Main Lap Has Begun . . .

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Amskeptic
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Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:30 pm

What a gorgeous day. Such a lovely Type 4 engine, you must try it before it gets worn. Right now, it is the smoothest nicest air-cooled engine I have experienced (soon to go thumpy as the case opens up). Even the BobD can't match it for that most excellent Type 4 With Solid Lifters sound. This NaranjaWesty is driving lovely tight and smooth minus a little brake pulsing. So, the first sixty of this twenty thousand mile romp went splendidly, 17.9 mpg, no idea of cylinder head temps, but the freshly painted ash tray gear pattern gets to stay in place for the time being. Decided to paint the headliner with a WalMart-issued Rustoleum 2X "heirloom white" because "heirloom white" seems a modest color. Well, no, it is a glaringly blue-ish angry Frigidaire chest freezer white. But wait, the pile-up has only begun.

Found a lovely abandoned old Georgia farmhouse nestled on a hillside, and parked in the over-growing driveway:

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Ripped off the moulding along the top of the headliner board. Fred The Over-Sprayer had not figured out that a credit/motel card with some lanolin hand cleaner would allow the moulding to slip over the edge of the composite birch/foam/brown vinyl panels. These headliner panels have waves of smushed-up vinyl with a twenty year memory. I detached the edges of the vinyl and used super glue droplets all down the panels and pulled and pressed the vinyl to the real edge. No dice, The foam held fast, but the vinyl kept contracting to its smushed profile. Let's call it a "mess" and continue, shall we?

OK, painted the first headliner panel, the one over the right rear window. Discovered that the white was way too cruel, a cold fluorescent light in a leaking cinderblock basement sort of white, a cold bright street light on a rainy cold night sort of glare.

But what-the-f***-please no, please?? Must our new modern world reach its cynical fingers into all that is good and just muck it up? Yes. The paint will not dry. The paint will not dry. Not after an hour, not after a day. "Dries to the touch in 20 minutes, can be handled in an hour, fully cures in 24 hours," says the miniscule letters on the can somewhere, ". . . may take longer in cool temperatures."

Managed to hang the sticky gnat-catcher panel in its groove and get the screws started all the while holding it like a record album ( old music disks that we had to hold only by the edges, kids).

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"This will not do," said the Itinerant WalMart shopper. Found the receipt smashed up inside the Walmart bag, and drove to a WalMart sixty miles north of the one that had sold me this defective mean heirloom paint. The new WalMart was in Dalton GA, and the return clerk could not have been more accommodating. Exchanged for two new cans of Ivory Silk. Well that is a dumb name for an almost almond paint. Ivory is tooth enamel. Ever seen a real piano keyboard? It has white keys. Ah, whatever, it looks close enough. Now, I was hopeful, I had a project that I wanted to do, I found a beautiful pine tree preserve overlooking the town of Fort Oglethorpe, I camped in soft breezes and twinkling lights, here are the morning shots of my first night on the main lap of the 2016 Itinerary:

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Tore out the mouldings again, pulled down the headliner boards to the front headliner, decided to leave that one alone for the time being. Re-glued all the edges and praaaaayed that Lord God Creator of The Universe might help me hold the stupid edges. Found out that Fred The Destroyer had busted the headliner panel holding the fluorescent light fixture, and I found out WHY he did, later. Epoxied the panel, painted the others came back to the epoxy and gingerly removed the aluminum prophylactic wrapper used to prevent the vise grips from sticking to the birch. See the room card epoxy mixing station? See the new Ivory Silk paint job?

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Did sundry other chores while waiting for the paint to dry to the touch in 20 minutes at 80* 70% humidity. Waxed the perimeter of the roof under the poptop. Did some touch up of the wheel wells with paint that dried in ten minutes. Took down the plastic trim strip below the upper bunk and tried to heat it with a magnifier to get the waves out.
Nope. Next effort, HEAT GUN . . .

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Yeah. See the defective paint not drying? AGAIN? After three hours it lifted perfectly into my finger prints as though I had just painted them seconds before. Now I am in a mess of a mess on my way to Tnjed, the first call of the main lap. It is a beautiful planet, it was a beautiful day, and it was a most enlightening conversation with Rustoleum's Spray Can Division Production Oversight Engineer.

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BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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airkooledchris
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by airkooledchris » Thu Apr 28, 2016 10:33 pm

the plastic trim strip below the upper bunk....

I remember trying to get that sucker nice and flat again, but don't recall the level of success I had on my 76...

can you use engine enamel on those boards? that would require a lot of spraying into the cap and im not sure how many brain cells would be left once done. :geek:
1979 California Transporter

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Mr Blotto
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by Mr Blotto » Fri Apr 29, 2016 3:38 am

airkooledchris wrote:the plastic trim strip below the upper bunk....

I remember trying to get that sucker nice and flat again, but don't recall the level of success I had on my 76...
You know, that piece doesn't seem like it would be too hard to reproduce - seeing that pretty much all late Westfalias have a wavy upper bunk trim, I am surprised that someone hasn't manufactured a small run of them - seems like they would go like hot cakes.
1978 Sage Green Westy - 2.0 FI - SOLD WITH 109887 miles :-(

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the miz
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by the miz » Fri Apr 29, 2016 7:32 am

...painting headliner panels? ...genius...sounds way better than periodically re-gluing headliner fabric!

miz
1982 Westy- Vana White

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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Apr 29, 2016 7:49 am

the miz wrote:...painting headliner panels? ...genius...sounds way better than periodically re-gluing headliner fabric!

miz
Headliner panels are still tacky this morning. I have to keep the dust to a minimum while waiting for Rustoleum's Very Own Spray Can Division Production Oversight Engineer's promise that "it might dry over the next five days or so."

Once dry (please Lawdy), I plan to sand with 2000 grit to make it less shiny and more "silky".

The headliner board in the front absolutely cannot be tacky. Still trying to figure out a plan to protect the integrity of color match. The only thing I can think of is to fire up the ol' Preval sprayer, dump a load of "hardener" in it, spray this can in behind it, and shoot the headliner board with the Ivory Silk + hardener + prayer.

Did I mention that Motel 6 has officially gone over to the dark side? Read the 449 Consumer Affairs Reviews. I'm in there taking potshots at the G 6 Hospitality Group of Carrollton TX executives. "We'll Leave The Light On For You"?? Oh really?
We'll light the leaves under them.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Amskeptic
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Apr 29, 2016 7:57 am

airkooledchris wrote:the plastic trim strip below the upper bunk....

I remember trying to get that sucker nice and flat again, but don't recall the level of success I had on my 76...

can you use engine enamel on those boards? that would require a lot of spraying into the cap and im not sure how many brain cells would be left once done. :geek:
I do not know of any almondy cream color "satin" finish engine enamel . . . .
Colin :cyclopsani:
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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the miz
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by the miz » Fri Apr 29, 2016 9:38 am

Amskeptic wrote: The headliner board in the front absolutely cannot be tacky.
Colin
...said Colin, with "Ivory Silk" paint stuck to the top of his head. :drunken:
...just re-glued headliner fabric to the front panel last weekend. I have some extra headliner fabric...maybe enough to do your front board?
miz
1982 Westy- Vana White

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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by brandt » Fri Apr 29, 2016 10:35 am

Colin,

I had a big long message but I guess it didn't post. Are you painting over the thin covering? I once used house paint and a roller to paint those panels. The coverings were peeling and I left the glue under the covering on. The pattern of the vinyl covering (or what ever it is) was preserved in the glue. I got a bit of the unfaded "wallpaper" coating scanned at the paint store for an exact match.

I kind of wish I had signed up this year. I currently have two complete engines torn apart in an effort to get Chrome Yellow Burnt bus going.

Brandt

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the miz
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by the miz » Fri Apr 29, 2016 10:45 am

brandt wrote: I had a big long message but I guess it didn't post. Are you painting over the thin covering? I once used house paint and a roller to paint those panels. The coverings were peeling and I left the glue under the covering on. The pattern of the vinyl covering (or what ever it is) was preserved in the glue. I got a bit of the unfaded "wallpaper" coating scanned at the paint store for an exact match.
Brandt
I was wondering about interior latex paint as well...this worked well on "old-covering-removed" panels?
...thinking about fabric de-laminating from beneath the headbanger cabinet has me interested in idea of paint...interior paint, which could be applied without a rattle-can, might not even require the removal of the cabinets! :cheers:
The fact that the pattern from the old fabric remains on the panel after the old fabric has been removed is what makes gluing things to it a questionable proposition...but could make the paint option a quite viable one!
miz
1982 Westy- Vana White

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zabo
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by zabo » Fri Apr 29, 2016 3:53 pm

how do you find all these little camping spots?
60 beetle
78 bus

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Amskeptic
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:45 am

brandt wrote:Colin,

I had a big long message but I guess it didn't post. Are you painting over the thin covering? I once used house paint and a roller to paint those panels. The coverings were peeling and I left the glue under the covering on. The pattern of the vinyl covering (or what ever it is) was preserved in the glue. I got a bit of the unfaded "wallpaper" coating scanned at the paint store for an exact match.

I kind of wish I had signed up this year. I currently have two complete engines torn apart in an effort to get Chrome Yellow Burnt bus going.

Brandt
This headliner is birch/foam/crushed vinyl composite construction, and is too brown. The original headliner for the 1977 (built in July) was birch with "basket weave" contact paper. I have the original contact paper under the bunk and the flip board only. I don't know how this vinyl was attached to the front headliner board. Sadly, I cannot believe that Fred The Destroyer would have successfully cut out the front headliner board to such an accurate degree, I have to think he applied the vinyl.

I am painting this for an experiment, for fun, to check out the effect of a brighter interior. If this paint is a Fail, I will have to rustle up some new basket weave contact paper and strip this birch down . . . . still waiting for the paint to dry. It is gathering dust and gnats.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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dingo
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by dingo » Sat Apr 30, 2016 11:07 am

just grab some georgia sea grass and put that Basket Weaving 101 to use !
'71 Kombi, 1600 dp

';78 Tranzporter 2L

" Fill what's empty, empty what's full, and scratch where it itches."

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Amskeptic
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Re: Main Lap Has Begun . . .

Post by Amskeptic » Sun May 01, 2016 6:53 am

zabo wrote:how do you find all these little camping spots?
I am developing a sense, with much practice, where I scan the surroundings for "holes" in the perimeters of civilization. Power line and railroad access is good out west, failed industrial development cul-de-sacs in the east, farm access driveways in the middle west, and a gravel truck parking lot on a run-off-ravaged gravel driveway last night in Tennessee . . .
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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