Exterior Updates

I finally had decent enough weather to drag the trailer out and take the updated pictures.

You will see from the pictures that I have some more work to do. I need to get new propane tanks and hook that system up. Need to make and mount new wings. Also need to do the final wiring for the exterior lights.

Ultimately, I am happy with the overall look of the exterior. The new paint looks pretty decent but a bit flat in spots. I will probably buff or wax the whole thing at some point. New decals look pretty good too.

No more rambling talk. More pictures. We will go with the old standby of before and afters...

Curbside window...

AC unit removed and replaced with a Airflyte window...

Bathroom Closet window...

Kitchen window...

Street side dinette window...

Front window. I added the decal above the window. The trailer didn't originally have one but I like how it looks so I went with it...

Entrance door. Biggest change is removing the hasp and added the deadbolt...

Interior of the entrance door and screen door...

Replaced that crusty latch with a new one...

Repainted step. I used skateboard grip tape that I had left over from another project. Cut it into Mid Century style stars to make it a bit more interesting to look at.

Taillights with new lenses from VTS.

Bargman Trail Light with new lens from VTS. Also has a new plate holder...

New marker lights...

Metal badge...

Reproduction green factory badge that I pushed VTS to produce...

Repainted MHMA badge...

Water fill...

I'm not sure I am digging the Mercury caps I found. They are ok. They don't fit all that well because they are well used. I'm still looking for another set that won't cost a fortune.

I think that is about it for now. I'm not sure if there will be much more progress before the crappy weather comes and stops progress all together...but stay tuned.

Small Update...

Here is a bit of an update. Not a great one but still progress on this impossibly long journey. The attention turned to the outside.

Skins were re installed. Sanded and cleaned to remove oxidation.

The red you see is spot putty to fill dents and creases.

I then installed the door trim....

I also made patch panels to fix the cracked skin caused by the sagging door. There were probably other ways to solve this problem but this is my solution...

Because we are using a Airflyte rear window instead of 16 SC rear window the dimensions were different. The new window is wider and a bit shorter in height. Cutting the aluminum for the width was very easy however the shorter height left a bit of a gap in aluminum skin. I made a patch panel to take up the gap. I didn't really want to cut it straight. It seemed too boring. I made it angle down to mimic the "V" in skin. The oval will hold the dealership badge.

All of this looks a bit weird now but will look more blended once painted.

I also wetsanded the "Z" stripe to prepare for polishing. Before...

After...

Taped and polished...

And done...

I cleaned the trailer again and again. Taped off the windows, doors, and "Z" stripe. Sprayed the whole thing with self etching primer...

And that is about it for now. I will have to take some more pictures soon as I have made much more progress.

On a side note...we have been collecting items for the trailer also. Items that will fit with our love for vintage. We see it for very cheap. We buy it. Sometimes we have gone a bit overboard so that we will have enough and can pick through and choose the stuff we want and pass on the extra. Here is our vintage melamine dish collection all laid out to sort through...

This haul netted a few complete sets with some extra serving bowls and platters. Maybe I will show some of the place settings at some point.

This is kind of a lame post but as I said. I will take some more pics to bring us up to speed with the restoration. Stay tuned.

It's Been SOOOO Long... Part 2

I guess it is hard to know what to show next. But I will try to keep it in chronological order. Here we go...

- After installing the paneling and rebuilding the dinette platform cabinets, the rear goncho, and the nightstand... I sanded EVERYTHING. I do mean everything. That was quite a project in itself. There are so many surfaces that had old shellac that needed the finished knocked off to get ready for new shellac. I think I did around 4 or 5 applications of Bullseye Amber Shellac. Again. I don't have any progress pics of this. I apologize. The new finish is darker which isn't a bad thing. It does look much darker in the all of the pictures than in person....

-I remounted all the cabinet doors and drawers. I bought brand new chrome hinges. The old ones were not in the best of shape. The new ones while not seen as a big deal make a big difference. I am glad I made that purchase. I think I may have mentioned before that I got new drawer pulls as a Christmas gift. They are the boomerang pulls from Rejuvenation. Those pulls are a perfect reproduction of the kind Shasta used in their trailers. Unfortunately our pulls had been replaced at some point. I didn't really cry much about that because I knew Rejuvenation had the right pulls to replace our cheapo box store pulls. Here are the new pulls. I think they look great...

-Here is a finished Shasta magazine rack mounted. Not much to say. You saw the progress pics in the last post...

-I also had redone the sconces. They were brass but painted with gold paint. I stripped the paint and painted them with Duplicolor chrome. I don't mind brass in some applications but with all of the aluminum trim on the cabinetry the brass didn't make much sence at all. Here is one of them without the shade...

I really didn't take great pictures of them before or even after but here is one now redone and mounted along with the reconstructed and refinished Shasta magazine rack...

Here is one in the rear above the goucho...

- I gave some attention to the stove which wasn't in the best shape. I refinished all of the surfaces the best I could. The chrome trim was rusted and pitted. I tried to shine that the best I could. I just went with a brushed finish. The burners and grates were very rusted. I knocked off the rust and painted them with high heat barbecue black. Finally cleaned the inside the best I could but it wasn't that bad inside...

-I also tackled the formica. It is isn't actually Formica brand it is Pionite. Pionite Surfin' USA to be specific. I made all new sliding doors for the upper cabinets...

And the goucho sliders...

-We liked the original laminate but it was not in good shape. Burn marks, scratches, and dull spots weren't really doing it for us. We decided to replace it. I did the back splash in the same laminate. One thing that was never a feature in the original trailers. For some reason Shasta used white back splashes with plastic trim which I never cared for. I also extended the back splash up to the window. I just think it looks better that way. I also made new aluminum trim for the laminate. The original trim on the lip was redone and is still there. I just added to it. I think the additional trim aluminum looks good...

The fridge bump out...

I added an outlet to the fridge bump out. I think it will come in handy...

The sink of course...

- I also made new aluminum trim for the rear window because that was missing. I also made trim for the kitchen window because for some reason Shasta did that one window with wood trim. Aluminum looks better...

-Just of couple of more because I like the way this looks...

I think that is about it for now. I hope to make some more progress in the next couple of days. Stay tuned...