My 1972 Boler Restoration Blog

[HoleyBoley]

We started sanding and scraping everything that was within reach without a ladder. About 20 sanding discs later, a ton of bondo and the grey paint were mostly off. The front right side had a good bit of filler on it for some reason, but I didn't see any damage. I think they were just trying to level things off mainly.

Since the previous owner cut a giant rectangle through the left side for all the vents, they also cut the aluminum belt. Because of that, and the other holes that were randomly drilled into it, We decided to ditch the belt and buy a new one once we get to that point. We're planning on splitting the shell in half so we can get to some of the areas that need repair easier. It will also allow us to clean the crud out of the seam and make a better connection when we put it back together.

Before we get to that point, we'll be making wood braces on the inside to retain all of the dimension so nothing sags or shifts while it's apart. Those will all be screwed in from the outside but, at this point, what's a few more holes?

[HoleyBoley]

The final few pieces were removed from the inside and we went on a good one hour rivet hunt to find all the ones that were missed. You can see from the last picture, the amount of holes and fasteners just on the right side is insane. I'm sure we'll run across a few more just as we start fiberglassing them closed.

For now, everything has been sanded and cleaned and we're getting ready for fiberglass. Because all of the internal supports are out, we took the critical dimensions on the inside of the shell and are checking them every few days to make sure nothing is shifting while we're working. It's not hot so I don't see anything moving for a while. Once we're done moving around on the inside, I'll brace everything up with wood as a temporary measure to keep the shell from flattening or buckling at the belt line until we can get the new closet and kitchen area installed.

I've also decided to integrate the tail lights when we get to that point. I'd like to reduce as many of the holes and joints as possible and those giant panels have so much potential for leaking. I'll be cutting the flanges and fiberglassing them into the structure for a cleaner look.

[FRED SMAILES]

WOW! After seeing this trailer and the holes in it, kinda think people need not worry about a little hole here and there for whatever

[HoleyBoley]

Fiberglass prep begins! We're using painters tape to cover all the holes from the outside and will be filling with resin on the inside. The larger holes are being covered with mylar first which will give smooth as glass finish when we're done.

The giant cut out rectangles had to get a different approach. I purchased some PVC sheeting which bends easily. I was able to tape the sheet to match the curve of the body line. I used mold release wax on the sheet as well so no fiberglass would be stuck to it. To make sure it didn't move during glassing, I used a hardboard layer on top of that since it was also flexible, and screwed it around the perimeter. It made a real nice seal with the body contours. I created a ridge at the top so I could continue the lip edge that's on the bottom half of the shell. I used a straight piece of wood there and at the bottom to make sure we had even support and it wouldn't end up wavy after it was done.

I copied that system for the upper window cutout as well since we won't be putting a window over the range and going with a hood vent instead.

[HoleyBoley]

To fill the holes, we're mixing cabofil fibers and micro beads into the resin mix until we get our "peanut butter" consistency. The micro beads help with sanding afterwards and the cabofil fibers are just super fine glass fibers that thicken the mix up. Using the mixing sticks, we each started on filling the hundreds of rivet and screw holes. We had to go through about four batches before all of them were filled as it was incredibly tedious. We also missed a few as it was next to impossible to catch every single one.

The larger holes we'll leave for later, but this was a good start to get an idea of how the fillers mixed with the resin and to take care of most of the holes. After everything was spread, we sprayed the filled holes with a mold release spray after it had some time to cure. The helps harden the outside layer which would have remained slightly tacky otherwise.

[HoleyBoley]

Started with the tail light integration. Because the lip on the lights was so warped, I cut it off and fiberglassed it in from that point. I taped them in place on the outside and then filled and fiberglassed from the inside.

The large square cutout was also started. I was able to lay up a few layers in my first go around, but it's obvious it's going to take a few times to get it thick enough to match the rest of the shell.

I started pulling off most of the tape from the outside to see how the hole-filling was going from the inside. Most of them pushed through to the outside surface, but many were a bit short. I'm going to have to fill from the outside as well. Also, I realized I was able to be pop out some of the 1/2 inch sized holes. Now I'm worried that flexing over time might pop the resin out of the tiny holes as well, so I'll end up putting at least one layer of glass mat over every single hole that was filled from the inside.

[FRED SMAILES]

Awesome! keep up the great work!
Have you come up with a plan of attack for creating the door?
fred

[Eric Frye]

Love the ambition. I'm am kind of in the same boat, maybe a little ahead of you with my Boler B1700. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, for me my interior was already out. I want to echo the recommendation for the West Systems product, the pumps really make it easy to use.

You mentioned that you were thinking about splitting the shell to clean the belt line. I would say don't. You would think that since they match up now they will go right back together, and you might be luck and they will. Once they are apart and unsupported there is a good chance they will deform and you will have a fight on your hands mating them back together. It's glassed together inside so take a pressure washer to the exterior belt line or a brush and soapy water.

[CBG]

yep. made our purchase look a whole lot better! enjoyed the read and will enjoy following!

[HoleyBoley]

Originally Posted by FRED SMAILES

Awesome! keep up the great work!
Have you come up with a plan of attack for creating the door?
fred

Just in my head. I plan on making a template of the outside curve so I can make a mold out of sheet PVC. Then the door skin and build up from there. I want to incorporate some inner support as well to beef it up over what the original would have been since there seems to be a great deal of flex and twist on the originals over time.

[HoleyBoley]

Originally Posted by Eric Frye

Love the ambition. I'm am kind of in the same boat, maybe a little ahead of you with my Boler B1700. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, for me my interior was already out. I want to echo the recommendation for the West Systems product, the pumps really make it easy to use.

You mentioned that you were thinking about splitting the shell to clean the belt line. I would say don't. You would think that since they match up now they will go right back together, and you might be luck and they will. Once they are apart and unsupported there is a good chance they will deform and you will have a fight on your hands mating them back together. It's glassed together inside so take a pressure washer to the exterior belt line or a brush and soapy water.

Thanks! I plan on making a support system on the inside to prevent warping. I'll also make "keys" on the two halves that fit together to line things back up. There are a number of large repairs that I need to make on the bottom of the shell, and splitting it up so I can flip the bottom to do the repair properly outweighs the chore of bonding the two halves back together.

[HoleyBoley]

Well, the big holes are done. The sheet PVC came off easy thanks to the mold wax and the curves follow the original perfectly. The edges are amazingly flush so there won't be too much sanding to do afterwards once we get to the finishing stage. That's really the part I'm dreading as I hate sanding and wavy panels will drive me nuts if I don't get it all flat.

I'm still a few layers short of where I want to be as far as thickness goes on the new panels, but that part will go fast now that the hard part is done. The new lip for the bottom half came out nice and I'll be able to tackle the lip for the top half once the shell is split.

[k corbin]

I just love watching other people work on their projects. It is so much more fun than working on my own project

[HoleyBoley]

Took the tape off the tail lights and sanded a bit down around the ends. I'll have to use some filler to smooth over the small imperfections, but they came out pretty nice. There's going to be a ton of sanding and priming once this is all done because of all of the previous body work anyway.


Quick few shots of the interior at night. A hood work light ended up fitting perfectly up top so we have some nice lighting to work with. It also illustrates all of the holes and thin spots from the outside when the shop lights are off . Almost like you're looking at the night sky.


We're still brainstorming names at this point as well. I think with the recent photo, we want to find something celestial.

[Eric Frye]

Very nice. Like K Corbin I do like watching others work. The glass work looks great so far and I am completely with you on sanding fiberglass. Keep posting photos so we can keep up with your project. For me working on the camper is easy, remembering to take photos not so much.

[Dan-NS27]

Originally Posted by HoleyBoley

It also illustrates all of the holes and thin spots from the outside when the shop lights are off . Almost like you're looking at the night sky.

While I'm sure the light spots are showing thin spots, it could also just be places where the paint is not there or just really thinn too. I get light spots like that on my sailboat hull (when seen from inside) on a sunny day from areas that don't have paint and those areas are 3/4" thick. Fiberglass/resin will still shine light through.

Nice work cleaning it all up.

[HoleyBoley]

Originally Posted by Dan-NS27

While I'm sure the light spots are showing thin spots, it could also just be places where the paint is not there or just really thinn too. I get light spots like that on my sailboat hull (when seen from inside) on a sunny day from areas that don't have paint and those areas are 3/4" thick. Fiberglass/resin will still shine light through.



Nice work cleaning it all up.

Thanks. Most of the spots are from me sanding down the gel coat on the outside to get rid of cracks or gunk. [emoji16]

[Nicolas]

Originally Posted by HoleyBoley

Started with the tail light integration. Because the lip on the lights was so warped, I cut it off and fiberglassed it in from that point. I taped them in place on the outside and then filled and fiberglassed from the inside.



The large square cutout was also started. I was able to lay up a few layers in my first go around, but it's obvious it's going to take a few times to get it thick enough to match the rest of the shell.



I started pulling off most of the tape from the outside to see how the hole-filling was going from the inside. Most of them pushed through to the outside surface, but many were a bit short. I'm going to have to fill from the outside as well. Also, I realized I was able to be pop out some of the 1/2 inch sized holes. Now I'm worried that flexing over time might pop the resin out of the tiny holes as well, so I'll end up putting at least one layer of glass mat over every single hole that was filled from the inside.

Did you clean and rough the rivet holes before applying the resin and filler? Mine have bonded well and have endured 7 years without a problem. Resin loves a good surface and I’ve found that even some of my resin to plastic bonds [if the plastic is sanded first] have held up to the test of time. Also a previous questioner asked about the extra weight of all the filler; my view is that you are essentially just adding back in what was originally missing and since you seem to be removing some of the excess, the weight will probably be less!!

Love what you have done.

[Fabricmama]

Curious on the progress of this!

[HoleyBoley]

Well, it's certainly been a while. We had some family events come up and a few other life events (We are now married ). However, I have to blame the lack of updates on a bit of laziness as well. We did take a break for a bit on the Boler, but have been slowly getting back into the swing of things since last October. I'll try to catch everyone up as we've made some exciting progress.


The fiberglass work was the worst. Safe to say that neither one of us cares to work in fiberglass for the rest of our lives . Everything was finally filled and a quick primer was sprayed over the body. We wanted this to be a blank canvas for us. To answer a previous question...yes, we roughed up everything before laying down new glass on the smaller holes.


You might notice that the back windows are gone. Our original windows were pretty ratty and we loved the look of some of the rounded corner windows we saw as we thought it fit the lines better. Not knowing which direction we would go and knowing we had to reinforce this area anyway, we thought it would be best to just fill it all and cut a new hole for whatever window we chose. The area around the windows was pretty beat up and cracked anyway so it was a repair that had to be done. The three oddly spaced roof vents up top were filled as well. We'll be switching to two Fantastic Fans instead.