Electrical Adventures and Shiny Stuff

AFTER-Shininess!

Today's rebuild adventures are two-fold: the Hubs made great strides updating Sweet Melissa's electrical system and I made shininess appear on her outer skin.

BEFORE-Oxidized Aluminum

You'll remember we managed earlier to remove the 54-year-old paint and expose the aluminum skin. Today's task was to remove the dark patches of oxidation, in preparation for polishing part of the aluminum and priming the rest.

In manual labor terms, that equates to hours (and hours) of polishing the skin with steel wool and denatured alcohol. Although mighty labor intensive, this turned out to be an effective strategy!

While I was scrubbing away with steel wool, the Hubs was inside our '61 Mobile Scout, testing the existing wiring. Good news! The wiring to both the 12-volt lights and the 110-volt outlets is in good shape, BUT there is the small problem of no breaker box, fuse box or outside connection for a shore line.

Not to worry--the Hubs has it under control. He's already managed to install the breaker box, decide where to locate the 12-volt deep cycle battery and basically figured out what Sweet Melissa needs to have a complete electrical system. Yay!

One more piece of awesomeness--we've started installing insulation in preparation for putting back the birch ceilings and walls. And you know what happens after that--amber shellac mania! Stay tuned.

Amber Shellac and Other Delights

I have a confession to make...I've developed a passion for Amber Shellac. That is to say, I am crazy about the liquid gold that's transforming the interior of our '61 Mobile Scout, Sweet Melissa. Spent the evening taking the doors off throughout the camper and removing their hardware, then giving them a light sand and a coat of Zinsser Bullseye Amber Shellac.

Camper redo purists would probably have stripped the old shellac and started over, but I'm fond of the vintage vibe of simply adding a shiny, gold coating to all the wood surfaces. I'll let you decide, here's photo evidence of the evening's activities:

 

 And to prove just how much I love Amber Shellac, I felt compelled to finish the header above the dinette, 'just to see what it would look like'. And then I painted the front of the kitchen cabinet frame. And then I did a test strip on the ceiling. Seriously, this stuff is addictive. I'm even thinking about shellacking my living room floor!

 

Update on the Hubs

Lest you think my hubby was sitting on the patio, smoking a cigar and watching me work, I've also included him in tonight's photo essay. He's been busy at work fabricating and installing new frame pieces. Always amazed to see what he's able to do! 

What's next? Looks like I'll be spending the weekend (except for the big 6-0 birthday party!) cleaning 50 years of gunk off of vintage coppertone hinges and travel-proof latches. Can't reinstall the doors and drawers yet, but I can, at least, have them hardwared to the hilt in preparation.

The best part? As soon as I get the hubs gone somewhere, I'll be going crazy with the Amber Shellac on the rest of the camper's wood surfaces! Can't wait.

First Vintage Camper Related Travel!

We aren't yet ready to head down the road in our 1961 Mobile Scout, but that didn't stop us from heading out in search of inspiration. Today's journey took us to the very southeast corner of Kansas and the town of Galena.

US400 Foggy Sunrise

After a harrowing journey through dense fog in the Flint Hills, we arrived in that charming burg.

Right on Historic Route 66, Galena hosted a Vintage Camper Show as part of their celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Mother Road. Eight exceptional camping trailers pulled in to be oohed and ahhed over (and judged for trophies!)

We met plenty of kind and helpful folks who love to share the stories of their vintage camper rebuilds, and we also took lots of pics of important things like trailer hitches, equalizers and paint jobs.

Lucky for you, faithful readers, we also took lots of photos of lovely vintage campers. We were especially thrilled to meet a few of the many "Sisters on the Fly", a group for women only who meets all over the US to camp, fish, relax and maybe even get in some shopping at nearby towns.

Oh, and as you're drooling over these vintage 'canned hams', I'll share a few more tidbits about Galena. Did you know that this little hamlet was the very first mining town in Southeast Kansas? 

 

It's also home to one of the coolest ice cream parlors I've visited thus far.  Eye Scream Labs is a hoot! These folks serve up their amazingly flavored ice cream that's flash frozen with liquid nitrogen (seriously, look at this picture) while wearing white lab coats. There's also a gallery of blackboards with colorful 'scientific messages' about the menu, and they do demos complete with samples. 

One more spot that charmed us in Galena was Cars on the Route, where the inspiration for Tow Mator in the Pixar movie Cars resides. Definitely stop to hear fast-talking Melba tell the story!

All in all, a delightful day in Galena. Strolling up and down Route 66, talking to vintage camper

owners and falling in love with their antique trailers, was just what we needed to keep us going through our own rebuild. Can't wait to meet them again at a campground!

Because you've so patiently waded through this post, as a bonus I'll throw in a photo of my favorite Southeast Kansas attraction. After all, what's a trip past West Mineral, Kansas without a stop at BIG BRUTUS? 

And just in case you're wondering where to get a good steak after you've made the trip to Galena, I'll end with a quick plug for a Fredonia, Kansas treasure. The Stockyards Restaurant, on the grounds of the Fredonia Livestock Auction, serves up scrumptious steaks, hamburgers and other cafe favorites with a smile.

Thanks for reading about our travels...we'll post more on Sweet Melissa's makeover this week!