| Author |
Message |
Craig (Ceieio)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2005 - 11:12 pm: | |
My bus currently has diamond-tuck on the ceiling. I am thinking of replacing it with ozite to update the look.
I gather that ozite is put on with contact cement. That sound interesting to put up without bonding to itself and such.
Any tips or lessons learned that you care to pass along?
Comments on changing to ozite or your favorite covering are welcome as well.
Thanks!
Craig - MC7 |
James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 12:34 am: | |
The easy way, and u will need at least 1 helper. You can buy the adhesive cement at any local upholstery shop or u can use Weldwood Contact Cement from HD. If u are doing the entire ceiling u are going to need about 2 gallon, maybe a bit more. At an upholstery shop you can get the sprayable type. I use an HVLP system by Wagner. Spray a med coat on the ceiling surface, then starting at the front, spray about a 5' run of the ozite. U should mark the ozite and put some index marks on the ceiling where u start to insure that u get it started in-line and centered.
After u get the 1st 5 or so feet up and sticking, just proceed on thru until it is up. Make yourself a couple of T line crutches to help hold it up and in place at the end of your spray area.
You can spray the ceiling and the carpet in sections but if the temp. permits and set time won't be too long, you could spray 10 or so feet of ceiling at a time. Don't spray to much of the carpet at one time, as it becomes too much of a hassle if you have a long run of it to get up at one time. Once an area is up you should also rub it down thoroughly to insure full bonding of the surfaces. Works out good if u have 3 people. You're not stumbling over each other, 1 person applies the glue and the other two put up the carpet and trim it out, while the glue person moves on to the next section.
Also, if u have crosswalls, it is easier to make a cut line at the door rather than try to work a continuous piece thru the opening. 3 people can easily do a prepared job in 3-4 hrs. Make sure you drape off the sidewalls and anything else you don't want contact cement on. I wouldn't do anything but ozite; cuts noise tremendously and covers up a whole bunch of mistakes real nice. |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 7:19 am: | |
Any type of carpeting will retain odors, like the morning's
breakfast, afternoon lunch and supper... aside from other
odors that may be just as unpleasant a year after you've
experienced it first-hand.. |
James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 9:57 am: | |
Hear this over and over; I can just imagine your opinion on cigarette smoke in a coach. Holding tanks have the same problem; deal with it. There is such a process known as cleaning and there are several very effective cleaning products on the market today that actually make a gourmet meal of odors. If u prefer a solid or semi-solid surface that echoes pin drops, by all means, go with what floats your boat. If u want quiet, then put carpet on the ceilings (walls in carpet add even more acoustical absorbtion) and carpet or cork on the floor.
Many prefer the '57 Chevy naugahyde seamed headliner look; many prefer mirrors. Whatever? |
Jim Shepherd (Rv_safetyman)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 11:17 am: | |
James gave you good advice. I can only add a couple of thoughts.
I believe that the contact glue should be obtained at an upholstery supplier and should be a glue designed for “landau” use (on the roofs of cars). This glue withstands very high temperatures which can occur in motorhomes when they are in storage.
Next, you need to be very careful when you apply the glue to the Ozite. When I did mine (previous project), I used a roller and applied too much glue. It bled through the Ozite and looked pretty bad. If I were to do it again (and I probably will when I get to that stage of the conversion), I would SPRAY an even light coat of the glue on the Ozite and let it dry. I think this is called sizing (?). This would create a barrier to keep the glue from bleeding through. After that dried, I would then spray the ceiling and Ozite and apply per James’ instructions.
BTW, I think Ozite is an excellent product. You don’t have to go through the extra step of applying a foam layer that you do with vinyl. Also vinyl will show every mistake, while Ozite is more forgiving. I also think Ozite is more of a sound deadening material.
Jim Shepherd
Evergreen, CO
’85 Eagle 10
Bus Project details: http://www.rvsafetysystems.com/busproject.htm (updated 2/17/05) |
James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 2:18 pm: | |
Jim: Thanks for jumping in. U are correct abt. the Landau top type glue. It is also sprayable out of the can. Last yr. it was $16/gal. Works great. The Weldwood brand does not adhere good where heat is a factor and has the additional problem of requiring a small amount of thinner for good light spraying. Just mentioned it as an alternative. The sizing step may be a good idea but I did not encounter any bleed problem with the light coat on the ozite, med coat on the hard surface |
Jim Shepherd (Rv_safetyman)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 2:32 pm: | |
James, first of all, you need to understand that I am an engineer, so if a little is good a whole lot more must be better <grin>. Secondly I was using a roller and that really got me in trouble. I think that an "engineer" with a spray gun could get in trouble as well. The main point is not to overdo the application of the glue. I think the sizing step would keep even us crazy folks from overdoing it.
Jim |
Craig (Ceieio)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 3:36 pm: | |
Gents - thank you very much for the info. While it sounds like it could be an entertaining project, it also sounds like a little prep work and some helpers can mitigate the circus aspects somewhat! I think I will go ahead with this in the near future. The current headliner is well done, it just looks very dated. Lord knows you wouldn't want your 30 year old bus to look dated. :-)
Thanks for the tip on cutting the ozite at a wall; it will be an issue for me as this is a remodel project. Is there anything special I should do at the seam to prevent ravel or "unsightly gaps"?
You can see the "as-is" look here: (You will have to be a member of the MCI bus nuts I think)
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/mci-bus-nuts/lst?.dir=/ceieio+MCI+7&.src=gr&.order=&. view=t&.done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/
Also note that the Fucia/pink/whatever is going to a new home. I ordered three new Flexsteel chairs and a longer magic bed sofa up front to start updating that look.
Thanks again!
Craig - MC7 |
Jim Shepherd (Rv_safetyman)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 4:16 pm: | |
Craig, my experience is that a good sharp knife cut will be very hard to see and the material is such that it does not shrink or unravel. You might consider using a good straight edge to make the cut. If you screw it up, you just cover the joint with some kind of plastic, wood, or other material that is thin. Most buses have this in their plastic ceiling construction.
I think you will find that it is a very easy two person job (assuming good planning). As mentioned, the material is reasonably forgiving.
Jim |
James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 4:22 pm: | |
Craig: If u are "butting" cuts above an opening I have seen the seam run into the plastic butt molding for paneling, painted to match the carpet. MCI did likewise using a small SS butt molding. A cut that ends against a wall is not a problem. On my last one, I had a butt cutt at the ductwork at the wall. I used a custom wood moulding channeled out for rope lighting to cover the irregularities of the seam and the junction of the roof w/the duct. The "felt" type or smooth Ozite presents the hardest problems. The ribbed Ozite butt in good with an overlapping cut to match. The low pile or loop stuff cuts in without problem except making care to use only new blades to prevent un-ravelling. |
niles steckbauer (Niles500)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 4:41 pm: | |
Craig - A little tougher way is to do like the wall paper hangers and lap the joint and razor cut through both butt ends - of course you would have to use an adhesive more forgiving than contact cement or adhere the leading edge after the cut - Just a reminder to make sure you apply it in the same direction off the roll or you'll see the joints no matter how well you apply it -
Just my opinion that there is probably a Headliner installer close to you who might be persuaded to do it at a reasonable cost if you left it there for them to do 'between jobs' - tell them if they do a good job you'll refer others , which I'm sure you would do -
Niles |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 9:02 pm: | |
Jim-
I'm sure your bus smells fine. Good for you! I'm happy for you.
When we were shopping for a used RV, we were smokers.
Our smoking ciggy smell didn't bother us (we have long since quit).
The stench we noticed in the RVs with carpeted or heavy fabric
ceilings drove us away from buying them. The stench wasn't just
"old smoke", it was like years of bacon, egg and some sort of
horrid moldy cleansing solution. And yeah..... all of the carpeted
palaces smelled like that. And each salesman said "it can be cleaned".
Fine, Jim. To each their own. Line it with sponge... whatever...
But carpeting absorbs odors and is a great spot for insects and
mold and a bunch of other things that like to grow in an environment
that the bus would be in, while it's being stored.
Me...... I'd prefer a smooth surface that's easy to maintain. I don't
want to have to work, when I can be having fun... |
Craig (Ceieio)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 12:22 am: | |
Thanks again all, for all of your thoughts and ideas. I am sure they will be a big help to me this summer when I tackle this.
Craig - MC7 |
Pat Bartlett (Muddog16)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 6:30 am: | |
While we are talking ozite, I noticed on one conversion site, ozite was used where joints in flooring and walls was used to eliminate squeaks, any thoughts on this? It seems like a really good idea to me but what do I know I'm still new! Any draw backs that I'm not aware of? ....Pat |
Jason Whitaker (Jeepme)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 2:30 pm: | |
Sounds interesting but are squeaks a problem? I am fastening my walls securely using screws and liquid nails. I don't expect any squeaks but then I'm new too!
Jason Whitaker 4104 |
John tng
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 20, 2005 - 9:31 pm: | |
Uhmm.... Jim... my comment was directed to James, not you.. |