How long does it take to get paint out of one’s hair? I still have paint in my hair from two weeks ago and I’m doubtful that it will ever come out. It took way more coats of paint to cover the walls than we expected. We had to use a primer, two base coats and a top coat to cover the icky, dated walls. But at least now the airstream now has a floor and painting is complete. We also installed a “real” toilet. No creepy camper potties for us! (TMI?) Anyway, what I’m trying to say is “we made some serious headway, people.”
If anyone is curious, we ended up using Kilz Premium as the primer, Valspar Contractor Finishes 2000 in Ultra White as the base coat and Valspar Paint and Primer in Ultra White as the top coat. We also put a coat of Kilz on the floor before we laid it to ensure the floor was sealed. If you can’t tell, I want the Airstream’s interior to be as bright white as possible.
Our budget is getting a little tight as we are progressing through this project. Flooring is expensive! We chose laminate flooring to keep the cost down and keep the airstream light in case we ever wanted to tow it. And again, we had to buy much more paint than I ever imagined. It can be cheap, fast or good, but it can’t be all three– is that how the saying goes? Le sigh.
We’ll definitely be reusing old lumber from previous projects and trolling Craigslist for free stuff. My friend already found us a 3/4 size fridge for $75 bucks on Craigslist and I’m hoping to score a few more steals! (Gabby, you are awesome!)
Does anyone have any tips for acquiring free fabric or lumber? I need both! Let’s hear them in the comments!
love,
melanie
The only realistic source of free lumber for a project like yours is found at construction sites: their over-stock and waste. Most won’t give whole over-stock away, because they can return it for a full refund most of the time. But anything that has been cut, nailed, sanded, etc. (including weathered) is waste. It costs them to dispose of it. You might be surprised how many half sheets of plywood, 5’9″ 2×4’s, and long enough pieces of good trim and finish material you could scrounge this way that would be very suitable for your project. Virtually everything that goes in a camper has to be cut down from original size…as I’m sure you’ve already realized.
Ken, I might have to try this! Thanks for the info!
Wow its looking fantastic!
Thank you!
If you don’t already, you should definitely troll estate sales! As sad as it seems to capitalize on some grandpa/grandma’s demise- the inevitable and beautiful fact is these old folks leave behind a lifetime of treasures that their families don’t know what to do with! Paint,nails, tools, and other garage goodies from gpa, and a crafter’s heaven of fabric remnants, buttons, supplies from gma! Always cheap finds, and often if you hit them up the second day, everything is half off because they just really want it gone!
Hey Mallorie! I’ve been to a couple of estate sales, but they were a bust. It was just junk! I actually found some fabric in my own mom’s closet! So that was a plus. Maybe I need to try estate sales again, though.