Community Forums

toadog · 05-04-2012, 10:10 PM

Is that a sanding primer? I cannot wait to see the finished job.

Jchet · 05-05-2012, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toadog

Is that a sanding primer? I cannot wait to see the finished job.

Yes, we're hitting it Sat. With DA's then shooting primer again reduced by 10% which is the recommended mix. Awlgrip 545 is 1 part base, 1 part converter then 10% spray reducer. The initial coat seemed watery enough to shoot without adding reducer. It gave it a good solid coat, we do have 2 minor runs to fix and some orange peel to correct. After the second coat it will take another sand with 400 grit paper. It has to be like glass before we shoot top coat.

Awlcraft metallic is very expensive paint, we can't have flaws in the top coat due to imperfections in the primer process. This is the part where it requires some extra attention to detail to have a quality finished product.

40GnTX · 05-05-2012, 07:26 AM

What a great project! Can't wait to see the finished product.

Jchet · 05-05-2012, 01:56 PM

We reversed engineered one of the large basement doors today to break up the boredom of sanding primer to see whats involved to rebuild them.

Amazing how cheap these things are made. It's mostly styrofoam sourounded by the now rotted wood. Remaking them looks to be a relatively simple project as compared to the rest of this job. I think we can remake them and improve the quality.

toadog · 05-05-2012, 10:22 PM

Good to see that doors will be easy, they say a paint job is as good as the prep work. take your time do a nice job .

rvfunhunter · 05-07-2012, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jchet

All of the lower doors and panels have wood rot and are not serviceable. This was the main reason our initial investment in this motorhome was so low. The MH had only the original owner prior to our buying it from a MH dealer here in FL.

It seems the original owner lost interest in the coach and it sat on his property for years unused but on or near a sprinkler system that for years has rotted the basement panels and doors. In addition to this the years of not caring for the gelcoat resulted in my decision to repaint the coach.

That being said we have been holding out on solutions to replacing or rebuilding the side panels and doors. I have a restoration company that is well respected in the Orlando area that has had 2 of the doors now for a few weeks and called with what he estimates is about 3 hours to remanufacture each door on average.

The exterior visible side is a thin fiberglass skin, the inside is a sheet metal skin, and the outside edges are a thin metal track. Looking at them all the skins could all be reused, the hardware is all there it only needs the core replaced.

Their labor rate is $100 an hour so the cost would be $300 plus material per door so figure $400. With 12 doors and 3 wheel wells its going to be $6000 plus to have them made. I'm not so sure we could not also take on this project. I think my plan is to have him remake 1 door, then pay him to advise us on the process.

Perhaps nieve but it looks like you could take (2) 1/2" marine plywood pieces and have them glued together to the thickness of the current core. Using some sort of epoxy glue the fiberglass skin and the sheet metal skin to the core and attach the outside edge molding. Cut the holes in the core prior for the hardware and reassemble, paint, and hang. I'm sure not that easy but looking at the doors it doesn't look that complicated.

Has anyone done this type of work before or does anyone have another idea we have not thought about???

Thanks

Hello my friend,
Not sure where you’re at with the doors but I replaced all of mine on my Tourmaster. I had the panels made from formed aluminium, a little like a gift box for a shirt which I assembled and filled with foam. I then added the upper hinge, lower moulding and re hung the doors. All the doors on this job cost less than 3500$ and no more wood. The doors are more rigid and more exhaust, dust or water infiltration! Here are a few pictures.

If I are interested in getting more information just let me know.

Eric

Jchet · 05-07-2012, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvfunhunter

Hello my friend,
Not sure where you’re at with the doors but I replaced all of mine on my Tourmaster. I had the panels made from formed aluminium, a little like a gift box for a shirt which I assembled and filled with foam. I then added the upper hinge, lower moulding and re hung the doors. All the doors on this job cost less than 3500$ and no more wood. The doors are more rigid and more exhaust, dust or water infiltration! Here are a few pictures.

If I are interested in getting more information just let me know.

Eric

Thanks Eric, I sent you a PM

Jchet · 05-07-2012, 02:44 PM

Finished sanding the first coat of primer today so were shooting coat 2 tomorrow. The supplier for the Awlcraft paint emailed that the first color of the topcoat is being shipped today and we should have it by Friday I hope. That will give us 3 days to have it sanded again and prepped for the top coat. The next phase is critical as perfection has to be the outcome prior to spraying the top coat.

I have to say, my sailboat was easy compared to painting this motorhome!

Midniteoyl · 05-07-2012, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvfunhunter

Hello my friend,
Not sure where you’re at with the doors but I replaced all of mine on my Tourmaster. I had the panels made from formed aluminium, a little like a gift box for a shirt which I assembled and filled with foam. I then added the upper hinge, lower moulding and re hung the doors. All the doors on this job cost less than 3500$ and no more wood. The doors are more rigid and more exhaust, dust or water infiltration! Here are a few pictures.

If I are interested in getting more information just let me know.

Eric

That's exactly like I was thinking..

Jchet · 05-09-2012, 06:30 PM

We finally got underway on rebuilding the doors. As of today were almost done with 3 doors and one wheel well. The reconstruction was done using the same skins and essentially rebuilding them almost in the exact manor they were done at inception.

We used marine grade plywood to replace the rotted wood, and starboard in the areas where the styrofoam was located. We're on track to have them all redone and ready to prime and paint next week.

1 more day of sanding the 2nd coat of primer, we're shooting the top coat on Friday. More pictures to follow by the weekend.

rvfunhunter · 05-10-2012, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jchet

We finally got underway on rebuilding the doors. As of today were almost done with 3 doors and one wheel well. The reconstruction was done using the same skins and essentially rebuilding them almost in the exact manor they were done at inception.

We used marine grade plywood to replace the rotted wood, and starboard in the areas where the styrofoam was located. We're on track to have them all redone and ready to prime and paint next week.

1 more day of sanding the 2nd coat of primer, we're shooting the top coat on Friday. More pictures to follow by the weekend.

Hi

I'm sure that they will work well even if you make them the same as the originals. It will also minimize expenses! The only thing that concerned me about doing it that way was the possibility that they end up with water infiltration again! The one thing I would do is ensure some kind of sealant between the extrusion framing and the skin to minimize the problem.

Good luck with the project. I look forward to the photos.

hdeddie · 05-10-2012, 02:54 PM

I want to do the same thing, great looking job. Ed.

Jchet · 05-10-2012, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvfunhunter

Hi

I'm sure that they will work well even if you make them the same as the originals. It will also minimize expenses! The only thing that concerned me about doing it that way was the possibility that they end up with water infiltration again! The one thing I would do is ensure some kind of sealant between the extrusion framing and the skin to minimize the problem.

Good luck with the project. I look forward to the photos.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. We're putting epoxy resin over the wood then sanding it to smooth it out. It's moving along great, we still have to sand, prime, and paint the doors so there is a lot yet to be done but were getting it done. It's keeping a couple of my employees busy helping me out. This would be overwhelming if it wasn't for there help. My lead crew chief has really taken charge of this job and has made it happen.

Tomorrow we do a final "walk though " on primer sanding to insure were ready to shoot the first coat of top coat. I got home and my supplier had the paint, converter and reducer on my door step. So we need to make sure the primer finish is as smooth as glass. We need to clean up the area as there is a lot of primer dust in the area. So a real good cleaning of the area needs to happen then we need to wipe the bus down with water and then hit it with acetone. Once it's as sterile and clean as possible it's time to break out the top coat and expensive paint gun and see how she goes.

It will be nice to be looking at something other then UFO gray. This top coat is for the sides from the top of the basement doors to the roof and the front. The lower portion and the back will be a different color.

Jchet · 05-11-2012, 01:35 PM

We were scheduled to start the top coat Moon Glow Silver paint today but scrubbed the mission.

Late yesterday after sanding the final primer coat we had about 10 spots that the primer got sanded down to bare fiberglass. I wanted to reapply primer on those spots so today we could sand them, clean the bus and shoot top coat.

Like a dope I decided to mix some primer and roll it on those spots rather then spray the primer. As a result today we had such a mess to sand that we made the situation worse. Unlike spraying primer these rolled primer spots were sloppy, runny and difficult to smooth out without getting aggressive with the DA sander. Right back to where we were if not worse then Thursday.

Like many half witted managers I asked my employee today why he let me roll it and didn't stop me and insist we spray it with the paint gun.

He told me he thought it was a dumb move but didn't want to say anything being I'm the boss and it's my bus.

I let him know next time to not hesitate to save us both the time and effort and me some money.

We spent most the day sanding those areas out and repainting them with the paint gun this time. It needs to cure for 12 hours so were shot today and Saturday I have to head to Boca Raton FL for some meetings, Sunday is Mothers Day and I think the Spousal Unit would not appreciate me working on the MH. Good weather is in store and I think our Checkmate sport boat is going in the water for some enjoyment.

I'm disappointed but this primer phase has to be flawless before we lay down the top coat. Any short cuts here will be a huge mistake. Onward and upward, Monday is the day!