This interior is taking longer than hoped, but finally got the ensolite repaired and primed.
I glued up the sagging ensolite with contact cement and it stuck great.
Next up was filling the gaps with some dap230...this is the only picture I remembered to take of this step, so it’s ugly and not complete
Since the t-moulding was really beat up and some of the tracking missing, I decided to tape the seams. I didn’t like the look of just the seam fill with dap, and my texturing with a sponge looked bad. The seams were so uneven too that it was just ugly.
I used this stuff from amazon. Not cheap! I scoured the city for something cheaper or similar but none of the big box stores carried it. I even tried calling the hot tub stores too, but no one had anything this wide or not cut into pre-set lengths. It has a texture to it very similar to the ensolite.
This stuff was a nightmare to put up. I first tried with the included adhesive backing, some 3M super77, and a heat gun, but it failed miserably. The next morning 75% of the tape was on the floor. I ripped it all down and started again, but used this stuff to secure it.
The trick was getting the lines really close to the edge of the tape, so that it squished out when attached. The best way to do this was to run a finger along both edges, then roll with a small clean
paint roller. This also means the adhesive forms a bit of a lip or edge with tape, so there are no gaps. It took about 24 hours to cure fully. I did a test spot in the cupboard first, and it was really tough to pull off. My only concern is temperature fluctuations and cracking, but the adhesive is rated for pretty extreme temps. Fingers crossed.
After the tape cured it was time to prime. I used Kilz2 latex, and applied two heavy coats. What a world of difference. I bought a little can thinking it would be enough for such a small space, but save yourself a headache and some $$ and buy the full gallon as I ended up going back for 2/3 more of a can.
I’m going to pick up some high quality latex
paint tomorrow and finish it off in a
light grey (or evening charcoal with earthy undertones, as the fancy swatch says). It’s like night and day inside now, no regrets so far on
painting. I scrubbed and scrubbed the ensolite before hand hoping I wouldn’t need to
paint, (ammonia, tilex - a few days later after a water wash!, vinegar, and bar keepers friend). Those all helped but some of the stains were just way too set in. I was tempted to try the steamer too, but I had had enough.
Will post some pics with better
light as well once it’s all done.