The Amazing Adventures Of Avalair: The Happy Fourth of July Thrash

I figured for my 4th of July Celebration, I would don my patriotic work clothes and get started back on the trailer. Excuse the flag, Doctor's orders.

It's hard to get motivated though, it has been over a hundred degrees for 15 days straight. This usually doesn't happen until the end of July-beginning of August.

I started sandblasting the rear of the trailer frame in preparation for the new floor. I guess the heat , mixed with the sand , must be what caused my dog's outlandish behavior.

I noticed this guy circling the yard as well. He must have an Avalair as well.

After blasting the frame, I coated it with some really nasty stuff. It's made by KBS coatings. It's sort of like POR15 if you are familiar with that. It is an air dry paint that uses the moisture in the air to cure it.

Crappy picture

It cures as hard as a rock and basically is permanent, so don't get it on your hands. The people at church will think you work on diesel trucks for a living.

I have the replacement floor cut and painted, to hopefully prevent any damage if it ever gets wet in the future. Doing away with the leaking hot water tank should eliminate that threat. I am only coating the bottom. The top will have tile glued to it and I don't want any reason for the tiles lifting.

In order to fasten this floor back down right, I have to remove the inner wall because the outer walls screw down through the floor. I hated to do this but, there was no way around it.

Inner skin removed

I did find it interesting that the upper cap was made from fiberglass instead of aluminum, like the rest of the interior. I guess it is easier and cheaper to build a form for the glass than it would be to build a giant press die to form the aluminum.

Pic of the fiberglass cap

So meanwhile back at the ranch.......................

Mama Root, the Ebay fiend, has been sniping auctions like nobody's business. Her most recent project has been a "match safe" to hang on the wall. I call it a match box holder, but what do I know?

It doesn't match anything we own and basically is ugly. But fear not little buckaroos, she has a plan.

See, I told you it was ugly.

She wanted something that would match the robin egg blue interior and have a 60's vibe to it.

So, immediately it was off to Lowe's to see what was available on the spray can aisle.

Whodathunk it?

So, she stripped the old sunflower off with a frenzy, not rarely seen by the human eye.

Within minutes, the match box safe had started a new life, wearing new clothes.

So, how to personalize the safe? We needed something to give it that 60's postcard vibe we were after.

After a few minutes on Google images and Ebay, she spots the perfect victim.

The perfect non politically correct post card.

The only problem is that the want 20 bucks for a vintage water slide decal and it will probably melt if we clear over it. What to do?

Leave to the Sinsei Craft Master. She has a plan.

Recently, we had to send out graduation invitations and she had found this cool little program on www.avery.com. It allows you to import your graphics and print them on clear shipping labels.

It asks what labels you have (stock number) and imports it accordingly.

These are available up to an 8.5"x11" label. You can get them in laser and inkjet versions.

Several different sizes. She wasn't sure which one would fit.

Skilled hands and nerves of steel I tell you.

The labels are a peel and stick type. Once you have it placed on the piece you plan on clearing, fog it with a light coat. Allow to dry for about 30 minutes and allow it to tack up. This piece ended up taking about 5-6 coats but the end result was good. We used a semi-gloss clear.