projectmidge

Restoration of our vintage trailers. 1967 Airstream (Midge), 1957 Silver Streak, and 1961 Holiday House.

Polishing: Before and After

Before Polishing

After Polishing

What a difference a few days makes!  Midge looks fantastic!The polishing guys arrived on Friday morning and finished Sunday afternoon.  They got rained out on Saturday afternoon so it took a little bit longer than originally estimated.

The polished picture you see is before the final super fine polishing is done.  We opted to wait until we finished up some exterior work.  We still need to paint the top with white elastomeric paint and deal with some lighting issues.  We also thought we would wait for the final polish until next Spring.  Winter will be setting in soon and we will not be taking Midge out after October.  No sense in having a beautiful polishing job just sit in the weather all winter long!

The polishing guy was great.  I have his card somewhere around here and I will scan it and post it when I find it!  Here’s the deal with the polishing:  It is just a couple guys, a pickup, and polishing tools.   We stripped the clear coat, and supplied the power and scaffolding.  We, also, took off lights and taped the window edges.  He did the polishing in our back alley driveway.  I know this won’t work for some people, but if it sounds like something you can handle, give him a call.  The polishing was $800.  He will come back and do the final super fine polishing for $300.  It is worth EVERY PENNY.  That is a nasty, dirty job, and there is definite skill involved.

So the next item on the never ending list of things to do is replace the kitchen window.  It is currently plexiglass and looks horrible.  We have the window and are ready to tackle it.  It is a pretty complicated window mechanism….wish us luck!

Oh!  Speaking of luck….We went to HD to buy elastomeric paint for the roof of the Airstream.  There was one 5 gallon bucket of the specific product we wanted on the shelf with no price.  We had them look it up on the computer and it came up as .01 – ONE PENNY!  The manager didn’t know why it was ringing up that way, but he honored the price!  The regular price for it was $125!!!  Woo Hoo!

Found the business card!

Two Men Polish

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Stripping and Polishing continued….

The aircraft stripper from VTS worked GREAT!  It could not have been easier.  We brushed it on about 3:00 pm and rinsed it off about 6:00 pm  SO EASY!

Stripper Applied

Stripper Applied

Rinsing. I know, I know. He is standing on the TOP of the ladder. …

The last we will see if the original WBCCI numbers :(

The last we will see of the original WBCCI numbers 😦

Because we got the stripping done so soon, the polisher arrived this morning and started polishing!  He is doing the bottom half today and the top tomorrow.  It looks fantastic!  It is very interesting to see a professional do it.  There is definite skill involved!

Polishing!

Polishing!

Polishing!

I can’t wait to see it completed!  I will post the pictures tomorrow.

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Ugh….Stripping and Polishing

Well, we have started the filthy and tedious process of stripping and polishing the Globe Trotter.

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We are learning as we go along.  Probably not the recommend strategy, but it’s working for us.  I’m the stripper and he’s the polisher.  We are doing a section at a time.  The gel stripper that we got at the big box store is not working very well on the clear coat.  I have read on AirForums that Citri-strip works pretty good, but I’m having a hard time convincing hubby that it actually works.  He thinks the only thing orange juice is good for is VODKA.  I can’t really argue with that.  We have ordered some aircraft stripper from Vintage Trailer Supply and it should arrive today.  It gets great reviews, so I’m hoping it will go much quicker.

Here is where we finished up yesterday:

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Not quite 1/2 way.  It is only the first phase of polish.  Approximately 10 hours of work.   It looks so great!  The polished aluminum detracts from some of the dents, dings and scratches.  I was afraid it would highlight the imperfections, but it doesn’t!

So…..while we were at the truck supply store getting polishing pads and supplies, a gentleman came up to us and gave us his card.  He is a truck polisher.  He does all the chrome on big rigs.  We gave him a call and he came by last night to look at the Airstream.  If we get all the clear coat stripped off, he will come and do the mirror polish for a VERY reasonable fee.  He will come by on Monday and get to work!  So excited to see it done!  He will have it done in 2 days.

I am really hoping it goes smoothly.  I will be keeping an eye on the polishing crew to make sure nothing gets damaged.  If they do a good job, I will post their contact information and our cost.  I’m reluctant to post any of that information until we have a polished trailer!  Stay tuned!

On a fun note, the Denver Modernism Show is this weekend!   It is such a great time!  Hoping we will find some great vintage treasures for the trailers!

Here is their link:

Denver Modernism Show

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Built in Dog Crate/End Table

My super talented husband finished building a built in dog crate/end table for our little Ralphie Rose.  She is quite the chewer when we are not there.  We don’t envision leaving the dogs for more than a few minutes, but now Ralphie Rose will be contained and unable to damage any of our hard work.  He also finished the shelf that covers the fresh water tank and pump behind the sofa.  So glad I married a multi-talented man!

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A tuckered out Ralphie Rose

A tuckered out Ralphie Rose

The next major undertaking is stripping the clear coat and polishing.  I didn’t think we were going to do it, but the aforementioned husband took it upon himself to polish a small area on the back of the trailer and now we will have to do the whole thing….it looked so great!  He was just anxious to try out his new orbital polisher….why did I let him buy that stupid thing?!  Oh, well.  It will look awesome when it’s all shined up!  I will post pics of the polishing mayhem soon.

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Sibling for Midge :)

Well, we have somehow acquired another vintage camper:  A 1965 17′ Holiday Rambler!

We bought a 1967 Holiday Rambler 20 years ago when we first got married.  It was absolutely PERFECT.  It looked brand new.  It even had all the manuals and receipts from the original purchase.  We loved that little camper so much.  Then we had a couple kids and sold it for a new, larger camper.  We have always regretted selling it.

A few days ago my husband happened to spot this 1965 Holiday Rambler for sale in Craig, CO, and now it is ours!  The inside is in absolutely wonderful condition.  The outside could use a paint job and we need to find some new decals and emblems, but it does not need any major work. All major systems are working great!  It has new tires, too.  I will reupholster the cushions (they are fairly new), and make new curtains.  It is so cute and it is such a relief that it doesn’t need any work!

Midge is still my dream trailer and will stay with us in the Denver Metro area for trips based out of there, and the Holiday Rambler will stay at our property on the Western Slope for trips out of there!  It’s perfect!

Here are a few pics of the Holiday Rambler….yet to be named 🙂

1965 Holiday Rambler

1965 Holiday Rambler

I love the louvered windows!

But wait, there are more pictures HERE!

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New Axle!

This isn’t the sexiest of items or the most glamorous, but it was much needed.  My husband jacked Midge up in our driveway and over the course of a weekend replaced her worn out axle.  When he pulled out the cutting torch it made my heart stop (he had to cut a couple bolts that wouldn’t budge)….I had visions of Midge in flames, but he knows what he’s doing.   It made me quite nervous, but it went really well.  He will have to patch some of the belly pan, but not a big deal.  Midge is a couple inches taller….but what girl wouldn’t like that?

Taking out the old axle.

Taking out the old axle.

Dropping the old axle.

Dropping the old axle.

Old Axle....gone!

Old Axle….gone!

Shiny new axle!

Shiny new axle!

New Axle

New Axle

New Axle!  Midge is standing tall :)

New Axle! Midge is standing tall 🙂

Since we have gotten the new axle installed, we’ve scheduled our next trip with Midge.  We will be going to Estes Park and Grand Lake in Mid September!  Yay!  Hopefully, the leaves will have started to turn.  I love Aspens in the fall!

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