SLO's FWC Hawk Refurb/Build...
- Thread starter SLO_F-250
- Start date
SLO_F-250
Explorer
Thanks Sheep. I still have yet to make any safety mechanism. What I do for right now is carry a 15" crescent in the drivers door and use it to tighten the bad boy down! haha :sombrero:
SLO_F-250
Explorer
Well, I did another marathon weekend! Started Friday at 3:00pm and finished Sunday at 7:00pm. The stars aligned and the lady was out of town. I had all the time uninterrupted for camper chaos!
Still working on Prep.
New roof screws and caulking. I also re-did the caulking around the edge and the did the seams.
After about 12 hours of prepping she was ready! Set up the makeshift paint booth in the garage and let it go about 5:00pm on Saturday. (4) coats of color which was about (12) - 8oz. cans of color match paint. I drank (2) beers. Then I grabbed the brush and the black paint. Did the edge of the roof and the stripes as well as the underside of the wood. Drank another beer ate some peanuts. Then emptied (3) 16oz cans of rutoleum clear coat. Stood back and drank another beer. She turned out great!!
After a night of drying...
First thing Sunday morning I started to "reassemble". All new trim, reinstalled the propane door, fridge vent door, new upper vent panel, etc all with new screws.
Thank you to Stan for the new FWC sticker!
I decided to extend the stripes around....
After that I had to install everything on the roof. Note the roof is a different (lighter) color. I rolled it with exterior metal building paint. Saved $$ rather than wasting the color match. I rearranged the solar panel and rack. This configuration works much better for the surfboards or SUP's. I think I like it.
I also added 1-1/4" insulation in my platform. Im hoping this will help with the heatloss out of the floor. Picture is before I painted it and re-mounted it.
I CANT WAIT TO SEE HOW IT LOOKS ON THE TRUCK! :wings: What do you guys think?
DesertBoater
Adventurer
The paint looks great!! On another note, what's your opinion on Star-Board material? I've removed the 3-way fridge in favor of a 47 qt ARB that I already had, but I'm trying to find something to do with the vented hatches on the outside of the camper. That space has now been turned into a food storage/pantry area with a set of drawers, and it would be sweet to have them accessible from the outside. After looking, I haven't been able to find anything that will fit those cut-outs other than replacement vent/hatches. I'm considering either doing what you did with the sheet metal and just covering both holes over and calling it good, or fabricating a couple of hatches out of Star-Board (or similar material) to retain access. Thoughts? Suggestions?
Cheers,
West
Cheers,
West
Northern Explorer
Explorer
Looks really good.
SLO_F-250
Explorer
Hey West. Thank you. I have not personally worked with the Star-Board material. But with what I have seen it looks pretty nice. I have too thought about this because my Engle fridge does not need to be vented. I have just duct taped some reflectex to the back side of the vent for now. My more permanent solution might be to attach a peice of aluminum to the existing frame so it can still lock and hinge. You could do something very similar with the Star-Board. For the upper vent I simply got a piece of 22ga metal and cut to fit. I think it looks ok. Still not 100% sure if I like it. It is the only smooth surface on the camper. I also gorilla glued a piece of reflectex to the back for insulation.
Hope that helped. Keep me posted on what you decide. :smiley_drive:
Overland Hadley
on a journey
The change is unreal! You camper looks 30 years newer. Good work on the paint job.
Can you give a basic rundown of your prep work? Also, was the silver paint Rustoleum?
Can you give a basic rundown of your prep work? Also, was the silver paint Rustoleum?
SLO_F-250
Explorer
Thank you! I am VERY happy with it. Even my neighbors keep coming over and telling me it looks great! haha :sombrero:
The rundown.....
1) I started with scraping off all of the caulking between the roof trim and roof panel. The way the older FWC roof is constructed. It was tedious, but very worth it. Next up was taking all the rubber trim off, solar panel, roof racks, propane door, fridge vents, back light, etc.
2) Sanded, wire brushed the tight spots, sanded again, blew off with air compressor, sanded again, wire brushed, etc. Did that everywhere multiple times. Also sanded down all the areas where old stickers where etc. Did a final compressed air blow off and whipped everything down with acetone.
3) After I was satisfied on the sanding, cleaning etc I took each screw out, applied some exterior caulking tot he hole then put the screw back in careful not to strip. Some of them I had to add a bigger screw. I did this EVERYWHERE. Let me tell ya. Takes time. After that I re-applied the caulking at the roof/roof trim area. I also caulked all the other joints on the exterior of the camper.
4) I then wiped everything down with alcohol wipes. Proceeded hand rolled the roof with exterior paint which I had color match as best as Sherwin Williams could do. Gave that two coats. Note I replaces all the roof screws with new ones.
5) I then wiped everything down with alcohol wipes again.... And Cracked a cold one. It was TIME TO PAINT FINALLY! haha Gave the ole girl (4) coats of Duplicolor Color Match paint. You can find this at your local auto part store. You might have to special order your specific color as I did. I ordered 16 cans and used 12 for my hawk. I started off light and just worked my way around slowly building up the color. Letting it dry about 5-10min between coats.
6) After the color was on I took my quart of exterior grade gloss black Rustoleum enamel and hand painted the roof trim, stripes, and wood bottom.
7) After the black was applied I whipped it down with alcohol wipes again. Lightly sanded with 600 grit. Very lightly. Then I applied (3) Coats (3-16oz cans) of rustoleum gloss clear coat enamel.
8) Let dry, Drink beer and look at your work!
9) Put everything back together with new weatherstripping etc.
It was quite a project, but well worth it. The ole 1990 Hawk looks like a 2012 hawk inside and out now! I am looking forward to MANY years of adventures.
Headed to the Buttermilks outside Bishop CA in 2 days and cant wait to get the rig dirty!
Side note I just added some Hellwig helper springs to level out the ride. I will report back with how I think they work.
Cheers,
Paul/SLO
PS Camper is now on the truck. It was too late to take any picts, but you can bet I will tomorrow morning!!! :elkgrin:
Thunderbear
New member
Your build is nearly exactly what I hope to do. Great work, and awesome to read.
SLO_F-250
Explorer
Thanks Thunder! Much appreciated. Thank you for your service too.
SLO_F-250
Explorer
So I had to snap some pictures before work. Here is what the new setup looks like.....
Also just had to install my new struts I had. Thanks for Overland Hadley for one pair. He was nice enough to give them to man. Very Appreciated! Its amazing how much those things help. Very easy to install as well.
I am very happy with how close the color is and how well it turned out. Now time to go use it! :bike_rider:
Also just had to install my new struts I had. Thanks for Overland Hadley for one pair. He was nice enough to give them to man. Very Appreciated! Its amazing how much those things help. Very easy to install as well.
I am very happy with how close the color is and how well it turned out. Now time to go use it! :bike_rider:
ToolBox Guy
Adventurer
WOW!
Awesome job. It looks so good that it almost has me motivated to work on my Skamper.....Almost.
Awesome job. It looks so good that it almost has me motivated to work on my Skamper.....Almost.