Belafonte Reboot....Ambulance to 4x4 Camper Conversion
- Thread starter tgreening
- Start date
There's a storm coming. Duh duh dun da dun. (That's Terminator music in case my mad music skills were lost on you)
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Any photoshop gurus out there want to take a shot at recoloring this shot? I didn't mind this color scheme too awful much other than it looked a bit too much like the van "He whose Name we do not speak" built. And still too much ambulance in it.
A 37" tire STUFFED!
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Any photoshop gurus out there want to take a shot at recoloring this shot? I didn't mind this color scheme too awful much other than it looked a bit too much like the van "He whose Name we do not speak" built. And still too much ambulance in it.
A 37" tire STUFFED!
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Stripped all the orange plasti-dip off yesterday in preparation for the Raptor Liner to come. When I put this stuff on I screwed the pooch somehow because most of the edges were lifting, which prompted me to seal them with ridiculously expensive 3M pinstriping tape. It did the job.
I have to say though, that other than my screw up this stuff is TOUGH. I've read people rag on it saying it's a bear to peal off, coming off in chunks, and I have to say if that's the case you screwed up. Mine pealed off like vinyl wrap. The only times it would chunk was if it got thin in spots, which I did a few times. Other than that, rugged.
Here's the hood coming off. It came off in pretty much one big piece.
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That's the only stripping photo I took, sorry. Just imagine bunch more of this, except orange, and there you go. Going to start scuffing today and probably masking taping at some point next week. Hopefully.
I have to say though, that other than my screw up this stuff is TOUGH. I've read people rag on it saying it's a bear to peal off, coming off in chunks, and I have to say if that's the case you screwed up. Mine pealed off like vinyl wrap. The only times it would chunk was if it got thin in spots, which I did a few times. Other than that, rugged.
Here's the hood coming off. It came off in pretty much one big piece.
That's the only stripping photo I took, sorry. Just imagine bunch more of this, except orange, and there you go. Going to start scuffing today and probably masking taping at some point next week. Hopefully.
rossvtaylor
Adventurer
That is impressive... I haven't tried anything like that, but I'm guessing we have about 6 inches of vertical movement on each side. Do you remove the sway bars before you go off road?
Not so far. Really, dont see the need at this point. It's not intended to be some crazy off road rig. But, if I did I'm guessing I'd get a bit more flex out of it before the rear starts to lift. And frankly I'm not quite sure how to go about it, though I haven't given it much thought. On my old rigs the sway bar was mounted to the frame with the links mounted to the axle. I'd disconnect and then just strap the sway bar up high out of the way.
On this thing the bar is mounted to the axle with the links connecting to the frame. Making disconnects is easy peasy but I haven't looked at how the sway bar would act and how I would secure it. I'm sure it can be done, I just haven't given it any attention.
Aaaand getting ready for the raptor liner. Main I hate anything remotely resembling body work. It's just SO freakin tedious, and then all the taping, and detail sanding, and and and.
I think I have a bit more than half of the module sanded. I'll have some primer to spray on the bare aluminum spots and a bunch of that detail sanding I mentioned. Getting all the little spots I couldn't get into with the DA. After the module I'm thinking the cab should be gravy. Famous last words.
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And just because he's about my most favorite thing in the world.....
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I think I have a bit more than half of the module sanded. I'll have some primer to spray on the bare aluminum spots and a bunch of that detail sanding I mentioned. Getting all the little spots I couldn't get into with the DA. After the module I'm thinking the cab should be gravy. Famous last words.
And just because he's about my most favorite thing in the world.....
Nope, just a self-etching primer on the bare aluminum, and then shoot it. I'm not spraying paint, I'm spraying the whole thing with Raptor Liner and supposedly its a scuff n shoot product.
patoz
Expedition Leader
Tom, I'm thinking about using Raptor Liner in my compartments, so since we have the same module keep that in mind as you spray and please let me know how difficult it would be to do that. I like the 'scuff-n-shoot' aspect of it, since those compartments are pretty cramped for someone my size to be doing a lot of sanding.
Me either. I just hope I can stay with it steady enough to keep it from being a "project".
Yeah, he's my Boy. Love that mutt to death even though he's a huge pain in the ********. Should be obvious by now since I keep dropping pictures of him in here.
Pat I don't see why you couldn't. As long as you can reach the scuffing shouldn't be a big deal. A palm sander will make that go a lot better. My biggest concern would be the actual spraying. Think having a spray gun with a big can of spray paint hanging off the bottom. As long as you can manipulate it in there you'll be ok, but if access starts getting tight you could run into trouble.
I don't intend to get into mine so I won't be able to help you with any real experience.
Check out some YouTube vids, there's a bunch. That will give you a picture of what you'd be dealing with.
I don't intend to get into mine so I won't be able to help you with any real experience.
Check out some YouTube vids, there's a bunch. That will give you a picture of what you'd be dealing with.
patoz
Expedition Leader
Tom, I've also been looking for something I can roll on, but haven't found much.
Mine are lined with old burgundy colored AstroTurf glued in place. It's worn thin in places, it will hold moisture, and it's just plain downright ugly, so it's got to go! But on a good note, I pulled one corner down just to see how hard it's going to be to get it out of there and the glue has turned brittle, so it will come out fairly easily with a minimum of residue left in place.
Mine are lined with old burgundy colored AstroTurf glued in place. It's worn thin in places, it will hold moisture, and it's just plain downright ugly, so it's got to go! But on a good note, I pulled one corner down just to see how hard it's going to be to get it out of there and the glue has turned brittle, so it will come out fairly easily with a minimum of residue left in place.
rlrenz
Explorer
Spraying into a compartment becomes easier if you need less air to atomize the finish you're spraying (= less bounceback). Using a gravity-feed spray gun would help, and so would using a pressure feed spray gun. Unfortunately, I'll bet that the coating is normally sprayed with something equivalent to an undercoating spray gun -- lots of air!
Commercial shops spraying this could use high pressure airless equipment similar to what's used for undercoating, but the price of the equipment and clean up of the equipment make it difficult for a small project.
The best advice for anyone spraying this with a siphon spray gun would be to use the minimum air pressure possible.
And also, wear old coveralls, wear a hat, wear gloves, and probably a face shield/goggles - because the clothes will probably wind up in the trash can.
Commercial shops spraying this could use high pressure airless equipment similar to what's used for undercoating, but the price of the equipment and clean up of the equipment make it difficult for a small project.
The best advice for anyone spraying this with a siphon spray gun would be to use the minimum air pressure possible.
And also, wear old coveralls, wear a hat, wear gloves, and probably a face shield/goggles - because the clothes will probably wind up in the trash can.