The Airstream factory produced overhead cupboards made of wood or aluminum. My1959 Airstream Ambassador was equipped with an all aluminum cupboard. I wanted to preserve the period look and reinstall the cupboard as original. The piece was originally painted with Zolatone paint similar to the inside walls. It was painted over a few times during it's history. A cleanup was necessary and required some complex work.
Paint stripper was used for the initial cleaning, but the end result was less than desirable.
Most of the old paint was removed, but the inside crevices and shelf were hard to access.
The next step was to take the disc sander to it to remove everything left behind.
To my chagrin, the results were not to my expectations.
Most of the old paint was successfully removed, but the rivet heads were badly
ground off. The paint around each rivet was untouchable.
The only other option was to dismantle the piece for better access and do a thorough job of sanding.
Each rivet had to be drilled out to free the parts.
Individual pieces could then be sanded and detailed satisfactorily.
Access to all the surfaces was much easier. A proper sanding was achieved on each individual piece.
Once sanded and cleaned, the entire piece was buck-riveted back together.
Proper sanding and brand new buck rivets made the piece look much better.
Having the cupboard out in the open and taking the trouble to clean everything was well worth the effort.
Looks much better.
Once complete, the cupboard was deserving of a new coat of zolatone paint.
No comments:
Post a Comment