Been too hot!

I know you guys think we must have disappeared.....but really, it's just been too darn hot to work on the Avion!!!  We'll be back to it shortly. 

Avion Emblems

Continuing the "orange" theme, the Avion emblems at the front and rear of the trailer were in need of some attention.

A little sanding, then paint the base coat.

Fill in the blanks  with pretty orange paint.

Here is the back one - 

And here is the front!  

Orange Rub Rail

When we first got the trailer, the "rub rail" (the orange flexible insert around the mid-section of the trailer) was in pretty rough shape.  Faded and some of it twisted.

We cleaned it up, but it really didn't help much.

So, we pulled it all out to see if we could do something with it - maybe repaint it.  But it didn't look like anything was really feasible.

After much searching, we finally found a replacement at a Airstream dealer.

Very happy with the results!

Rock Guard fixup

The rock guard is just a hinged cover to keep rocks from hitting the front windows.

Wouldn't want to have to replace those curved windows!!

Unfortunately,  weather and time has not been kind to the rock guard.  The hinge area was cracked and had been previously patched several times.   So, off it came!  After much sanding....

It's ready for some fiberglass reinforcements!

Fiberglass cloth ready to start the layering.

In process - 5 layers of cloth/resin.

Kindof hard to see, but this is the final product - the rough edges sanded away.  Ready for primer, paint and the "Avion" decal.  Just ran out of weekend!!

Emblem

The emblem on the side of the trailer was weathered and a bit corroded. It's not an item that could be realistically replaced, so we just did the best we could to refurbish.

We cleaned up the corrosion as best we could and dabbed some new black paint around the lettering.  Looks good from 10 feet away!!

More bathroom counter work

The bathroom countertop is nearing completion. I ordered the small, stainless sink....and now it has a home! The opening to the right is a small "clothes hamper" that will be behind the toilet.  Here it's all set up for Duane to do the final routing to smooth the edges.

And there it is for a test fitting. We still have to position and install the faucet, but that will be fairly easy.

"Porch Light"

The "porch light" that plugs into the side of the trailer (while you're motionless) was in need of some TLC.

So, I just sanded it to remove some corrosion and painted it gloss black. 

Bathroom countertop replacement

Back from our Nova Scotia vacation - it's time to get back to the Avion!

First, a reminder of the "before" bathroom. The countertop was not in good shape - edging coming loose and it was buckled in places.

We removed the countertop and carefully made a pattern from fiberboard.  This is to be used with the router to cutout a perfect copy of the old countertop.  (The old countertop was too damaged and not smooth enough to use for this purpose, if you're wondering!)

Always check twice!!  We put the pattern in place just to make sure it was the fit we wanted.

Next we cut out the countertop from the "scrap" Corian.

And we cut out this small piece that will be epoxy'ed in place to make the final edge of the countertop.

Edge glued in place.

Now the pattern goes back in place -  the edge looks rough and uneven here - but a final run of the router makes it perfect!

And there it is!  Beautiful!    Next will be installing a sink - I haven't decided which one yet though!  

More galley work

Working with Corian is amazing! Here Duane has trimmed the original countertop to fit our cabinet. But in doing so, he trimmed off the finished edge. No problem - just build it back up by using epoxy to glue a new piece in place. Then sand/trim to fit using a router.

Thought I'd throw in this cute photo.  Duane makes everything look easy....but it really is a complicated time consuming process.  Here he is after routing some of the Corian - it comes away from the router in a fine "mist" and sticks to everything!

We toted the whole thing into the trailer momentarily just to make sure we liked the fit.

And here's a detail of the finished edge.  Isn't it wonderful?

Starting the Galley Refurbishment

Let me remind you what the galley looked like originally....

We've removed everything from the cabinet so it's ready for refurb!  New stainless gas cooktop and convection/microwave will replace the old gas stove.

We found a "free to a good home" ad on Craigslist. A couple in Chapel Hill had replaced their nice Corian countertops with granite. They just wanted rid of the old countertops - and we were the lucky recipients!






Lots of work to do to make it a custom fit - but we're really happy with our find! Can't argue with the price!

Final frame work

The rear of the trailer had a good bit of rusty frame also.

No problem for Duane! Just cut out the bad, weld in the new!

Primed with good old RustOleum!

And aluminum skin back in place. Good as new! 

Bathroom cabinets

Finally getting to put the bathroom cabinets back in place!

Glad to see the trim fits back nicely!

We'll have to make completely new countertop since the old one was falling apart.