subterran
Adventurer
Stage 7: Repaint kitchen, install new cabinet doors
Old:
The cabinet layout in this camper is functional enough, I suppose. Most of the cabinet doors are made of thin panel board in plastic tracks that slide open and closed. The bigger ones work OK, but the smaller ones stick pretty bad. I tried lubricating them with petroleum jelly, but it made little difference. It becomes apparent that I'll need to tear them out and replace them completely. While I'm at it, I'll paint the now-doorless cabinets a light grey - a more 'manly' color that certainly looks better than the wood paneling. I also paint a couple of coats on the wooden folding top supports, both to strengthen them and hide some water staining left over from the leaks. Where there was water staining, the supports had started to flake some of the wood. This was exacerbated by my cleaning activities. They seem fine structurally though, so painting them seemed reasonable. It has indeed done wonders visually, and cured the flaking. The inside has gone from 'lived in' to livable.
I bought some 'cabinet grade' 3/8 birch plywood at Lowes, and my neighbor and I routed the edges for a finished look. I then putty filled any voids left in the routed edges and hand sanded them smooth. The plywood sure had alot of voids for 'cabinet grade'... I painted them a charcoal grey, and used piano hinges to re-mount them. I changed the door sizes in some cases to make better access to the cabinet space. I was able to mount all the doors but one with the hinges concealed. I went back and forth about handles, and decided finally that I didn't want anything projecting into the walking area to get snagged on, so rather than conventional handles or pulls, I am going to just use some webbing. Light, functional, simple and durable. Perfect fit. I used double-magnets to keep the doors fast, except on the single drawer, where I reused the existing pinch latch. I want to paint it black to match better than the 'hammered copper' it is now, and while I'm at it, I'll paint the furnace cover with black high-temp paint.
NEW:
Old:
The cabinet layout in this camper is functional enough, I suppose. Most of the cabinet doors are made of thin panel board in plastic tracks that slide open and closed. The bigger ones work OK, but the smaller ones stick pretty bad. I tried lubricating them with petroleum jelly, but it made little difference. It becomes apparent that I'll need to tear them out and replace them completely. While I'm at it, I'll paint the now-doorless cabinets a light grey - a more 'manly' color that certainly looks better than the wood paneling. I also paint a couple of coats on the wooden folding top supports, both to strengthen them and hide some water staining left over from the leaks. Where there was water staining, the supports had started to flake some of the wood. This was exacerbated by my cleaning activities. They seem fine structurally though, so painting them seemed reasonable. It has indeed done wonders visually, and cured the flaking. The inside has gone from 'lived in' to livable.
I bought some 'cabinet grade' 3/8 birch plywood at Lowes, and my neighbor and I routed the edges for a finished look. I then putty filled any voids left in the routed edges and hand sanded them smooth. The plywood sure had alot of voids for 'cabinet grade'... I painted them a charcoal grey, and used piano hinges to re-mount them. I changed the door sizes in some cases to make better access to the cabinet space. I was able to mount all the doors but one with the hinges concealed. I went back and forth about handles, and decided finally that I didn't want anything projecting into the walking area to get snagged on, so rather than conventional handles or pulls, I am going to just use some webbing. Light, functional, simple and durable. Perfect fit. I used double-magnets to keep the doors fast, except on the single drawer, where I reused the existing pinch latch. I want to paint it black to match better than the 'hammered copper' it is now, and while I'm at it, I'll paint the furnace cover with black high-temp paint.
NEW:
