Front Filling

Every man can transform the world from one of the monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.
Irving Wallace

I have spent the past ten days cleaning and filling the front panel, which was damaged even more badly than I thought. I borrowed a fancy hydraulic ram thingy to push out the worst of the dents from the inside (thanks Rob!), cleaned off the rust and starting filling again. I had hoped that the work would stay dry in our rainless winter but it has been so cold that we have heavy dew and the rust still takes over as soon as I finish. I have to wire-brush the bare metal parts again each time before applying the next layer of filler. Thank goodness for beer to keep me motivated :)


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CooP

Nothing Left On The Left

I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full.
Lord Dunsany

Finally finished layering and sanding the filler and sprayed a layer of red oxide over the lot. The door had warped a lot from the heat of the welding and the filling had to cover a lot more area than I first imagined. The ugly weld on the side pressing still has to be smoothed and filled. The once sliding door is almost a thing of the past - this side is starting to look as if it was originally made this way. I'm worn out and sore, and this is nothing compared to the mess of the front end that I have to do next ...


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CooP

No Love-Handle

The traveller was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing".
Daniel J Boorstin

I have read that lots of thin layers of filler are stronger than one big glob of it. I have been adding a thin layer every day after work and then smoothing it down the following day. I ended up doing it about 8 times but it seems to be solid. I have laid on far more than required and it should all sand back nicely with the feathered edges as recommended.


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CooP

Extra Work

I have wandered all my life, and I have travelled; the difference between the two is this -- we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.
Hilaire Belloc

The existing seam next to the sliding door just didn't look right to my eye. Despite creating a lot of extra work for myself I have filled it in and smoothed it off. Time will tell whether there is enough movement in this seam to disturb the filler, if so I'll have to strip it and weld it properly. But for now I much prefer the smooth look of it. The centre ridge pressing still needs some work, coming soon.

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CooP

Roof Join Complete

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.
Mirian Beard

Whew, I'm going to have arms like the Terminator when this thing is finished! Very tiring work. The grey primer is little help against the rain and is about as waterproof as a sponge so I have started using red oxide which should offer more rain resistance. I'm still just chucking it on with a brush, that's why it doesn't look too smooth. It's going to need a lot nore preparation before the final coat. This section will mostly be hidden under the pop-top roof but I still want it to look good.

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CooP

And More...

A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.
Tim Cahil

I sanded down the first layer of filler on the roof join and added a second. This pic was snapped while taking a much-needed breather and coffee break. The big hole in the roof is, of course, for the Dormobile pop-top which has been pushed back to make room for my big head to get in. The two smaller holes at the edge are for one of the roof mounting brackets.

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CooP

More Filling

The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.
GK Chesterton

Young Sheldon came to visit for a couple of days and made himself useful by erecting this rain-resistant gazebo for me and my peace of mind. I have slapped a lick of primer over the really rusty bits as a means of slowing down the rust and the pitting. I know it's not waterproof but it should help a bit 'til I can get to it.

Sheldon went on to sandpaper the interior bracing strips and paint on a couple of coats of grey primer. Thanks kid, you earned your dinner!

Just before we put up the gazebo I cleaned up the rusty roof weld and roughly pasted some body-filler over it. Then the $%*&#@ rain came and we turned into tent builders instead.

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CooP