Date:         Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:51:21 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Restoring Westy cabinet edge pieces
In-Reply-To:  <4DD809E4078D4EC48A56635731AD3BBE@ZoltanHP>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

  Being a woodworker, I have to say the plastic trim crap that Westphalia
used is one thing in these vans that is not up to standards.  Most of the
rest of the interiors are of great quality (for a production interior)
Also not too impressive in my interior (I haven't seen any others to check
really closely) is that shelving with the paper stuck on it....Weak!
  For just a little more they could have done a lot better.
  On the good side (and the Westphalia is really really good)  the
engineering that went into these vans is outstanding.   When I got my van
it was a "blank slate" a passenger van that I intended to do a nice yacht
quality interior in.   I've done multiple  vans and lots of high dollar
yacht interiors.....But along came an ad in Samba or somewhere..."Westie
interior and poptop for sale...$300, you  remove and pick up"  so I went
and got it as a 'temporary' measure.
  I couldn't even buy the wood for $300 to build my own, not to mention all
the custom stuff like the kitchen unit and all the hardware that makes the
interior about 4hrs to install......And it all works so well...
  But that cheezy plastic plywood edging....and the contact paper...they
could have done a bit better with that.

  If I were into making a Gold-Plater Syncro best in the world ever
van....I would love to emulate the Westie interior but do it with a real
yacht finish....small shipmate charcoal heater, teak and holly floor,
alaskan yellow cedar celings, Brunzeel plywood bulkheads and a really nice
galley, gimbled lamps...etc..But I don't have a few months that I want to
spend on a VW Van interior....I'm too busy using my ...temporary interior...

  Don Hanson

On Sun, Jul 15, 2012 at 10:10 AM, HotelWestfalia <zolo@foxinternet.net>wrote:

> I have worked on these cabinet trims myself; used the heat gun to soften
> them up to either stretch or just straighten them out.  Inside the corners
> of the cabinets I used the handle of the screw driver to push it back into
> the corner, then hold it down by hand until it was cool enough to stay.
> They stretch well.  I did not even use glue, the center part is meant to
> hold it in the wood.
> Zoltan
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stuart MacMillan
> Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 5:00 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Restoring Westy cabinet edge pieces
>
> I spent some time today "restoring" the hardened and shrunk plastic cabinet
> edge trim on my '85 project.  This van had lived a long time in the sun and
> heat of eastern Oregon, and all of the plastic trim was hard and had pulled
> back from the ends as well as from the round inside corners of the cabinet
> frames.
>
>
>
> I used a heat gun to soften and stretch all of these pieces, and  I did not
> have to remove any.  For the thick (no longer available) edge trim I peeled
> back a foot or two and used the heat gun to soften and stretch it back to
> length while one end was still attached.  For the cabinet corners I first
> softened them with the heat gun, then pulled a bit more out past the corner
> and softened and stretched it enough to form them back to the original
> curve.
>
>
>
> You could certainly remove the trim and soak it in boiling water briefly
> for
> the same result, but to remove the cabinet opening trim you have to unscrew
> the hinges and latches, which makes the job a PITA.
>
>
>
> A couple of these corners had shrunk so badly the doors couldn't be shut.
>
>
>
> It worked really well and was easy to do!  These trim pieces are a
> thermoplastic after all!
>
>
>
> Stuart
>
> '85 Westy
>
>
> -----
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