NATO Green!

After threatening to change the colour for some time ... it's finally happened, Cinderz is now NATO Green via the rustoleom effect. Roller painting a vehicle is not a quick roller over and job done. It requires a lot of time and effort! The process involves painstakingly painting 3+ layers, flatted back between coats and a final flat & polish. If you get lazy and don't flat back between coats; the finish will NEVER be smooth and presentable.
After a good wash all the paintwork was keyed with 500 grit sandpaper. I then spent some time attacking the rust with an angle grinder and applying some excellent rust inhibitor called Vactan. I bought the paint from an eBay seller and eagerly rollered it on with 4" HD hand rollers (£1.50 from Asda with a tray) with a 25% white spirit mix to thin it down. I foam brushed all the recessed bits but used the roller for the rest. It took about 4+ full days to complete a process of layer painting, wet/dry sanding (no rougher than 600 grit) and washing until the finish looked presentable. I could have spent more time on it for a better finish but I was loosing the will to live in the end.

Headlining fabric

I made it a mission to get the fabric I bought from Ikea, some time ago, onto the roof. I still have the LED lights to fix in but it's finally up in the air and looking good.

Cinders travels Europe

After a frantic few days to get her ready she boarded a boat across the channel - destined for a few weeks of happy motoring! Here are the highlights:

Van in a usable state

The van has been put together but is far from a completed state. There is still LOADS to do! However it is in a 'usable' state - so i'm off to the continent to enjoy her company. After all isn't that the whole reason for being a T4 owner?

Bed from Ikea

I bought a single Lycksele futon bed from Ikea the other day. My plan was to simply add boards that were a bit wider, carpet over them and then add angle brackets to the four floor feet. So this is what I did:

I am in the process of sourcing some foam but due to time constraints will most likely buy a sultan mattress from Ikea and cut it to my own size. I have already bought the covering material from Ikea which was only 99p a metre in a sale!

Some other foam suppliers I have been considering are:
www.bespokefoamsupplies.co.uk
www.acefoam.co.uk
www.efoam.co.uk

My original bed plan was to make sure I could fit kayaks under it so I was going to ask a local welders to make this which I got priced up for under £100:

Electrics

I've been sorting out the electrical side of things with the van today, mainly as it was raining hard. I managed to complete all the ICE wiring, split charge relay, tailgate 6x9 speakers and extended the main battery wires (via butts and battery wire) to allow room for two batteries in the bonnet area. I did this by making a larger battery tray that still fits into the cornered off area. The design is on the VW books site. I bought most of the parts from vehicle wiring products.

I also fitted a Bonnet Bra (from eBay) to hide my scruffy bonnet and prevent further stone chips. The idea being it can be carried to a new van and have a bit of longevity. Looks great!

Carpeting

I bought 2m x 9m of black un-backed carpet from a eBay seller who sells T4 carpet kits. I also bought some red canned Evo Stick that is very heat resistant. It took about three days to carpet the entire van! The panels were pretty easy enough to do but the door posts and wheel arches required quite a bit of skill. I got the hang of it in the end but got some glue drips in places -DO NOT spray directly onto the carpet! I've also discovered that black shows up dirt way too well :(

Rust
As it's an older van i've been trying to stop the onslaught of rust to some degree. The immediate problem being the wheel arches! As i'm intending this to be a 'working' van for climbing/kayaking I simply painted the whole wheel arch with red oxide paint. I know this is a temporary measure but i'm not sure it's worth sanding and repainting them at this date. I'll have to have a think about it.