The Silver Streak Continues- The 70's love of fake woodgrain

Ahh.... the 70's and their dear love of fake woodgrain.

I finally am delving back into the Silver Streak. I'm missing valuable camping time!

 I am focusing now on painting the kitchen area. Way too much mustard yellow and way way too much woodgrain paneling.

Before anyone gets upset about painting over wood- this is particleboard paneling with a veneer wood grain. AND it was covered in wallpaper AND much of it is water damaged AND I have no qualms of making it brighter and lighter..

I had an idea of using chalkboard paint on the entrance wall and then thought what the heck- why not do the eyesore refrigerator in chalkboard paint too? I would love a stainless fridge, or stainless and glass, but way too pricey.  At $15.00 for a quart of chalk board paint - this will do!

Here's my Streak's refrigerator before-

I sanded with a sanding sponge and used white spray paint on the trim. After dry I taped the trim and  applied white primer to the paneling with a flocked foam roller in very thin coats for little texture.

Then 3 coats of chalkboard paint over the primer. Again with a flocked foam roller.  After it dried overnight I rubbed chalk all over with the side of the chalk then erased to minimize chalk shadows.

On a side note...this is what I call the over 40 speedball. I usually start my Streak projects in the eve on a Friday, and a beer sounds good, but I need the coffee to keep me awake. Funny thing is I could only drink one beer and I was still in bed by 12. So sad!

The final touches to the entry- an inspirational metal plaque, clear caulked into a blank frame (no glass) then I screwed the frame into the wall so there is no chance of it falling. 3 IKEA  hooks and I'm done other than brushing up on my writing!

Now on to the cabinets!

Sandbox to Tabletop - My Rustic $23.00 Replacement

What does a old sandbox (aka super-sized litter box) and a shattered glass table top have in common?

Follow my post and find out!

Sandbox built by previous homeowner.
Shattered glass tabletop.
New Tabletop.

I hated the sandbox. I don't have little kids and my cats were taking liberties with it. It was an eyesore and stinky.  I'm always thinking of ways to reuse stuff around the house to save a buck and to avoid unnecessary consumption of new materials. I had an idea- could the sandbox become a replacement top for the table that shattered last September in a 60 mile an hour wind gust?

I took measurements and counted the 2"x6" boards to make sure there was enough wood to cover my old table...and YAY there was enough!

Until I got it apart and found some of the boards were rotten :(

But there was enough to get started. I washed the boards and cut them with a chop saw, 8" wider than my tabletop frame at the widest point, so 48". I used the already cut angle boards for the end pieces. I had to re-cut the angles about an inch.

I hit Home Depot for two 2" x 6" x 8' boards to make up for the shortage in sandbox boards ($9.38) and two 1" x 2" x 8' pine strips. ($2.60) and grey beige paint (Martha Stewart "Mushroom"- mixed in Glidden Exterior Satin ($10.88).

I set the boards good side up on the table and this is how it looked with old and new boards;

I flipped the boards over, made a line along the boards outside of the frame width, and screwed the pine strips to the boards to hold them together. I screwed from the strip into the recycled boards to avoid more nail holes on the top. The original frame is curved but it was not necessary to follow that. I then made a hole in the center with a hole saw.

This is how it looks from underneath (this is NOT fancy carpentry FYI);

Next I filled the holes and knotholes in the top of the board from the sandbox days, sanded all over to smooth rough spots and edges. I could have left it at this point but that was a little too recycled looking for my taste.

I coated it with two coats of the grey beige paint in the direction of the grain of the wood;

I totally could of stopped here and had planned to, but it just seemed too "park table" like. Way boring.

I envisioned rustic barn wood or driftwood, and dug out some Faux Effect's Stain and Seal in American Walnut and Van Dyke Brown (on hand). Any polyurethane stain gel would work. I mixed in a little of Faux Effect's Clear Glaze (another glaze would work) until I had a translucent warm brown/ black easy to wipe stain. The glaze thins the color and slows drying time.

I  layered the glaze on with a brush, one board at a time. (See picture below.) It's very important not to do more than one board at a time as it dries fairly quickly, and you'll be stuck with an ugly mess that you will have to paint over. I wiped the glaze off lightly in the direction of the grain with a damp cheesecloth pad (a rag will do as well). This takes a little finesse as you don't want to take off too much glaze by pressing too hard. You want it to stay in the grain and the imperfections, and leave a grain striae behind.

Two coats of Minwax Satin Polyurethane by brush (from a previous job) and I have a new heavier, wind proof tabletop!
Total time-four hours and $22.68 plus tax!

Regrets/ Mistakes? 

Yes, I regret I was too cheap and lazy to go to store to buy one more 2"x6" so the table overhung the frame on the ends. I did paint the end frame pieces to match...

2"x2" boards would have made a nicer edge under the table instead of 1" x 2" strips, and if I would of extended the table I could have used them on the end for a better finish.

This project could have been nearly free had I spent some time scrounging around for the extra wood from friends and/or recycle stores. Also, had I known I would be glazing it I could have used any grey brown in my garage saving $10.88.

Winter Blahs...

(Written in December)
I've been quite busy with work projects but not many significant projects around the house. I haven't stepped foot in the trailer because it's been really cold...some weeks the temperature was in the single digits and most days hovering between 30 and 40 degees.  Brrr.

I have tackled a few small house projects to make my Mid-Century ranch home shine a bit brighter and to ward off the winter blahs:

Painted a wall turquoise and put together an Ikea bookcase to gather most my books in one place.

Hung a retro style starburst chandelier over the stair well. I purchased it from Fab.com over the summer.
It only took 5 months to get it hung up. It was not an easy install standing over the stairs on a lean to ladder, holding the chandelier, AND trying to wire it. There were mistakes and plenty of profanity but in the end it was well worth it!

Spring is coming and with a brain FULL of ideas I can't wait for it to come!

Silver Streak Trailer...Slow but Progressing!

I finally completed the painting in the center sleeping area. It's amazing what a few coats of paint will do to enliven a dark, less than glamorous space!

The paneling around the beds are too damaged to be saved by paint alone, so next on the agenda is dark stained, framed wood panels as bed frames to cover the old paneling. 

The days are getting cold here, but hopefully I'll be able bring in a space heater and keep the project moving along. 

Silver Streak Bathroom- Continued

It took me a few days to get the bathroom put together...

Bath before:

Bathroom after:

Although it's far from finished- it's at least bright and a blank slate waiting for the fun!

I have decided to replace the faux marble laminate with something cheerful.  I'm still on the hunt for the perfect laminate but there's plenty to do until then!

The sink was a $5 Habitat for Humanity Restore find and and the faucet is a new purchase from Home Depot.

I couldn't find chrome replacement hardware with the same partial offset, so rather than hassle with it I just cleaned the original hardware with TSP Substitute, taped non-paintable parts and spray painted them white. I used Rustoleum 2x Glossy White. They just disappear into the white cabinets. 

I've picked out .032 Aluminum Sheets for the bath and kitchen backsplash, and the front end interior skin /seating area.

It's so hard waiting to add the fun pops of color in the curtains and bedding and upholstery!

Tackling the Silver Streak Bathroom and KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid

The last couple days I have been working feverishly on my new found obsession. And I'm not exaggerating. I wake up excited to get out there and get dirty. When life demands I do other responsible things I'm not real thrilled about it (sorry, that the fridge was empty kids and sorry to everyone that didn't receive a text or call back and if you want me to do something "fun"- check back in a few weeks). I spend my time after dark on Pinterest, Forums, RV supply shops and making lists of what to buy and what to do the next day. I'm really stressed this afternoon because I had to cut my project work time short to buy groceries and put checks in the bank. Boo-hoo right?

So, yesterday I dealt with this little challenge below.
WTF people.

So, what you are viewing is the backsplash of the bathroom sink area covered in sticky backed tiles and further held in place with plastic wood trim.




















 I spent most of the day prying off the trim and using a blow dryer on hot to loosen the adhesive and pry it off, gently, with a chisel. To remove the mirror I taped the heck out of it to keep shards of glass from impaling me- keep that trick in mind.

So a shout out to all you 1980's remodel-ers and future generations of re-diyers, "KISS"!
Keep It Simple Stupid!

Your tastes will change, and paint is a lot easier to re-do than this kind of s*#t.





















The wallpaper wasn't so bad. It came off in huge pieces and what was left I just dampened with a sponge and scraped of with a flat drywall/putty spatula.

Again, KISS!!! Why, oh, why? So much pattern and so much work.

I attempted to remove the rusty sink but I'll have to wait for the big guns to come home. I removed all but the hot /cold fittings underneath as they were not budging for me.


















I next removed the hardware and cabinet fronts- I labeled the hardware and put it in little baggies.

If you are taking on a project like this- it is so important to photograph everything and label everything!

You will not remember every little detail of where and how everything fit back together and it's easy to lose items. Even items you don't think you will reuse need to be tagged and bagged. You can use parts as templates or pass them onto restorers. Most of these parts are not made anymore.

I wiped down all the surfaces to be painted, as sometimes wallpaper sizing causes crackling in paint. I also scufffed the door fronts with a light sanding.

Next I used Zinsser ,Waterbased Primer and Sealer, with a sponge roller for a smooth prime coat. It seals in stains and makes your paint coat stick. IMPORTANT STEP!
 I love this primer. It sticks to almost everything, self levels well and only requires 1 thin coat, repaintable in an hour. I use it in a lot of my furniture makeovers.





















Here's everything prepped and ready for paint.
I am keeping the marble Formica, ordering brushed aluminum for backsplash and picking up a new white sink.

I don't think I'll get to paint until Friday as I have to do some real work. Yeah- the kind that pays the bills or my obsessions.

Silver Streak Redo: the beginning

Day 3 of our Silver Stream being home!

I was a bit disappointed to find the copious amounts of wallpaper were hiding water damage from leaking windows. But all in all the damage is minimal so far.

In a way it was a relief- now I don't feel confined to keeping it original, as all the front paneling must go and the rest of the veneer is damaged by the wallpaper.

The beginning:

Carpet and wallpaper removal.

Looking to back of trailer.

After paneling and insulation gone. Now assessing damage.

All windows need resealing.

2 small areas of floor rot require patching.

C channel needs reinforcement and body needs reattaching to frame in very front. 

All in all not too bad. I've seen a lot worse on the forums I've been following! 

Until the weekend I'll just continue with wallpaper removal and shopping for flooring and other modernizing options.