Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 14:24:24 +0000
Reply-To: J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: material for new rear hatch panel?
In-Reply-To: <1310133654.12454.1265.camel@TheJackUbuntuNetbook>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Well, when Home Depot came to town, they had lots of employees who seemed to be very knowledgeable. Once they had killed off the existing home improvement store that was in the area, they fired all of them and hired people who most likely can't even read or write. I went to purchase some new windows for my house recently, and needed a bit of help trying to figure out what size to get since my house is 50 years and nothing in it is a "standard" size. After a few minutes of explaining the situation to the Home Depot employee in that department, I said "Never mind, I'll figure it out on my own". I could tell by the look on his face he knew nothing about windows. Love their self check out lines too!
Jeff Stewart
----- Original Message -----
<SIDETRACK>
Not to sidetrack this helpful advice or anything, but have any of you
guys noticed that folk working in home improvement stores seldom know
what "Masonite" is? When I was a kid my old man bought Masonite all the
time for various projects. "Where's the Masonite?" he'd ask. "Over back
by the Formica," the counterman would say around his cigar stub. (To my
youthful eyes, all hardware and auto supply store countermen looked like
Bluto, Popeye's nemesis.)
Now, asking for Masonite at the local stores seems to cause perplexion,
as though I had asked for Bakelite or Linoleum.
</SIDETRACK>
Thanks, Jim. I agree that 1/4'' would look too clunky. Thanks for the
adviso about the adhesive, that is most helpful. The desert sun in
Central Oregon -- the high desert east of the Cascades mountains -- is
anything but mild and we easily see 40 to 50 degree high/low swings from
daytime highs to overnight lows due to the aridity of the atmosphere
here.
I would take you up on your offer to borrow your paper template, but the
responsibility, the burden of having this prized item in my possession
would weigh heavily on my heart and I'd not sleep easily until I was
done with it and had it safely back in the mail before I spilled
something on it than if I had just pulled my own darn panel.
As for finishing appearance, I'm tempted to see if I can't find some
vinyl wallpaper with a cheery Pacific Island beach scene or something on
it. Mrs Squirrel would like daisies.
-- RJS
On Fri, 2011-07-08 at 07:58 -0500, Jim Felder wrote:
> You should be OK with 1/8 inch tempered masonite. The untempered stuff
> will work too, but it is less rigid and might not survive being pulled
> off again.
>
> Paneling or some 1/8 in birch ply would be OK too, but I would think
> the quarter inch thick stuff would be too thick on two accounts: 1.
> The original fasteners wouldn't work and 2. the whole thing might look
> a little clunky, but hey, you can buy some kind of replacement
> fasteners at your flaps that would work, and being all the way in the
> back would not trash the appearance of the camper even if it was a
> little clunky looking. So that's up to you.
>
> Having done this a number of times, and you ask for finishing ideas,
> let me offer a dictum ranther than an idea that will help you out:
> don't use any petroleum based adhesive to affix the finish. Use heavy
> duty vinyl wallpaper paste (premixed) and a wallpaper brush and let it
> dry overnight. It will never fall off in your car. I realize you live
> in the mild northwest and not in the harsh Alabama sun where I do, but
> spray on adhesives would fail in all but the coolest, sunless
> climates.
>
> Bus Depot still sells the original interior magical shredding material
> (theirs may be better, but it is said to be match for the old stuff)
> and I'm sure it would look good. I redid my entire interior with a
> smooth vinyl that more matches the cabinet color, somewhere between
> the yellow of the paint job and the band-aid color of the cabinetry. I
> picked it up at an upholstery shop, where you can find a great
> selection and get leftover stuff for cheap. This has a fabric backing,
> hides imperfections well and is very tough. I think it makes the place
> a little quieter, too.
>
> Grab yourself a hole punch kit (the round hollow kind that you hammer)
> at harbor freight and make easy work of all those fastener holes. I
> already have a paper tracing of a back hatch panel and all the
> fasteners. If I can, I like to get my new work ready and swap it out
> with the old instead of pulling the old and hustling to get it back in
> on an inconvenient schedule. Anyone who wants to borrow it can do so
> if they will just return it. Likewise, Rocket, I can send you a sample
> of the vinyl fabric I have been using on my interior lo these many
> years.
>
> Jim
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 8, 2011 at 12:10 AM, Rocket J Squirrel
> <camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The interior panel on the hatch in Mellow Yellow has cracked.
> Doesn't
> seem like a major operation to pull it and use it as a
> template to make
> a new one. What's a good material which is commonly available?
> Finishing
> ideas?
> --
> --
> Rocky J Squirrel (Jack Elliott)
> '84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> '74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano,
> Calif.)
> Bend, OR
> KG6RCR
>
>
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