WILLY'S FACE LIFT - INSTALLMENT 10

It hasn't been a particularly interesting few days for readers, but it has been exciting for us.  Actually it has been remove silicone and sand, sand, sand, sand and sand.  There are, however, some important and/or interesting things I want to share with those who, like us, are total novices and wanting to redo their own trailer.

Along the lower back of Willy we found about four screws. It took us some time to figure out why they were there.   Someone had evidently taken off the bottom panel of siding and re-attached it. When they did so they didn't get enough metal into the grove of the panel above. Result - the lower panel can be easily pulled out.  You can guess how the previous person addressed the problem - silicone and screws.

Repaired area

Our problem was that we didn't have enough material to both move the panel up to properly fit into the panel above and still have enough to secure it at the bottom.  The best way to deal with the problem would have been to put a new panel on the back. The problem with that would be finding a matching panel - Willy is 30 years old.  A secondary problem is that our lease is up soon and we do not have the luxury of letting the project sit while we try to find a piece of matching panel. I solved the problem by cutting narrow strips of aluminum and fitting them into the track of the upper panel. The strips were backed with butyl tape and then screwed into the lower panel and wood behind. I used Tap sealer along the edge just to make sure I had a good clean water tight edge.  I don't know how kosher this is, but I think it was the best solution and assured us that we had original siding.  You will notice that our siding is not flat and would be extremely hard to match, or even come close.  The picture to the right show the back of Willy after everything had been sanded and washed with Trisodium Phosphate.  Even when you know where the repair is located, it is not particularly noticeable.  

We are going to use an industrial implement enamel. This is commonly referred to as tractor paint. Many people have successfully applied tractor paint with a foam roller. We plan to attempt to replicate their success.  One thing you need to understand about this type of enamel is that there is a lot of chemistry to be considered.  We went to a PPG automotive paint store. The young man there knows his products very well and consequently was able to give us some excellent guidance. A strong recommendation: go to a paint store that knows the paint you need very well.  I can not imagine what we might have done had we not gone to the PPG store.  We decided to use a hardener. We have a 10 hour pot time (number of hours before the paint begins to harden), so we will only be mixing in the hardener by the pint.  The hardener makes the paint more durable. It also keeps the paint from re-activating if we put a second coat over it, or decide to repaint at some future time.

Sanded, washed with TSP and ready for primer 

We decided that having a primer was worth the time and expense. Technically tractor paint doesn't need a primer because it is put directly on bare metal. However, the fellow at PPG agreed that a primer would be beneficial in case the paint gets chipped by rocks, etc.  The process is four steps: (1) make sure that all grease, oil, adhesive residue, etc., is removed.  (2) sand, sand and sand again. (3) Wipe and then wash with trisodium phosphate. (4) I used Rustoleum primer.

Willy after priming. Repair spot almost unnoticeable

I had time to do a couple of other projects while I was waiting for things to dry.  I refurbished the step-handle. I did it in chrome.  I also reinforced the second fender skirt with fiberglass. I should have taken a picture to show you what I did.  We think that we can find a fender skirt that would fit, but I had already started the salvage process on the originals and it is going well, so we are not going to buy any new skirts until these can't be used any longer.  I backed the entire skirt with fiberglass focusing on areas around the screw holes.

I did not attempt to prime more than two sides of the trailer in a day - the back and left side today. Tomorrow, after the primer is sufficiently dry, I will sand and prime the right and front. Once all four sides are primed I'll go over it with a prep sponge and mask for painting the white.

The weather is supposed to be good on Wednesday, so I'm hoping that we'll be able to finish priming and at least get the white done.