VTS recommends.  I found their Gasket seal for the overlay doors for the earlier trailers to work better.  Maybe my 63 Overlander is different?  It's a tight fit but I  can close it and it,s getting easier every time!

I did have to move the gasket out to the edge  near the door latch because it was too tight a fit but other than that all went well and so far is leak free.  Yippee

Then I followed the forums advice and sprayed all the gaskets in silicone so they wouldn't stick.... and it left a white streaky residue on the gasket.   Grrrr.




I also completely sanded the floor with 80 grit and will be fairing with the West system epoxy, filling all holes and sealing all the seams, hopefully later this week as the weather warms up.

In the meantime I have a couple of questions.....

I initially thought that one of the panels had been replaced.   It was an area right below a broken window,  but what I thought were Olympic rivets aren't.   They look like a buck rivet with a hollow stem.

So what are they?  Are they original or a repair.... and more importantly should I drill them out and buck new  rivets??  They are all along the bottom of the window, the ribs on one side and on the stringer.   And they leak, of course.

And speaking of the horizontal stringers, what metal are they fabricated from?

All the time I was working, I had a faithful companion hanging out with me.I think he likes to look at his reflection in the shiny belly pan!  LOL

Two containers and 6 cans of Citrastrip later.

I keep joking that I need to buy stock in citrastrip, but it's the truth!

2 large containers of citrastrip,
umpteen paper towel,
6 spray cans of Citrastrip later and I have finally cleaned all the tar/adhesive off!

 This picture is just one endcap but it took me the better part of 4 days to do the entire trailer. I actually think there were two types of black gunk . The spray adhesive removed really easily, but the black goo that they painted on the seams was tougher.


Initially, I painted on citrastip and just started scrubbing with a green scotchbrite. Took forever and made a real mess.  I felt like a creature from the Black Lagoon, but I had a respirator instead of gills!

Time to rethink the approach.

I painted the citristip on , covered it with the thinnest plastic sheeting I could find from the big orange box store. The next day I was able to wipe it off with paper towels. Way easier and not quite as messy.

I can actually see the rivets and seams now.





 One of the coolest discoveries was that Citrastrip now comes in spray cans. These were excellent for doing the overhead panels because painting Citristrip on the ceiling was like painting with jello... best left for Kindergartners

Isn't she pretty? Eh. maybe you should squint a little.

While I didn't enjoy the process I am glad I did it because I discovered one of my panels  must have been replaced at some point - it was all Olympic rivets! The tar had covered up the hollow stems.  I'll have to drill these out and buck rivet them properly later.


Other things I discovered along the way:

Four days in rubber gloves does a number on your hands,  mine are still peeling!

The Airstream workers were sloppy about quality control = big surprise! NOT


Rivets too close to the edge  - think these leaked?

Rivets way away from the edge (plus large gaps as a bonus).

Don't put Citrastrip in plastic cups, and especially don't leave it overnight!

Lastly, don't use Citrastrip in the presence of bees, it confuses them and they persist in looking for the citrusy smelling flowers.   No pictures cause I'm allergic and I was too busy running away!

Next I need to strip the door and get the weather seals on before it rains and start sealing all the interior seams and rivets.

This little guy greeted me as I left the house actually he wasn't little -, he was kinda big, that's a full size brick he's on!

I've never sen one of these before. Its a yellow spotted newt that lives underground, evidently they only come out in the Spring to lay their eggs.

 I'm glad my daughter is grown cause this is the kinda thing she would stick in her pocket to bring home when she was younger. Imagine finding that!