Vc's ...a scary obsession ?

[Mark T]

VC’s ……a scary obsession ?

I’ve spent the last three days (yes, I’m on leave) working on my 1953 Don caravan, in fact, a whole three days only working on one 2 square metre section of it , the rear, under the waistline. Why three days? Coz its been the biggest bastard of a job I’ve ever undertaken …..I blew the old paint off last week with the heat gun, that didn’t take long, but underneath, is this gluey, sticky, thick plastic bog-like-crap that’s about an 8th inch thick in places …….and the only way I’ve been able to shift it is with intense - concentrated heat with the heatgun on about a square centremetre section, then scrape the sticky shit off with a small scraper, then clean the scraper & move onto the next square centremetre.

And why am I doing this ……I’m stuffed if I know ? Do I have some sort of addiction to it, maybe I’m getting some sort of high from the sticky shit, but day after day, I’m out in the shed starting at 6:30 am to do this tedious job, and most of the rest of the van still has to be done ……. I don’t need this caravan, I have three others that are ready to “rock & roll”, plus one nearing completion of restoration that only needs the finishing touches ……I have no immediate plans for this Don caravan, so why why why ?

I can’t get the rear window out, the lead that’s been there for 53 years has moulded itself to the glass, more hours needed to chisel away at the lead to free the window …..there’s a small quantity of woodrot around a couple of the other window frames that need repair ……and the rear section that I’ve just spent three days on has some woodrot under where the No plate used to sit, and where the maneuver handles were screwed to the body, plus the ply has some chunky bits whereby the outta seal of the ply has worn away ….more work ……more time ……more frustration …….

One phone call is all it takes …..just one call, I even know the phone No without looking in the book …..to my mate with the tilt tray truck, he could pick up this nightmare from me within half an hour, and take it to the tip ….problem solvered & outta my life forever …………

Why don’t I make that call?

Its 38 degrees outside, I can here the neighbours having heaps of fun in their pool, I can hear the Ditzy daughters inside the house, in the air conditioning, laughing as they watch a funny movie, I’m underneath the rear of this van, the heat gun is blowing hot air everywhere, the sticky shit burns as big chunks of it flake and fly and burn my arm & legs ….its too hot to wear overalls …..another splash as one of the kids next door take a dive ……Oh shit, a burning bit of grain filler or whatever just got stuck between my foot & thong, burning painfully …..I’m too stupid to wear boots ……more laughter from inside the house ……what are people “WITH A LIFE ” doing today?

The FX’s menacing vertical grill is staring at me …..the FX is pissed off, I promised to take it to the car show in 8 days with the baby Don from Ballarat in tow, and I’m yet to finish fitting some flashy bits (accessories) to the car to brighten up its drab looking appearance …..its painted original Convoy grey. And the baby (10’)Don caravan, I’ve still gotta rethread its towball shaft with a die nut, and I gotta sort out some 6v lights for it …..Mr Plod isn’t going to be happy with a single tail/stop light ….and no trafficators. ……even though the car show is only about 10 mins from home .

More burns as yet more hot bits fly off the scraper straight onto my skin ….I’m sweating big time ……

Scrape scrape scrape ……there’s a couple of birthday parties coming up in the next couple of weeks, the spare room needs painting, the sliding door we fitted over a year ago still needs paint, the family room paint needs a tidy up ….all these jobs that need doing, and here I am …..addicted to working on this old heap of …..nice caravan …..at least those jobs inside the house would be in the air conditioning!!!

Another few hours ….another few centimeters of scraping off the sticky shit …..the heatgun keeps burning away ……the shed ain’t getin’ any cooler …….

Next day, whilst doing more of the same, the phone rings …..its my mechanic. I took the 39 Chev to him to sort out a fuel / carby problem ……he’s fixed it and test driven it, but he has concerns about an engine vibration that occurs at 35/40 mph, a vibration I overlooked when I bought it, and have lived with since …..he wants to pull the sump off to have a look-see, he’s worried that with 950kg of caravan hanging off the back of it on the way to Brookton (our next VC run) it might finish up on the side of the road with a leg hangin’ out the door (conrod through the block) ….whatta laugh that’d be ……especially considering the Brookton promotional photo & story of the 39Chev & “46 Holiday Home” caravan that appeared in last Saturdays West Australian newspaper ………how can I not fix it ! Speaking of the “Holiday Home”, the caravan is near completion with only a couple of jobs to do, but here I am, stuck with a heatgun in my hand working on this “Don” …..that I have no particular plans for at all !!!

Is the fact that there’s only two 14 foot “Don’s” in the state, mine & Jims, and THEY were the dux guts of caravans in their time, the classy – flash - big Don caravan …..or is the fact that, unlike cars, of which thousands were made and stood the test of time well, wooden caravans didn’t ……. take the FX Holden for instance, 120000 made. How many of these old round shape Don caravans were built between 1934 & 1955, ……oh ,about a 1000 !!!! ……or is it the fact that I just happen to like the Don caravans ……..

Another few hours of scraping ……the HD is still in the carport, bought out of its storage hole for me to organise a couple of improvements prior to it being trucked to Adelaide ready for the Morgan run …..its not gunna happen whilst I’m stuck here with this heatgun in my hand …….

The next phone call is 85yo Dorothy from Adelaide, she calls to advise me she received my chq for the 1960 “Hardy Fiesta” caravan that her & her ‘dearly departed’ purchased brand new in 1960 ….. I just purchased it from her …..sight unseen, I mean literally sight unseen, I’ve never even seen a photo of it, she couldn’t organise a photo for me, and nor do I have any idea of what a Hardy Fiesta caravan looks like!! …….after acknowledging receipt of the chq, she tells me it has no wheels …..what? …..no wheels …….what the?? …….. No wheels, How the hell am I supposed to tow it to Morgan, then Perth with no friggin’ wheels? In the next sentence, she tells me her late husband took the wheels off it for storage purposes, but the wheels are there ……I just have to put them back on ……
Well that’s just made my day ….hasn’t it? …..back to the heatgun & scraper

Shall I make that call ? one hour & the “Don” would be at the tip …… ;D ;D.

[Deleted]

Dearest Poobahest

Seems to be a few issues here.
1. Why spend all your life scrapeing 1 centimetre at a time when a chainsaw and a new sheet of ply would solve the problem. Simply determine the extent of the "sticky gooey shit" . spark up the chainsaw and disect the affected area. whack on a new sheet of ply , undercoat , paint ... finished with no hot gooey shit stuck between your smelly toes.

2. Windows sticking??? Gunna take hours of chipping and chiselling... bullshit
Reddos instruction for glass removal. ... search around shed floor for suitably weight object. Keeping OHS in mind here. Dont want to see ya strain ya back do we??
Once heavy object is located raise said object to shouder hieght , draw arm back and pelt object through offending sticky glass. BINGO glass will instantly release itself .
Pick up phone and ring local glazier to come round and cut new glass. Job done in 10 minutes no wuckers.

3. No wheels on Adelaide van..... gods punishment for tryin to cheat on the Morgan run.


Cheers Reddo

[cobber]

G’Day Mark,

I hope you are feeling better now that you have got that off your chest ;D
Your devotion to preserving “Australia’s Touring Heritage” goes without saying and we know you will not give up on the “Don”

A thought occurs to me regarding the sticky goo
The bloke I bought “small van for a small car” from
vintagecaravans.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=forsale2&action=display&thread=1139660230 said he had been told that it had a plastic coating on the ply to help protect it. And just recently the very generous Al has got information from Ralph Symonds
vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1140669925 that they had a ply product called “Rescote” that had a plastic coating on it.

Are you sure that is not what you are burning yourself with.
I don’t know when “Rescote” first became available, maybe other members can help us there

See you at Morgan, with the Don in tow

Cobber.

[Mark T]

Reddo .....my woodworking skills are limited to building a shoebox
AND ....the rear window is a leadlight glass panel ....very expensive to have redone .....

Thanks Cobber ......the "Hardy Fiesta" (with no wheels ;D ;D) is the van I'll be towing to Morgan .....pick up from Adelaide.

cheers

Mark

[fc59er]

Mark, I just finished reading your dilema, after picking myself up off the floor from laughing so much, I called my husband up to read your post.He has just spent the last 3 days like yourself sweating away under our van we just bought sanding back and repainting underneath our van. It certainly made him feel better knowing that he was not the only person on this earth with a mental problem( an addiction to vans)and that there were other people out there that could sympathize with his plight. He laughed whilst reading your post untill he got to Cobbers post and realised that the van that may have also been painted with this " sticky crap" was infact the van we had just bought. His smilling face had just turned a pale colour and now his mind was ticking over about the possibility that we could be facing the same dilema. After calming down and taking a few deep breaths, he has one question WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THE STICKY CRAP? ???Can you just sand and reseal over it??
Many thanks,
Jackie and Kevin ;D

[Franklin1]

G'day All,
Can I throw my one-and-a-half cents worth in? I've done a fair bit of home renovating over the years, for myself and other family members. And during those renovations I've tried a number of ways to take painted timber back to wood to prepare it for a decent job. I've had the most success with paint stripper, but what I've noticed is that the layers of paint act differently. Let me waffle on at a bit of a tangent... Many of the homes in our area are Housing Commission houses, built in the late 50s / early 60s. HC homes only get repainted when absolutely necessary, and then only after a quick wipedown and the new paint put straight on over the old. So if you get a piece of, say, timber skirting board from the house you'll be able to find all the coats of paint back to the time it was built. What I've noticed with paint stripper is that the latest acrylics just bubble off easily, followed by the former enamels which take a bit longer to bubble, but still come off relatively easily. More stripper is required to keep working down through the layers, and it becomes harder to remove. The coats closest to the timber are invariably turned into a gooey slush by the stripper and require some deft work with a scraper to remove the gunk. On occasions when I haven't used stripper, and used an orbital sander instead, those coats closest to the timber seem to be harder and clog up the paper much more quickly. So what does all this mean? I'm no paint expert, but my general memory of paints tells me that the paints back then were lead-based, and kalsomine-based. If you do a Google search of sites in Australia, for the word Kalsomine, you'll get some interesting knowledge about it, and what to do with it. Similarly if you search for "lead-based paint" there might be some useful info available. Let's remember that Australia back then was just coming out of the grip of WWII and the Depression years, and most folks were not what we would consider affluent. Caravanning was for the poor working class, and many families had heaps more children than we can comprehend about today. So dollars (sorry, Pounds) were thin, and the vans would have been built to suit that market. My thinking is that many caravans back then (perhaps even the factory models) were made out of whatever ply was available, and whatever paint there was in an old tin in the shed would do just fine. So you could have any sort of paint concoction closest to the plywood.
Just my thoughts...
cheers,
Al.

[Mark T]

Very interesting thanks Al, and thank you all for your input........I am definately dealing here with a modern "plastic" paint over the original lead based paint, and some type of grain sealer over the ply, but only in certain areas, the rear under the waistline being the worst.
Maybe the van suffered damage there at some stage, a car could have easily ran into the back of it in its 53 years, and the ply may have been replaced & coated with this horrible sealer stuff.

JBJ .....I tried scraping the paint off down to the sealer, sanded it & put a primer on it, but the end result was the pitted look .....no good, so the sealer had to come off.
Al .....industrial strength stripper hasn't even budged or bubbled the paint, and it won't shift the sealer either ..... a real dilema ....a mate of mine has suggested petrol, I haven't yet tried that .....I'm a non smoker, but I think I'll have a cigartette when I try the petrol, that'll solve the problem ;D ;D ;D

This morning I was on the ladder stripping the paint off the top of a window frame, and a putrid, highly toxic liquid actually ran from underneath the paint ......It gave me a head spin , so I got down off the ladder quickly ......I always wear a face mask, but I've since been to Bunnings to buy a respirator with a filter for toxic fumes.
The roof of the van has its original silver aluminium paint, definately lead based & highly toxic.

This so far this has been a monumental job, and I still have hours to go, virtually every section of the van has presented me with different layers of paint & sealant, but the heatgun has been the most effective method of removal of all of the substances.
When I finally get to the ply, its mostly in good condition, with a minimum of repair required, but this is a big van, 14' 8' in length, alot of ply, and alot of time.

I'm wary of the rotary sander too, I have damaged the ply in a small section on the side, by applying too much pressure to remove the gluey shit ......so looks as though I'm in for some elbow work ......at least that'll work up a good thirst ......plenty of mid strengths after that effort ;D

Mark

[Mark T]

The front window frame from whereby a highly toxic liquid actually ran down the frame when I blasted away the plastic paint with the heatgun ......the putrid smell gave me a headspin" .....forcing me off the ladder quickly ..."gimme more o' that shit man....."



about a nine inch long chunk of plastic paint



the backside of that chunck of paint showing the original lead based silver aluminium paint



front view of the offending "Don" caravan



in the same shed, the FX Holden & the baby Don caravan in the background await some jobs prior to next weekends car show, but it isn't happening whilst their owner has some sort of obsession with a heatgun & paint scraper



the rear section of the offending caravan, where I spent 3 days being tortured by some sort of gluey sticky thick bog-like-crap that burned my skin when hit by the heatgun & scraped off .......



The "1948 Holiday Home" awaits the finishing touches to be ready for its debut run to Brookton in a fortnight



How excited was I when I found this in a junk shop a couple of weeks ago, a new old stock 1940's "Lane" door handle & lock for the Holiday Home .....it was still wrapped in its original packing .....until I came along ;D ;D



The "rool cool" water tank filler hanging at the rear of the Holiday Home



The view of the nice brick paved patio arear outside Ditzy's bedroom sliding door ;D ;D

[Mark T]

woops ......nearly forgot to show you the pics I never received of the sight unseen 1960 "Hardy Fiesta" caravan with no wheels I have purchased from Adelaide for the Morgan run ............


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Does anyone out there in vintagecaravan land know what a "Hardy Fiesta" caravan looks like

[trodler]

Hi Mark.
Just had a quick look through the good old Keith Winsers caravan and touring book of 1953,
I couldnt find any photos but Hardy Caravans address was 1 Margret St. Norwood.SA.
It doesnt really help but at least it is part of the puzzel.

Cheers
Trodler.

[Deleted]

Mark
Never , never ....treat this lead base paint lightly. This stuff is equal to ....or worse than asbestos if you constantly snort the rubbish . Mixed with the "unknown".. redicote... ( i have used electronic Chemwatch and Chemalert MSDS registers and cant find any info for you) it can mess you up something horrid.
Please . Please , ensure you are wearing good quality Personal Protective Equipement (PPE) when working on this stuff. Heaps more dangerous when released in air ( snortable particles in laymans language) than what it was when it was when it was being applied by grandad.

Hey sure Reddo ...?? OK .... i buried my father 4 years ago age 88. He was a signwriter/house painter from the 30's to the 80s .He suffered a major stroke and spent the last years of his life as a vegie ( read here ... didnt know me from a bar of soap....!!!!.)
"Red lead" paint undercoat was commonly used to paint all the old timber coal carriages and tallowood and cypress boards boards on houses back then... dad done thousands of 'em then washed up in turps etc. His skin was like leather by the time he was fifty..... ingestion of this shit happens just as freely through the pores of the skin as it does via breathing it.

File this under useless info if you like but i feel it would be better sittin' somewhere near the top of the technical section as a reminder to all my /our V.V friends ...firstly as a word of warning and secondly to remind them that OHS isnt a complete load of shit....


First serious post from me in nearly 600 ... eh?. Perhaps i care about my V.V mates......

Reddo
Safety Officer
Lake Macquarie City Council

[Mark T]

thanks Mr Safety Officer for your stern warning, I can't believe Reddo is actually being serious

I always wear a face mask, goggles and long sleeve rubber gloves for this job, but wasn't aware the lead can seap through skin.

I believe most of this van has been repainted at some stage with a modern plastic paint, coz it hasn't the toxic smell that the lead based paint gives, but the roof definately has the original lead based paint under it ......I will from now on wear a respirator & overalls as well as the gloves.

I've read up on it on the net, as you say potentially very dangerous stuff. Next week I have to have a blood test for cholestral, so I'll get the doc to do a blood lead level test as well ........

I'll make it to Morgan yet ......I hope

[earlee]

don't forget to check ya' prostate while you're at it!

;D ;D

[will and lyn]

;D
Mark
what a story
Ive got sore ribs
have you been reading Reddos latest edition of caravan restorations for the serious vintage Vanner
funny stuff mate
I was just about to ring you and ask if you can help me paint my new van

What was that you said Mark
Did you say Duck off!!!!
Ok gotta go now

Will

[Ditzy]

Ok Ok............ I have heeded the warnings. I was very worried when Mark was following his obssession.........made a woman feek really good when her man would rather go an play with old caravans than.......... well I won't elaorate...........

But after reading this post again.................. REDDO IS THIS SOMETHING I SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT............





hELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Deleted]

OOOOOOOOOOOOO Ditzy
Ya shouldna posted that picture. ... WHAT A TART...Did he fall off the Mardi Gras float???
The evil cogs are whirring here already folks... .
What a perfect shot to promote the Vintage caravan movement. This could come back to haunt Mark bigtime. Some evil types on this forum have access to colour enlargement facilities. I can ..... ooops... these evil types can get 20ft X 10ft enlargements made up.
he, he, he.

All i can say is keep your eyes open for the big billboard as you drive into Morgan from the west. With a bit of computer enhancement we can make this pathetic case look like a refuge from "Pascilla Queen of the desert"... You know what i mean ..

This shot of Mark seductively reclining in his favourite chair with a caption underneath that reads. " Welcome to Morgan.....Cloud 9 Escort Services .. for a "Good Time " ring Mark!!! or just drop in to
Site 9 - Riverside caravan Park. ..Open all hours.. Your wildest desires forfilled .... you wont be disappointed ;D ;D ;D ;D

Now.. lemme see... where did i put that printing company phone number? .. better get things organised for easter!!.

L.O.L here...with friends like me who needs enemies.

P.S
When the guest poobah goes for his blood tests make sure that they leave some lead in his pencil. that should cure him from wearing wedding dresses.

Reddo

[Mark T]

went to the Docs today ..........

Got my referral for a cholesterol blood test, but when I told the doc I had had a close relationship with lead paint, and wanted a lead check, he shrugged his shoulders and said ....."Nah ..don't worry bout it "

Was it coz I hadn't got changed since the pic Ditzy took last night ?

Then, when, as Earlee suggested, I asked for a prostate check, he excused himself and left the surgery

What the

[Jim]

What a tart indeed!

Even the sultry look and the lady-like pose doesn’t do anything to add to the appeal.
(A champagne glass, a wig and a leg wax may have helped)

This does look like a classic case of lead poisoning. (The stuff from old paint, not the pencil type lead).

What happens is the old lead paint scrapings you inhale acts like Fairy Dust and it neutralizes testosterone.

Men who are normally sane most of the time, then go tropo and get into cross dressing.
It often happens around the time of starting a second childhood and when strange hobbies are taken up.

Unfortunately, in this case, the Fairy Dust hasn’t converted said person into a Tinker Bell type character (besides, there’s not a wand in sight)

Blood tests, and possibly a vasectomy, or more serious surgery, should be done as soon as possible.

Someone sensibly suggested a prostate examination as well..
Tinker Bell’s friend Captain Hook, who now has his new qualifications as a doctor (You have heard of Doctor Hook, haven’t you?) could perform the prostate examination, but make sure he uses the hand without the hook..

It should be noted that part of the problem in this case is the display of footwear used while said paint has been scraped and fumes have been ingested.

Dump the jandles Mark (call them flip flops or thongs if you like, depending on your political leanings), but swap them for decent work boots and you’ll keep your toes a lot longer.

By the way.. Rossi is the brand of choice.. They are the thinking man’s choice in work boots.

Mark, I still think you should try one of these gadgets in the picture below, along with a good respirator and eye protection equipment.
Run it around 3000- 3500 RPM and it’ll work a treat on layers of old paint and whatever else is unwanted.



I’ve used these discs to clean up many types of surfaces uncluding old timber that’s been painted many times and in poor condition.
If you add a Delta sander, wire brushes (flat and chisel) and some scrapers for the fiddly bits, you can breeze through 1-2 sq ft a minute to have a smooth ready to paint surface.

The discs are $21 each and I’ve found they are good for roughly 1000 to 1200 sq ft on bad surfaces, as long as you don’t catch them on anything sharp. Compare that to paint stripper.

I've found that old files make very good corner and crevice scrapers. Grind them flat on one side and the edges and to a long chisel edge on the other. The bigger they are the better.

[Mark T]

Thanks Jim ......very humerous comments ....and thanks for your advise re the 3M disc.

I've postponed finishing this job whilst I concentrate on preparations for Morgan, and the Brookton weekend coming up this weekend,

cheers

Mark

[Mark T]

At Brookton on the weekend, I was given a copy of the 1947 book "How to Build Caravans" by John D Porter.

I now know what I'm dealing with, as to stripping this Don caravan back to plywood.

The book says "A caravan of the highest class (al - la -Don) may have up to say 9 coats on the bare hardboard, two priming, three or four of filling, one or two undercoats & a finishing coat "

And thats prior to its several coats of repaint over its 53 years .....no wonder its a bastard of a job

[Jim]

An update on stripping discs..

I've come across an alternative to the 3M Clean and Strip discs.

Norton (Bear) Rapid Strip discs.
They are the same type of disc as the 3M product, same size, same operating speed, but a slightly denser construction and not quite as flexible.

The open ‘weave’ construction is an important feature to allow self clearing of the stripped paint or whatever material you’re stripping.
The ‘weave’ is tighter on these Norton discs.
Flexibility is important so the disc doesn’t dig in.
I’ve only used the Norton disc for a few minutes and it seems ok so far.

The good thing is they are about $4.00 cheaper than the 3M product.

When I first used the 3M discs they were over $30, they are around $20 now and the Norton ones are around $16.
It’s not often you find a product that’s half the price it was ten years ago – there’s nothing like a bit of competition.

[Deleted]

NORTON

Dont only make good sanding discs. i have been tellin' people for years they make the worlds bests moyorcycles.

REAL MOTORCYCLES ARE MADE IN ENGLAND

Just another two wheeled obsession of mine. ;D

Reddontforgetthediggerstoday