Date:         Tue, 10 Jan 1995 17:19:03 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         nrubin@s1.csuhayward.edu (martha rubin)
Subject:      Re: Martha's van mods

Yes, Alistair, I also have trouble with the condensation.  ON the most
recent trip to Big Sur, I tried one of those dehymidifiers, but without
much success.  Of course with 5 people in the van with the munchies,
throwing popcorn, we were producing a LOT of condensation!  :)

I covered only the sections of the masonite-like panels, and not onto
the metal parts of the van.  Even in the originial of my '81, these
metal parts were exposed, so I simply left them that way.  As I do
not care for the puke yellow color, I may paint them by hand, masking
them off, and using perhaps an industrial strength heat resistant
oil or acrylic based enamel, or perhaps even automative paint if I
find it can be applied by methods other than spraying.

If you need to cover something in the van which has odd shapes and 
twists in it, I'd recommend a fabric called (at least in my fabric
store) Lucerne velour - which is a velour that stretches in both
directions, but is very soft, like what you occasionally see jogging
pants made out of.  I think this would probably work fairly well
over molded portions going every which way, and the stretch in the 
fabric should allow for quite a big of give.  

Another alternative is to do what someone on our list has already
done (Will Self, I think?) - to make replacements panels out of
nice wood or wood with a nice veneer.  This sounded really snazzy
to me, but I don't have a band or jig saw, nor enough woodworking
skills to tackle it.  Also, I wanted a bit of insulation, plus
something softtouch on the inside.  If you could get ahold of
a fabric called ultresuede (especially upholstery heavy grade)
cheaply (which is probably impossible), that would be the ultimate
lining, I'd think.

I haven't tackeled the pop top ceiling yet, but I'd like to do
something wild there..


/martha rubin
nrubin@s1.csuhayward.edu
'79 bug 'vert (white)
'81 westy (puke yellow)