Getting Dirty Again

We got really cranking the past two days. We ripped out the rest of the front and kitchen area flooring and cut out a replacement pieces. For the right front section, we worked from a cardboard template Rick had made from wood he ripped out when he replaced the left side of the front. Work was easy, but laborious. I helped with the sawing, but Rick did most of the demo, then I followed behind cleaning (pulling all sorts of yucky stuff, including a rodent nest), washing, wire brushing and finally painting the frame. We haven't actually set the panels in, since we have bolts on order from Vintage Trailer Supply and also need to purchase insulation to fill in the belly pan. We have no reason to doubt that this will be accomplished next weekend.

I also attended to a couple of "housekeeping" chores. First, I couldn't believe the filth that accumulated on the far side of the trailer in just two years. Even my precious windows had mold on them! Well, I set to scrubbing them. It left us both with two impressions--that we really have to go ahead and purchase the metal cover structure we'd been thinking about--certainly before polishing. Also, we probably have to consider a full out and out washdown as an annual maintenance punch item.

Anyhow, the good end of this is that I think that I isolated the leak allowing water to seep into the kitchen area (where we removed the rotted wood). Mopping up one seam shed water on Rick's new floor--so it looks like that might be the bad one. I'll make cleaning that and recaulking it my weekday project.

Oddly, our frame had two hitches attached to it. A year or so ago, Rick pounded and ground the old one hitches off. That left a couple of places on the hitch exposed and gathering rust. Also, there was a bit of rust on the parts of the frame we exposed in our tearout effort. So, I pulled out the wire brush drill attachment and started to work. First step--I brushed all involved sections, washed (and pulled out lots of yucky stuff out from the belly pan) and finally painted the rusted sections. Which leads to my next feature:

Consumer Report: Battle of the Rust Sealing Treatments

I have used two kinds of rust treatments on steel pieces. Outside, I used the POR-15 and Stirling Silver paint combination favored by many in the Airstream restoration community. On the interior parts of the frame, I started using Eastwood's rust encapsulator paint. Two years of exposure have passed and results are starting to emerge.

On the parts painted with POR-15, distinct pinpoint rust marks are starting to emerge, though there is no sign of paint damage. No damage is showing on the admittedly more protected places painted with Eastwoods.

Evaluation: I think both are quality products and far superior to Rustoleum. Durability seems to be slightly better for Eastwoods, since the more exposed parts painted with that did not breech rust. POR-15 involves a complicated process of setting down two base coats of POR-15, then following with a third cover layer of another paint (POR-15 is UV sensitive, so must be shielded). Eastwoods gets a bit of advantage in my mind since it only requires applying a single layer of paint and is available as an aerosol spray, which is exceptionally handy.

Action: Since I have leftovers of both products, I cracked open a mini-can of POR-15 (I bought a six pack of sample sized cans, which is super, since a little goes a long way), applied a single layer of that yesterday and hoped to follow up with a spray coat of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulating paint in silver on the exterior. However, the nozzle failed, so I ended up using the Stirling Silver paint combination. I applied Eastwood's black paint on the exposed frame as with the rest of the frame.

Verdict: If you have any cans of POR-15 hanging around or recently applied it, feel confident that you have a high quality product on hand. However, if I need new supplies, I will probably prefer Eastwood's Rust Encapsulating Paint, since it is easier to use and seems to perform as well, if not better. Also, it's necessary to think of rotary brushing and repainting exposed areas as a normal maintenance activity.


So, the weekend is over. . .We have enjoyed some great food and stupendous weather... We've worked to the blues, crickets and cicadas...We are truly dirty and I have paint flecks on my wrist that may never come off. We are slightly sunburned and very, very tired... Together, that's all an exceptionally good thing. Happy Labor Day!