3rd Incarnation, Middle Age Remodel

[Harry Young]

(Refrigerator Compartment cont.)
Resizing one refrigerator access door size to another.

Below is a "before" picture of the refrigerator compartment with the workings removed. Towards the rear is a little of the foil backed insulation which is peeled back for view here. The "middle" bulkhead will be refashioned necessitating the re-sizing of the access door "cut out".
This seems to be allot of trouble but we will pick up 32 square inches of space per shelf on the stowage side of the bulkhead...

This is the difference of being able to slide in a 10 wide plastic container or a 12 inch wide container. Also its the difference of listening to Kenna complain about the space she needs to stow away her treasures while camping... Doing something about her complaints pretending to listen pays off dividends.




What the outcome is of this project creates is an access door of a different size "smaller" so the middle bulkhead placement is using up some wasted space from earlier designs in the refrigerator compartment area, by transferring the savings to the shelf area that space gets larger. The interior patch to the right of the large "cut out" is barely visible once coated... The interior patch from the last sections heater vent repair is middle farther right from the "cut out".

Note* The epoxied in roof vent for the top refrigerator exhaust which also covered in earlier posts.




Area re-done, hole re-sized, the white coating was left off around the "cut out" on purpose, we frame these in oak so the
doors have more to set into and their screws hold better.

After tearing out the rest of the structures in this area and getting down to the fiberglass work itself we must first clean off the years of paint around the areas that need to be bonded, as in earlier posts a wire brush and drill suffice, we wear masks that have rubber to exactly fit the face. Once cleaned to the resin layer, the area is washed and dried with water and a degreaser, then rinsed thoroughly...Then completely dried and washed again with acetone. This is again completely dried.

A piece of F.R.P. (fiberglass reinforced board) is cut to size, the "textured" side is lightly sanded so the orange peel texture is smooth on the tops of the peaks of the textured design, a little flattened out is all we do...It is not sanded entirely sanded flat and smooth.

Clean the sanded side with acetone and let dry too, this will be the bonding side to be epoxied to the prior cleaned interior of the hull over the area we want to cover. This piece provides the patch and the "backing panel" over the open space to close up, it provides a scaffold to work off of and makes any "plug" work.

We used the Loctite brand 5 minuet epoxy, as explained in earlier posts it is a bond designed to mate many different materials to many different materials...To provide a platform to this project this is the logical choice.

Once the cement is applied to the contact edges of the piece to be bonded on the hull cut wood scrap is used and clamps to hold it onto place...We like the spring clamps...They are fast...BEFORE THIS "SET UP" clean the other side while its still a liquid with a rag dipped in Acetone, any ooze must be handled NOW.

NOTE** We like to bond a minimum of 2 inches around any work.

The other side of this patch will be clean and free of any fill, it should be a depression exactly outlining the old gap...this is the gap that must be leveled in the next step.




Cut and place backing piece, epoxy in lace and clamp using wood scrap around the plate, BEFORE EPOXY SETS remove any oozing epoxy on the other side, clean area with acetone, let "set up" until cured. When clamps are removed it should look like this.

When the epoxy is set, use metal tape on the other side pressing it into this depression, leave the backing on it so it molds but does not stick to the fiberglass hull, by pushing it into the depression we can make an exact model of the shape we will cut out of old stock, this new "cut out plug" made from this process will fit smartly and exactly into this place.





When the plug is cut out (in this case old stock saved from prior work) the plug fits exactly with little gaping. There will be some thickness issues, is our case the rough texture of "shot" chop on the backside needed to be sanded down to achieve a level placement of the plug. We flip this over and sand to the correct thickness.




Since we are allowed 5 pictures per post the rest of the steps will follow on the very next post...

See... (Refrigerator Compartment cont.)
Resizing one refrigerator access door size to another
Chapter 2.

Happy Camping, Safe Trails.
Harry & Kenna

[Harry Young]

(Refrigerator Compartment cont.)
Resizing one refrigerator access door size to another
Chapter 2.

In the the post prior to this one we got as far as bonding the rear "backing plate" and the correct "cut out" made, the last image is my hand holding our piece in place to show how close the fit can be made using just the foil tape to model the piece needed being cut out of old stock saved from prior work.

Once this piece is made the thickness will be a little more than you will need, We do not like sanding from the gel coat side unless we must when we need to adjust the thickness of a project like this...exposed fiberglass fiber tends to be problematic. Exposed fibers can "wick" moisture or oils, and cannot be directly surfaced without a process to re-resin them by any coatings.

We took the piece and flipped it over sanding it down with our electric sander, masks were worn, a dual vacuum filter capture system was employed with the final stage of filtration being a H.E.P.A. filter. (see earlier posts for vac set ups)

The picture below shows this "plug" after the sanding process, my hand is holding the piece with the sanded resin side out, the gel-coat side is on the reverse of this view.




Sanded "<span style="color:#ff00ff">cut out plug" ready
</span>
On a "plug" such as this we make a small 1/8 inch spaced trowel, its just a plastic scraper (best a polypropylene one) with cut notches on the edge 1/4 inch deep at a spacing of 1/8 inch apart, this allows us to evenly spread the 5 minuet epoxy evenly, leaving in the grooved application of glue/bond the space needed to for the adhesive to spread when pressure is applied without making a mess.




Wearing gloves apply epoxy.

The piece is now ready to set into place, have everything set up and ready, clamps should be available and small wood blocks cut to size to spread the pressure from the clamps evenly across the work, We have the metal tape pre-cut with some strips that have the paper reversed on the tape so the waxy side is facing out, these lay under the blocks when pressing, ooze cannot stick to it.

We like to do the waxy paper trick (see earlier posts) at this time so any excess is automatically used as filler to be sanded later, this prevents dripping and reuses other wise waste towards a useful purpose try to place at the seams of the "cut out plug".




Clamping, using scrap wood holds even pressure, wax
paper used on wood to prevent unintended bonding. Wax
tape trick used on seams under wood.




Remove clamps, peel plastic away.

Skipping ahead of ourselves to a more finished state this view shows the now modified hatch size to the one we want, the finishing steps to get here will be covered in future posts.




The size now adjusted and ready after sanding and
prepping for priming coat.

Thanks for following along.

Harry and Kenna

[francene]

Nice work, Harry! You sure are doing a lot of fiberglass remodelling, and have gotten VERY good at it.

Best,
Fran

[Harry Young]

Still working in the refrigerator area...

Next we replaced the bulk head that is closest to the bed on both sides, here again heresy will be preformed and the silicone word evoked...

We follow rules when working with the stuff, we stay with silicone's that are made for fiberglass for instance when working on fiberglass.

When an adhesive is needed and heat is an issue we use silicone's formulated as adhesives, not sealants.

When heat is not an issue I like the new polyurethanes.
Where wood is concerned its Gorilla glue (another polyurethane)

We do allot of clamping, pressing, or using tension to the floor with braces.

We seal all, we mean all wood, all sides so they cannot wick moisture or die drying out.

We use hardwoods mostly, all openings for hatches ect. are framed in.

All the framed in areas are bonded one way or another, no screws are used puncturing the fiberglass hull, we do not bond to painted surfaces, only the resin layer is bonded to the wood structures.

On occasion the trailer still being off its frame gets flipped over so gravity, press weights and flow of liquid materials is in our favor. This does not always show in picture set ups.

In this first set of pictures we are addressing bulk head shape and strength, we chose a thicker 3/4 oak ply for looks, its better strength and the ability to hold stress will hold the weight of a larger than you expect refrigerator, its weight transmitted to the floor without issues going bouncy down the road.




New bulk head set in place on refrigerator side.




We use wood "L" brackets to hold bulkheads in place, and yes
there is high heat silicone adhesive bonding this to the fiberglass hull
which is needed because of heat exhausted from the ammonia refrigerator
trapped in this area.

To hold bulk heads plumb, we fabricate oak "L" brackets which are adhered to the roof, the bulkhead is then screwed thru the side into the bracket once its set up, epoxy is not used as it is not forgiving enough towards shock and becomes brittle in heated environments, this area well hold a heated ammonia condenser... Silicone adhesive works well and has NEVER failed in past remodels or use. The area to be bonded is cleaned of paint first, cleaned and rinsed with water and degreaser, finally rinsed with acetone and allowed to dry completely, then bonded. This area will be warm because of the water heater also.




Refrigerator compartment starting to shape up, oak trims
the cut out opening, looking at hull from here you can see
past repairs...We will examine refrigerator deck closer in the next pics.




This is my personal preference, I set guides on the deck so the
refrigerator slides into place using the guides, it prevents shifting
and tearing of insulation which will eventually be put into this space.

<span style="color:#000000">The floor or deck of the refrigerator is also supported by a tee brace, its a simple brace and is adhered to the hall as well, screws are placed into the brace from the top of the deck down after the silicone adhesive is set up in 24 hours.

We need to brace this area yet leave it open so the water heater can be installed from the rear wall where the tail light once was, it faces the rear now.




<span style="color:#ff00ff">Under the deck, this Tee brace was used, it is adhered to the wall
to stay stable, it transmits the weight from the deck to the floor.
Note the use of the wheel well as support for this deck, ply was used to match needed heights.

Our remodel post will continue, we are having great fun especially if its approached as a hobby, we do like seeing it come together and look forward to it rebirth again.

Happy Camping, Safe Trails.

Harry and Kenna
</span>
</span>

[Harry Young]

1st and 2nd coat of Interlux PimeKote on the trailer.

The trailer is upside down in the photos, The product being used is Interlux PimeKote, this is an older product renamed, we like it because its very sand-able the 1st 24 hours.

We are using rollers furnished for this product with a reducing solvent for that purpose, the hull has had all of the body work done, then its sanded clean...(most the gelcoat off, but not quite to the resin layer) finishing off at 200 grit.

The beginning condition of the hull was very powder like, sanding was the hardest part aging us and wearing us out along with two non repeating orbital sanders, the hull was washed, repaired, sanded, cleaned with a special solvent cleaner and allowed to dry as steps between all applications of product.

The conditions we like is about 50 to 60 degrees F. for application at less than 15% humidity, we apply product always in the late morning with the sun crossing over striking the trailer after 3 hours activation time for the two part epoxy to work and "set up" becoming solid to the touch first. The trailer goes into direct sun at about 3 pm with the hull temps reaching 80 degrees F. before night fall.

Our strategy for the upside down first application is to prepare the trailer bottom first and its lower sides to the belly band, in this model of F.B.R.V. its easier to get underneath the belly band over lap this way.

After the two coatings of PimeKote we will move to Perfection applying it next with two coatings before we are done.

We want the lower portion of the trailer to be complete in order to place it back on the new frame, then we can add on the cargo doors, heater and refrigerator stuff ect. while also doing the top outer top shell. On wheels again we can roll into shade when needed and out into the sun at will.

The following pics below is some of the work done to date and the results had.

The worst first issue we faced was Cleo the Siamese cat who has a penchant to perch on our work to survey her kingdom.

Second was logistics, Frankly herding the 12 friends we must assemble on supper bowl night to nimbly move our Astro about the lot to protect it from changing weather was tough...Until the beer arrived... One bloke helped with a broken finger and we did not even know him??? Thanks!

Each application represents a total re-sanding of the entire hull to apply different layers of the products, washing with a water based cleaner, rinsing, dry dry dry and washing again in a solvent based cleaner made for this purpose was done in between each step.

So the fastest we can do 2 coats of product in is 4 days continuous work.

Its worth it, we wanted 1.5 to 2 mils PimeKote and then 1 mil Perfection in the end.

Special rollers and brushes were ordered, roller material that holds up with this product line and designed for prolong exposure to solvents (acetones and ketone blends)

ALL sanding was done with equipment hooked up to a H.E.P.A. dual bag system, full seal masks were used with organic cartridges, eye protection included.

We would like to thank the Arizona winds for blowing in the correct direction as this stuff can clear a city block and linger, nitrile gloves save washing hands in stuff not ever recommended for that purpose...anything else will not work well, once its on you it stays.

Pictures are below.




Astro upside down, cut out for water heater seen and
wheel well which was rebuild after accident.




Earlier in this tread there is a Fantstic Fan modification,
this is the same pop top, no evidence of the removed corrugation
remains. This is a set in place, permanent base for the fan with a
triple seal.




Again this is showing other modification work, this area is the
refrigerator lower access door resize mod done, this pic is the 1st
application of PrimeKote into the 2nd sanding of the hull prepping it for the
2nd application of PimeKote.




This is the other wheel well, 2nd PrimeKote application into the
2nd sand prepping it for Perfection. On application of the 2nd
application of the base coating the "plastic look" began to show itself.




This is the galley shroud, we wanted to get this out of the way so the
galley assembly could be done when Astro is flipped back over.
All holes we repaired, another way of installing it will be used
doing away with screws.

This is it for the 5 pics we are allowed, its coming along nicely we think, we took breaks watching the Vancouver Olympics here in Az. What a grand time...Although we do wonder why so cold? As resourceful as the Canadians were in the opening of the games couldn't they also invent 75 degree snow?

Needless to say the epoxy droplets around our upside down F.B.R.V. looks like it?

Happy Camping, Safe Trails.

Kenna and Harry

[Robert Johans]

Great job, Harry.

Are you seeing any texture from your applicators? If so, do you expect it to smooth out when all is complete?

RJ

[Harry Young]

Robert,

The primary component (part A ) comes as a very thick paste, the reactor (part B ) is a light jelly, the reducer is a solvent that thins the whole mess to be able to brush or roll it on well, the reducer extends pot life by extending the hardening time and makes brushing or rolling a cinch.

I do not get any texture from the implements I am using; however as pot life nears its end peaking "stipple" or sagging starts to occur, the roller is a foam one.

Sanding is simple with this stuff, re-coating or even touch up a breeze.

Learning to work within the same tempraturesis very important as the warmer temps radically change the amount of time you have to work on the hull coating it, remember as pot life nears its end the problem of creating a texture increases with tackiness of the product...Not because of the tool, but because of the congealed tackiness of the product.

It's important to create the same set of conditions every time it's used on the hull, temps and humidity, formulation of reducer to product and the amount of space to be coated are all variables that need management.

I like the lower temps as it increases pot life to maximum, also the substrate temps are important, I was working at 50 F when the trailer went into sun and its hull went to 80F this caused many problems and taught me a lesson with additional sanding.

I like this product as it gives a high polished plastic like look and feel to the trailer hull, its fully U.V. stabilized, and its PrimeKote subase fills in imperfections almost as well as fairing compound.

All tools need to be known as to their compatibility with this product.

Particular attention is needed to pot life and the amounts mixed up to be used, work only in the area that can be done in the pot life you have, over laps can be managed using corners so it cannot be seen, If the product starts to go tacky then stop using it regardless of the expense, I did however succeed in adding reducing solvent 2333N when I needed extra pot life working time with no danger to finish or set up hardness, while I got away with it I think management is a better approach.

The imperfections aways sand out easily, (after 24hrs set up) when the next coat is applied there is no trace of them, shooting this product on the hull is better if I were into competition trailer rebuilding, some auto shops would do a better job I imagine, the fumes are dangerous, the working pressure higher than my home compressor can provide. I will trade a little snarkiness from perfectionists in the future for simplicity while still getting good results...The forest is far more compasionate about my coatings than my friends...But then the forrest complains less which is why I like campimg...

Happy Camping, Safe Trails.

Harry

Great job, Harry.

Are you seeing any texture from your applicators? If so, do you expect it to smooth out when all is complete?

RJ

[Harry Young]

Well Kenna and I hauled the trailer to the shop as we have had weekend rains every week end...

The two top coatings of Interlux Perfection were put over the two bottom coats of Interlux PrimeKote, the trailer frame is now re-attached to the body now.

The strategy of practicing on the bottom half first paid off, after 4 applications Kenna is pretty good at it now, any mistakes are on the bottom.

The earnest body work is now being done to the top half of the trailer.

The front window was in earlier posts closed up, the blending of this feature is currently being done.

When done the existence of a window ever there will be gone.

We took the curve coming off of the top roof and blended in the top part of the new "fill panel". We brought the corrugated sides down off of the roof on both sides of the window "fill in" panel and widened them to over lap the "fill panel" on the sides too, this hides and seam. Then using the belly band contour's we blended in with Interlux Watertite fairing compound over the lower bottom of the panel making the panel all disappear.

Allot of sanding is next.

Fairing compound is used over the Range hood vent modification and the refrigerator vent modification to establish a unified substrata texture for the base coat.

The Pop top roof came out very well, no trace of the Fantastic fan modifications at all with no below the roof line seams.

Presented here is also the bumper step modification, its removable and stows away.

We will post again after sanding, we will post in the prime and finish coat process too.

Happy Camping, Safe Trails.

Kenna and Harry

P.S. The next post after this is just a rapid succession of more pics.



Rear of trailer.



Bumper step modification



The brown is cast resin, the blue green fairing compound to be sanded
and shaped into form.



Battery box nestled on two cross members.




Refrigerator vent modification is epoxied in place in earlier modification posted, fairing compound over lay is to smooth in the coutures where body and vent meet, we will sand, sand and sand until smooth. Later we will post a mini fan modification to this vent.

[Harry Young]

Pictures continued as promised.




Port wheel well, rebuilt after accident.



Starboard wheel well repaired after accident.



Pop top roof after two top coats of Interlux Perfection, the modifications cannot be seen, see
earlier posts on this modification.



Starboard long view of lower half of trailer.



Port side long view of lower half of trailer

This ends the pictures from the prior post.



Harry and Kenna