Polished To A Shine

Hey Howdy Hey! Projects are winding down to just a few and we've come up on one of our finals ones.  Knowing what I know now this project may have been one of my first but you are benifiting from the things I've learned hopefully to help you with your tear project.

We learned over the long months and years in our relentless desert climate that the clear coat that comes standard on aluminum ( we weren't told about it) will dry and flake off the trailer making it yellowed and as if you'd parked it under a sappy tree.  No amount of scrubbing with products will remove it.  I recommend that before adding anything to the outside including lights you remove the film if you are even thinking of polishing it in the future.

What you will need are gloves, mask, goggles, stripper, plastic pudy knive, and lots of newspaper or drop cloth.  We found a gentle stripper and began taping off lights and everything we didn't want to get stripper on.

This stripper strayed on and didn't run, it's extremely gentle.

I recommend the mask and goggles and doing this outside.  We had some wind kick up and I was very happy for the goggles and mask.  We left the stripper on for about 30 minutes and began scraping it off.

Tape off windows, lights, and anything painted before you begin.

The stripper doesn't run so it works well on the sides.

You can see the clear coat flaking, this is why we decided to strip and polish the Guppy.

The front we had scraped, you can see the difference already in the aluminum.

Once we had the trailer scraped it was time to wash it.  We hitched the trailer and took it to the local soap and go.  I purchased a marine soap used on aluminum pontoon boats to remove the oxidation and help bring a shine.

The soap is gritty and has a sponge included.

We brought a bucket of water with us so I could soap it quickly.

The stripper left a haze along with the oxidation.

With some scrubbing the marine soaped everything up very well.

After we came home the trailer already looks 90% better.

Once we cleaned the trailer it was time to polish.  We again purchased a marine product for aluminum pontoon boats, this  polish removes oxidation and leaves a protective coating keeping it bright for up to three years.

The polish comes in a large tub and is easy to apply.

We used two buffers to clean and buff the trailer.  I recommend a high power buffer and changing pads often.

This is a close before photo.

After the lights looked new again.

It has taken a long time I won't fudge on this and I'm only half done with the Guppy.  We went and purchased an ergonomic air powered buffer to run with the air compressor.  The electric buffer didn't have the power and was taking twice as long.  We also used smaller buffers with the drill for the tiny areas the bigger buffer couldn't reach.

This is before the polish. Still a bit hazy but it has a shine.

After the polish you can see our truck in the reflection.

After we are done the Guppy will be kept in the garage to help slow the oxidation and keep the shine.

With aluminum comes some care, it is mostly carefree but to be honest if you want to keep it and pass it on you do need to care for it inside and out.

I hope this will help you if you choose to polish your trailer, it's hard work but when you look at it and see the shine it makes it worth it.

Stay safe and enjoy your camp. 

Windows And The End Is Near!

Hey howdy hey!  It's been quite a week, after helping Morgan sell her trailer we set back to our trailer projects. 

I've had slider windows since Crybaby/Surfside said he couldn't get sliders (remember we paid $200 extra for them) and ignored the website I sent him.    We have never been refunded of course but it is more than that.  I explained how I can't physically manage the crank windows because I don't have cartilage in my wrists due to work injuries and they still took our money and put in the crank windows.  

Well today was the day finally to tackle the windows, as I stated I had found and purchased great little sliding chicken coupe windows with locks.  They are a perfect size and easy to operate.

Remember the marine glue I purchased for Crybaby to use on the wood in our build?  Well they used it in place of butyl tape.  *face palm!*  We started on my husband's side since I've learned over the years it's taken to fix this mess that they usually started on that side doing a cruddy job but the other side is even worse.

Using a putty knife and hammer we slowly broke the seal on the glue.  At one point we took a trip to Harbor Freight and grabbed an oscillating tool hoping it would help.  After what seemed like forever we finally got the windowout and  surprisingly they didn't use a lot of glue only in globs.

The shims they used to make it appear to fit had water damage from when it leaked before we added a rain gutter.

First crank out off, I'll be listing these on eBay or Craig's List.

After we wrangled the first we took more time with the second to document it.

The starting point, the original crank window.

The inside, you can see the plywood they used as shims to make it appear to fit snug.

The window out, you can see the poor job sealing they did.

The shims stapled in, I swear the staple gun and two inch staples were their favorite tool.

Used the drill and brush to whisk the glue off, the debris covered everything including me.  Time for a break for medication and a breathing treatment.

We added window flashing tape to make sure moisture can't get into the doors and ruin them in the future.

Added the butyl tape to the window before mounting them.

The new window installed.  I ran a bead of silicone around the edge just as an extra barrier for water.

As you can see these windows fit much better.

Framed out the windows and even had time to make a new door pocket caddy.

After we were done I was so giddy, I know it's just windows but this victory means so much.  This was the final project for the cabin...it and the galley are now done.  This means we only have the spare tire mount and sealing the undercarriage and the Blue Guppy with be done.  We we are done we'll put together our after video.

I can't wait to take the Guppy out for a quick camp to test the new improvements.  This week I think we'll be working on a few other upgrades though and we said we'd be available to the new trailer owners this weekend.

Here is my next project, a tent cover for the galley.

I saw this and immediately said I want it for the Guppy to match the awnings I made.

Tomorrow I have a marine aluminum cleaner and polish coming.  I'm hoping it will work well and put a gloss shine to the trailer.  As always with any new project or product I'll give you a play by play and tell you if it's worth it.

Until next time enjoy your camp and stay safe!

  

  

 

Finally Galley Project!!!

Hello everyone!  I'm in the greatest of moods, one we helped our friend finally sell her little trailer and I hope the new owners come over when they need help as I offered to help them with projects large or small.  That was huge in itself and the trailer went to a good family.

We've been working on putting the speakers in the galley lid, another project Crybaby/Surfside said couldn't be done.  Well we love proving him wrong and this one was a cherry.  Originally Crybaby put our galley speakers on the wall behind the sink a bad spot and when the galley leaked our speakers got soaked.  It's a project that's been on the todo list but couldn't be done until we tackled the galley hinge.

The original galley, the speakers were in a terrible place.

When the hinge leaked it soaked everything including the speakers.

We took out the speakers and turned the holes into our switches and a magnet board.

The switches run the lights in the galley and we have a 12 volt outlet to run a crockpot if we want.

While the deck lid was off we put in the speakers next to the lid light.

Time to add the quick connect ends and wire the speakers to the amplifier.

We added a noise reducer to keep any humming from wiring down.

The speakers were the easy part, the wiring was more of a challenge because we had to use the holes drilled by Crybaby and we had to do it without completely taking the lid apart.  With some creative taping and pulling we were able to get the wires through and the rest was a cup of cake.

We held our breath a little and switched everything on....success!!! We have music once again in the galley.  

This marks the end of galley projects for the Blue Guppy. Oh what a difference!

We took it today to the car wash for the first time it got a bath and the est part is no leaks!!

Our next project is removing the crank out windows and replacing them with slider windows.  We had originally order it with sliders but Crybaby kept our money and gave us the crank windows that I can't operate.

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy the camp.

The Galley Hinge Monster

Hey Howdy Hey!  For those who've been following my blog and video then you know the galley hinge is what started the spiral down the Money Pit.  For those coming in now I won't force you to read my earlier blogs but you may want to later.

The galley hinge, the dang galley hinge!  Well after finding that even if Crybaby/Surfside had cut one to properly fit the type they used will never seal it was time to tackle this monster or completely rebuild the galley....again. 

I know some may be asking what took so long to fix it, well in the multitude of issues we had this one with the help of an easy up and tarps could be managed where the others couldn't.  I'm one for not starting over again with the galley so I pulled the hurricane hinge out that I purchased from Little Bear Teardrops and set off to tackle what I feared.

We first had to cut out all the glue Crybaby/Surfside crammed into the corners in their jackwagon attempt at fixing the problem.  Not only did it not fix it but I had to spend a couple of days cleaning up and cutting off the glue they slopped everywhere, it was a real mess after coming back from their failed repair job.

This is how we would find in the galley after a light rain, completely soaked.

The original hinge and the sloppy glue they crammed in their attempt to make it work.

The amount of glue they used was ridiculous.

The glue poured out of every edge.

Flash forward to now, now that we cut the rest of the glue out we were able to disconnect the light (I used quick release connectors for this reason.  Once it was off I started my photos.

We used a putty knife to pop the old hinge off.

Once the hinge was off you can see the sloppy job and rust forming behind.

The lid side had dirt so it wasn't even getting a good seal.  They didn't use butyl tape or even seal behind their work.

With the lid off you can really see the water damage.

Water damage is a pain to fix but you can fix it as long as you don't let it go to long and rot.

The mold and damage on the deck lid will be tricky but I think I can fix it.

So once everything was off my plan of action set, we started on the cleanup and repair.  First was painstaking cutting the glue off with razors then a rough wheel to take the rest off.

Cleaned and ready for the new hinge.

Working into the evening, the wood repair is coming along.

The wood repair is moving along, now I can fill sand and stain.

A bit of cleanup left and the wood will be as good as new.

The repair to the right side went even better, there wasn't as much damage here.

My best friend during the project was this rubber wheel that took the extra glue off the aluminum.

The galley lid went back on like a champ.

I still need to make a couple of adjustments but the new hinge is already watertight.

The black vinyl molding looks good.

Beautiful and fits well closed.

The hurricane hinge we used, made not to leak.

I feel so so glad now that we have a leakproof trailer....finally!  It was a project but now we are a step closer to finishing.  I'm going to add end caps to the finish off the trim and keep the vinyl molding from shifting.  I tell you I won't know what we'll do when it's completely done and we don't have anymore repairs to make.

Now we can focus back on the cool details like making the canopy for the galley, the retro lounge chairs and table out of wine barrels, and the bar and chuck boxes. With the weather cooling it will be nicer working on these projects.

Until next time enjoy your camp and stay safe.