Next Job: painting the open flooring

This is the next job-- painting the flooring that was exposed when the old metal wall was taken out. Notice that the vinyl flooring does not cover it. The driver seat box will get finished painted black to match the passenger dual-seats. The passenger seating has a swivel seat and turns around to face the back of the van.  The box and seat are from a more modern 2006+ Mercedes Benz model as the T1N dual-seats do not have a swivel seat option. 

Adding the swivel also makes them higher, and I plan to make a little foot rest over this area in time. It will hold shoes, but for now, it needs paint.

Footwell work

While I have been slowly doing the ceiling, I've parked the van on the opposite side of the street facing the wrong way of traffic so I can work on the driver's side. I have sanded and cleaned the rims, giving them a shot of Montana brand metallic silver spray paint. Cheers them right up.  I had thought about gloss black, but I happened to have this spray can already, so I went with it.  Sometimes my decisions are based on being a cheapskate.

The footwell had been repaired at some point in the van's history and had a piece of metal welded in. This is a notorious rust area for Mercedes Sprinters, so I was pleasantly suprised to find it already in great condition. I did not have any protective paint over it though, so I slapped a thick coat of gloss black oil paint on it.  Three days later it still wasn't completely dry, but that didn't stop me from replacing the footwell plastic.

Before returning the footwell, I covered the outside of it in layers of cork and glue to help with sound deadening. The road noise in this van is horribly loud.  Anywhere I can shove some cork, I do.  The formerly white seat box is getting painted gloss black at the same time.  A new black carpet from ebay makes everything look great.

Cabinet endcaps, now waiting for the hinges

As you can see, I work on the street in front of my house.  The end caps have been put on the cabinets. I had to make cardboard patterns to get the endcaps to fit perfectly. It's not a simple square shape.  They aren't perfect, but they are a lot better than I thought they would be!

The other end of the cabinet.

Eventually I will either paint the bottom or stain it. Not sure what I want to do.

Cork ceiling and cabinet framework

Once enough of the ceiling panels were up, I started building the framing for the above sofabed cabinets.  I made the front frame in the back yard.

There is a slight angle downward towards the back of the cabinet so that gravity helps keep items in.

The ceiling is looking pretty good. I do have several mistakes, but I'm okay with that.

These cabinets will hold a lot of clothes or towels or something! they are nice and deep.

Cork panels going up slowly

Covering the ceiling with insulation foam and thin wood paneling covered in more of the cork.

Finished sliding door interior... looking good!

The screw and nut on the ceiling is from the solar panel on the roof.

Painting Touchups

The painting company I used did not paint the interior, so I have purchased spray cans of RAL 7032 and I am doing touch ups and interior pieces to match.

Interior of sliding door

Interior of back doors, which still have the original wood pieces still on.

Interior panel base coats

I have given the interior wood door panels a few base coats of oil based paint.

This way the small cracks and imperfections in the wood will absorb the cheap oil paint and making spray painting them with the more expensive RAL 7032 easier.

Hera the campervan is home!

Upgrades in the time of Corona

There is nothing else do to. All travel is off since we are in lockdown from the Corona virus, so to help support our economy, I'm ordering upgrades and having things done. Benefits companies and benefits me.

I have sent Hera off to be painted.  They sent me photos today to show her progress:

She has been painted RAL 7032, (Pebble Grey) a grey that is not in the blue spectrum. It is very neutral and not polar white. I also like vanilla white (also known as milkshake) This is a color that won't stand out should I want to do a bit of stealth camping in a town or city.

I like it because it is not polar white and will not show dirt as bad.