Life happens

Sometimes I wish all I had to do was work on my trailer. Silly things like work, home and family all tend to get in the way of my project. I could really use someone in my life to manage all the trivial details for me ... any offers?

After doing the shellac on the interior wood, I went to work on the drawers and cupboard faces. Just as with the paneling, the wood now has that amazing glow to it. I am hitting all the hinges, latches and drawer pulls with steel wool to remove the oxidation. All the finer aspects of the restoration seem to make a big difference. The interior framing will never show, but the cosmetic work can make or break the appearance. The RR will never be a museum piece, but that has never been my goal.

The original vinyl flooring in the RR was in poor condition and would have to be redone. I found some very affordable squares at Home Depot that closely resembled the original pattern. I "practiced" by installing the squares under the storage benches. This way if I messed up, it wouldn't really show. It was actually fairly easy to do and looks very nice. When the remaining interior work is finished, I'll do main floor areas.

I have now discovered my 2nd most hated task on this project (right after polishing) -- electrical work. There were 2 electric light fixtures mounted under the cupboards that needed to be replaced. The bases were very corroded and didn't clean up well at all. And 1 of the glass globes was missing. I went to Lowes and found what I call "jelly jar" fixtures. Same size base and only $9. each. Should be an easy swap ... right? NOT. First off, the outlet boxes are now just slightly bigger and would need to be replaced. I used my Dremel to widen the cupboard holes a bit to accommodate the new boxes. The front fixture was easy to hook up - black wire to black; white wire to white. Worked just fine. Well, the kitchen fixture was the test. Instead of just 1 set of wires, it had 3. 1 set coming from the breaker box; 1 set going to the front of the RR; 1 set going to the rear. I had to cram all those wires thru the outlet box holes, twist them and tape them together and make it all fit into the tiny space inside the box. I should never try to do these things at the end of a long work day. But it was supposed to be short and simple. Bottom line - both lights work and neither has sparked an electrical fire ... yet!

The following day I rewarded myself with an easy task - clean the stove and oven. I rarely do this in my home, but the RR's appliance needed the once over. There must have been alot of standing water in the stove top at some point. I scraped, sanded and vacuumed out most of the rust. Some fine steel wool made all the difference in the oven and on the trim pieces. My Mother would be proud of clean it is now! It will look great for when I boil water for coffee!! We all know I'll never use the oven :)