Day 32-34: Gleaming With Pride

Ceiling Restoration Is Now Complete!

The Traveling Pheasant has embarked on its third and final session to complete the ceiling restoration. This accomplishment sees another hurtle in the clear and we are anxious to keep the momentum going. The entire ceiling is now stripped and if we said we were excited, it would be an understatement!

Day 1

Because I can joke about being slightly OCD, I admit that I spent the day going over all four ceiling quadrants again with paint stripper to fully polish off any remaining black goo that would prevent a smooth finish during repainting.

This cleaning day was also beneficial in removing the considerable amount of dust left behind as I worked my way around the ceiling. After the painful hard work that I had put in over the last two sessions, I wanted to see my efforts really shine!

After cleaning, it was time to turn my attention to the trailer’s front ceiling panels. Over the course of the previous sessions, I experimented with different paint removal methods and they now needed to be cleaned up in their own right. The middle three panels were no longer problem areas now that I perfected my method over the course of the quadrant restoration. I grinded, scraped and polished them until they were gleaming.

The greatest transformation was with the center panel around the lighting wires. I dug out the rust and old caulk and painstakingly removed the black goo from the deep indentations of the eroded metal. I attempted to apply Bondo to fill in some of the damage but I had issues with hardening again. I will have to come back to that later – aka have my step-dad take over!

Day 2

We are now down to the very last sections - the two rounded corners which are going to prove to be my biggest challenge yet. The concave surface compliates matters and I needed to find something that could maneavour the curves.

Thinking along the lines of the wire attachement for the power drill, I found a paint stripper tool just like what I used on the grinder but made for a drill. I was crossing my fingers that this works!

Well, that was a total failure.

Live and Learn Tip: Make sure that your drill has enough power!

Mine sadly did not. My dad was not home and I didn’t want to go digging around the tool shed to find one and I also didn’t want to drive the 20 minites to borrow one from my step-dad, so I thought I would give the grinder a try. I was unsure how much it could reach or how much paint I could remove with what little padding the attachment had left.

Thankfully, this worked and the attachment had just enough life in it to complete both corners. Only downside is the waste of the drill attachment having tried to use it, I can no longer return it.

The curved corners are now stripped of paint and the whole ceiling is officially done! One caveat: I opened a can of worms when the I brushed the grinder against portions of the framing I previously finished in the beginning of the phase. Now, I found more paint that could be stripped and more black goo that could be properly cleaned using my newfound methods.

What is this black goo?

You keep hearing me talk about this mysterious tar-like black goo that has revealed itself under almost every painted surface of the trailer I've sanded, adding considerable amounts of time to the removal process.

I always wondered what on earth the stuff was but never got around to doing a Google search to see what I could find. Well, I finally got around to it and I was horrified at what I discovered.

Based on what I read, it looks to most likely be fibered roof coating. This is a protective coating formulated to provide a tough, durable, weather-resistant film during roof installation. I also saw a forum comment that many roofing professionals have seen these coatings used on walls as a cheap way to waterproof areas it was not intended for. Judging by where I found this stuff on the trailer and that it was located under the decorative paint- this makes sense.

They also said that many of the older roof coatings contained asbestos and should not be machine ground or sanded. Yes, I am kind of freaking out right now because machine grind it I most certainly did! My trailer is from 1984 and I have no way of knowing if or when the ceiling had ever been repainted since being manufactured. By now, all of the goo has been removed and I do not have a sample to send for a test. All I can do is pray that I was not exposed to asbestos this whole time and that my basic protective wear did its job.

Live and Learn Tip: Lead paint and asbestos is not limited to old homes.

If you are working on any vintage project that date before 1989, there is a chance they could contain deadly chemicals. For further shocking reading, Asbestos.com shines light on the alarming truth that asbestos is not totally banned in the US and is still used in some products today.

Day 3: Bondo and the final beautification

I happily handed over the can of Bondo to my step-dad to take over and fix the mess I made of the front panel around the lighting wires. I didn’t think it hardened properly and it still needed to be sanded down.

The other area that needed some bondo attention was the base area of the front corner panels. There was considerable erosion and I wanted to fill in some of the larger chunks. With these areas now in better shape, all that was left was a light polishing around the rear lighting wires. I did not know how to disconnect the lights to remove the wires in order to retore the openings. Now with help, the coast was clear and the finishing touches were completed.

Lastly, the final pain point of the trailer ceiling was removed: the stub of the long-gone stall divider. It was sawed off and is now even to the surrounding framing and will be covered by the upcoming ceiling fixture.

What’s In-store Next?

Once the paint colors are finagled and the ceiling is repainted, a custom drop-down panel with both recessed and movable spotlights will be installed to provide the main light source for the the interior workspace.

With the heavy weight ceiling restoration complete, we will begin laying the ground work for the interior build out, starting from the ground up. Next week we will begin flooring!

Additionally, in preparation to have the trailer professionally painted, we will go over the WHOLE perimeter with new caulk in order to waterproof the roof and doors like never before.

With each phase complete, I get more and more excited seeing this project come together.

I am SO ready to begin the next phase!

Heather