Avion flooring replacement

We decided against the plank flooring I had shown earlier. I actually ordered a box from Home Depot...but after some research, decided that it's probably not the best choice for the trailer since the floor is not as stable as a home floor. So, instead we choice a nice "Softstep" vinyl flooring. The nice brown color will not show dirt!!  

But we're not quite ready to install.....when removing the old flooring, we were left with the paper backing and glue. 

I've done a little bit of everything to get the stubborn stuff off.  Several days of heavy labor....

Water actually loosens the paper (or "felt" as some call it)

The glue is really good - and can be removed by using Xylene - a nice solvent.  I had a fan on high while using that for ventilation!

I know it doesn't look like much was accomplished....but this was hours and hours of sanding and cleaning....
it has to be smooth enough to lay down the new glue/flooring.

The next step is to make a template out of "kraft' paper that exactly matches all the little crooks and crannies of the floor.

Again, this doesn't look like a lot of work....but it was most of an entire day on my knees!

And here is the final result....we're lining up the templates to get an exact match when we install it....it's a little un-nerving since we only get one chance at perfection!  Later....