Here's the latest caravan renovation - took about 3 months worth of weekends and was great fun to do. Enjoy!
Looks "ahem" mint @Peggers. Well done! 😀
Do you have any "before" photos of the van?
And what make and model is it?
Jason
That caravan is truly mint!
Thanks Jase. It's a 1971 Millard. I've attached some before photos.
Many thanks @Peggers. It's a fantastic transformation and I'm sure you will inspire many Workshop members. Congratulations.
Admirers of Rob's work might be interested to see these other popular caravan posts:
Thanks again,
Would love to do something like that. Fantastic, breathing new life into that van. Love it.
i love this reno , i have just purchased a 1978 10 ft millard and am a novice at all of this , guess i will hopefully learn as i go along betsy
Hi @jjnene,
Thanks for joining in the discussion. Let me tag @Peggers for you so he is alerted to your painting question.
Let me also extend a very warm welcome to the Workshop community. Please post whenever you need assistance or have a new project to share. We have loads of community members who are happy to share their experience and knowledge. And please let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site.
All the best,
Love it! Well done @Peggers.
What material are your carvan walls @jjnene? MDF? Plasterboard?
Hi there. Are the tiles on the backsplash real or adhesive?
If adhesive are these available instore please?
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Schnug. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and many thanks for your question on this amazing project.
Let me mention @Peggers to see if he can fill us in on the tiles he used. I know he's a fan of using Bunnings products and the tiles resemble Decor 8 Metro Bevel Brickbond White Gloss Tile 292x286x6.5mm, which are ceramic and available through Special Orders.
We do have a range of peel and stick tiles, but they are in a larger format.
What sort of project are you working on? We'd be keen to hear all about it and encourage you to let us know anytime you need assistance or have something to share. I trust you'll find loads of inspiration within the community just like this project, as our talented members contribute their ideas here all the time.
Mitchell
Looks great @Peggers @I would love to know how you cleaned those aluminium windows? I have an old Millard that I’m renovating and they are giving me grief. Lots of oxidation and stains.. I may end up painting them. Unless theirs a magic product @Bunnings Thank you!
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Littlemilly, it's great to have you join us. We're looking forward to reading more about your renovation project and all of your other projects and plans.
Hopefully Rob (@Peggers) will get back to you as soon as possible. Let me also tag another experienced caravan renovator in @twocutekelpies as well as our resident D.I.Y. expert @MitchellMc to share their thoughts on how tor restore aluminium windows.
A few resources that might be helpful include Rob's multi-part guide How to renovate a caravan and this discussion kicked off by @Scott59: Painting aluminium windows.
Thank you, I have looked through all the posts and think I might need to spray paint them, which is not really another job I want to do, but I’m sure they will look much better.
Hi Littlemilly, I know many have had success with using fine steel wool, nylon wheels, buffing wheels and compound and even alfoil and coca cola but my windows were very pitted and I felt no amount of polishing was going to resurrect them so I opted for mechanical clean up, wax and grease remover, etch prime and spray painting with aluminium paint for my 1977 Molly.
Before Josco nylon wheel and Ryobi drill Completely disassembled, cleaned, etch primed and a few coats of spraypaint After
Thank you! They look amazing. I will have a go cleaning them with a nylon wheel and maybe spray them but I can’t take them apart so I’ll have to try taping them all up. I keep reminding myself once the fly screens are back in and the curtains up nobody will see the insides. I’ve already spent hours trying all of the other things- Coca Cola and al-foil was one. I’m trying to finish the van so we can leave in a month. Thanks again.
It's great to have you join us @Littlemilly and I'm pleased to see @twocutekelpies has provided some helpful info.
Would you mind sharing some images of the troublesome areas? I've been doing a ton of aluminium polishing lately and I'd be keen to take a look at what you're trying to restore. The aluminium pieces below are all over 30 years old, were heavily tarnished, scratched, corroded and generally looked horrible. Mainly working with wet'n'dry sandpaper, Autosol 75ml Aluminium Polish and a Josco 100mm Replacement Buff Polishing Kit I've restored them to this point.
I'm looking forward to assisting you further.
Beautiful work Mitchell, can I ask if you coat it with anything to maintain or will that require regular maintenance polishing?
Hello @twocutekelpies
It's amazing how beautifuly polished those parts are. In theory, the polish will stay for at least a couple of weeks unattended. If it's regularly maintained the polish will stay indefinitely. It's only when you run it through dirt, mud and water and don't clean it up will it start to lose its shine. You'll notice it starts to get hazy and then cloudy, those are your indicators that it's time for a quick shine.
If you're willing to invest in your parts you could have it electroplated. There is the option of using Rust-Oleum 298g 2X Ultra Cover Gloss Clear Spray Paint. However, the drawback to using a paint sealer is that it will eventually chip and tarnish. It will be difficult to remove the coating and repolish the aluminium. Using specialist waxes and sealers will protect the aluminium, but you'll still need to buff it to get that shine.
I'm sure @MitchellMc will add more information if he has a different sealing plan in mind.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Polished aluminium is a bit of a labour of love @twocutekelpies. To keep it gleaming, it needs regular maintenance. You'd always want to use a sealing product to maintain the shine for as long as possible. I'll be using something like carnauba wax on these parts. However, I do like the idea of a hard clear coat product, and on a window frame which will be exposed to weather, that might be an option. I'm also a fan of what you've done with painting the frames. That's a great solution.
These particular bicycle parts were clear coated by the manufacturer. I've removed that clear coat and repolished, knowing that without the clear they will tarnish quickly. As a temp solution before applying a wax-based polish, I've got the aluminium parts coated in WD-40 to prevent air from getting to their surface and beginning the tarnishing process.
This is awesome! can we see the before photos?
Hi @Cocoplum
I totally agree, It's a fantastic renovation. Let me tag @Peggers to make them aware of your kind words and question.
Hi,
Minty looks great - we have a Millard too "Otto" which we're tackling at the moment. Just curious to the length of Minty - looks similar to ours and never thought of that type of layout. Thanks
Hi @DanTomBell,
Thank you for your post and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.
Allow me to tag @Peggers, so they are notified of your question. I'm sure they'll get back to you shortly with the information you are after.
In the meantime, you might like to check out our Top 10 caravan renovations for some inspiration.
Jacob
