Painted!

We painted the Pearl in Spinnaker White and 1956 Ford Sunset Coral.

I really like the way she came out.  We'll be adding the running lights, break lights, wings, etc. tomorrow.  I'll post more then.  Exhausted....

Prep and Primer

Yesterday we finished sanding the body with 220 grit sandpaper and cleaned it all down with TSP substitute and water.  Next I worked on polishing the aluminum stripe.  After that I taped off the polished aluminum stripe (with frogtape) and washed off the Pearl with the TSP substitute and water mixture again to get rid of any waxy residue that would interfere with the paint adhesion.

Today we applied bondo to a few areas that needed it and sanded that with 80 grit sandpaper.  We went over the whole body with a tack cloth.  The primer we applied is a mixture of Rustoleum primer with Rustoleum Reducer (one to one ratio).  This was applied with a compressor and spray gun (at 35 psi).  Thanks to Kevin for lending us his compressor and sprayer :)

This was my husband's first time using a spray gun and he did a great job!  It looks really great.  He applied 2 light coats.  By this time it was getting late, so we'll put on the white and pink colors tomorrow.  The only problem was that we don't have a garage to work in, so we had to spray outside.  The sprayer has a lot of overspray which wafted into the air and into the street.  The kids held up a tarp to try to stem the flow of paint.

I can't wait until tomorrow to see her painted!  The weather is supposed to be nice.  Cross your fingers!

The Frog tape is supposed to leave a clean line - we'll see tomorrow

Stripped and ready for bondo

Joshua giving the thumbs up.

David applying the primer (it is a light gray color)

Christian holding up the tarp with an oar

Joshua with the other oar

Stripped to bare metal

I visited MDC RV Center in Hyannis to purchase supplies for our plumbing.  We don't have a bathroom, but have a sink so we needed a new fresh water tank, hoses, city water connection and a gray water tank.  Dana at MDC was such an amazing help!  He told me exactly what I needed to buy and suggested an external gray water rolling tote which I think will work wonderfully.  Thanks Dana!

We worked on preparing the Pearl for priming and painting yesterday.  Dave installed the wheel well trim, the drip edge and the awning rail.  This was no easy feat because each had bends and dings that needed to be smoothed out.

I stripped the trim pieces with Strip-eze chemical stripper.  That worked so well that I decided to see if I could strip the top coat of paint on the Pearl.  One of the previous owners had painted it with a brush over the factory paint.  This had been done some years ago and the paint showed brush marks, drips and paint chipping in places.  So I applied the stripper and it immediately started to bubble the paint.  What I didn't expect is that it took the paint off, right down to the bare metal!  So now I was committed - I stripped the whole thing.

stripped - the z stripe still shows because it has oxidation

trim around wheel well

Butyl tape installed under awning rail and drip edge

Dave and Christian would like to leave it the bare metal.  Not me though, I miss the pink.

Today Dave will work on the electrical, installing the tops of the bench seats and the countertop.  I'll work on polishing the z-stripe, taping it off, sanding the bare metal, polishing the tulip shaped original propane light and running for more supplies.

We may get more rain today so we may not be able to paint :(

I purchased automotive paint online at TCP global:  http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationshop/

The pink under the z stripe will be a 1956 Ford Sunset Coral.  The cost of the paint for all supplies, white paint for the top and the custom Ford paint for the bottom was $446.  The customer service was great.  This isn't like buying house paint, there are hardeners and reducers and such that I didn't know anything about.  They helped me choose just what I need.  I can't wait to see it painted!

Our neighbor, Kevin, loaned us his compressor and paint sprayer. Thanks Kevin!

Kitchen cabinets installed!

We are getting achingly close to the decorating stage.  My husband and son, Christian, built the cabinets and the drawers yesterday.  They re-used the drawer fronts (with some tweaking) and the sink cabinet door.  However, all the framework had to be rebuilt as did the drawer boxes.  The range still has the plastic protective covering on the door and door handle

Upper cabinet with frosted acrylic panels

Aqua retro hex knob

Boomerang pulls - ours were missing, but purchased original pulls from someone who parted out their Shasta

Refrigerator magnet

I lined drawers with super grip shelf liner from Target

Here are some of my finds from "Savers"

I decided to use a basket under the range to hold kitchen towels and pots/pans.  I'll sew a liner for it to prevent the pots and pans from getting scratched up.  The kids and I went to "Savers", which is a big second hand store.  I scored a white enamel pot with black trim for $2.99 and bakelite handled flatware for 4 for a dollar.  We also got many kitchen utensils, some of which were vintage pink.

This week we will install the tops of the gaucho benches, the countertop, sink and the lights.  Dave will also be putting in the new water tank and the electrical panel, battery etc.  I have MORE aluminum to polish, some more painting and I need to prep the outside of the trailer for her paint job (this weekend).  I purchased automotive paint online in Ford's 1956 Sunset Coral for the bottom.  Can't wait to see it.

More inspiration - flooring from Cath Kidston

I love my Tarkett bubble fun flooring, but I was looking for flooring for my kitchen and bath and came acrosss vinyl tiles from Cath Kidston that are seriously cute!  I think they would be great in a vintage camper.  Below is a sampling - see other colors at:  http://www.harveymaria.co.uk/floor-range/Cath-Kidston-for-harveymaria

Getting a 21 1/2" stove through a 20" door

Heavy Sigh.  So the stove/oven is 21 1/2" wide and the door opening is 20" wide.  Ugh!  Dave had already replaced one of the door jams that had water damage.  But there was no other way - the jam had to come back out so we could fit the stove through the door.

20" wide door opening

21 1/2" wide stove

Dave has built the framing for the kitchen cabinets

We painted the back of the newly built door with blackboard paint.

Door, Interior Panels and more polishing

I was away visiting my sister and had a bunch of fun while my poor husband was slaving away on the Shasta.  He took apart the door so we could have a new metal piece fabricated at the bottom where there was a tear in the metal.  We suspected that water was getting in but he wasn't prepared for what he uncovered!  There was nothing left of the bottom of the door but a pulpy mess of wood rot.  He completely re-built the door and it looks great!  I am painting the back of the door with chalkboard paint. I thought it would be fun for Bella to be able to draw on it.  Second coat of chalkboard paint goes on tomorrow and I'll post pics.

Here Dave has installed interior panels and look!  cabinetry even!

The cabinet over the sink and range.
 I replaced the yellow formica with frosted acrylic panels.
There will be LED lights inside the cabinet which will illuminate the frosted panels.

Both gaucho benches are in

The gaucho benches have beadboard sliding panels
(which replaced the yellow formica).

The closet.

Beadboard panels are installed in kitchen back wall.

All of the wood will need another coat of paint.

Joshua and Bella worked on polishing the screen door.

She's legal

"

This was the part I dreaded.  The registry of motor vehicles scares me.  I went to our insurance agent first, who told me that I wouldn't be able to register the trailer (ever) because I couldn't produce a previous registration. "But the previous owner bought it from a guy in NH and it wasn't registered". I admit, that sounded a bit sketchy. "Well", she said, you could probably get a signed affidavit from the original owner".  Signed what?  From who?  The original owner may well be dead for all I know.

However, I had a secret weapon.  The previous owner had prepared me well.  He told me to go to the registry with a form that is signed by a police officer and verifies the VIN (found on the tongue of the trailer).  If the trailer is under $3000 pounds, I shouldn't need a title to register it.  I was ready.

I went to the registry, forms in hand and you know what?  The RMV worker didn't even care.  She registered my trailer with not even a raised eyebrow.  The only thing that caused her to pause was the color.  There is a checkbox for the color and pink wasn't listed so I left it blank.

"What color is the trailer?" she asked.

"Pink".

 "We don't have pink, we have red.  What color is your trailer?"

"Red".

"Good - here are your plates"

Ever feel like you're in a Monty Python episode?

Bubble Fun Flooring installed!

Ok, we're getting to the fun parts.  The "Bubble Fun" floor by Tarkett (in turquoise) was installed today.  I think it looks great!

Also, we received the stainless steel marine range.  The Compact has a sloping shape in the front and back.  The marine range is angled on the back in the bottom to allow for a ship's hull.  Works great for the Compact too!

The range is by Force 10, my model is a little different than the one shown left.  The control panel and handle are both stainless.

Beauty is (aluminum) skin deep

David and Christian have been busy installing the aluminum skins that Falmouth sheet metal fabricated for us.  It is tricky because we were not replacing the sides and the lines in the metal had to align from the back and front to the sides.

The new electrical has been run and the insulation is almost done