Went to Visit an Old Friend and Brought a Airstream

[Gizmo]

We visited an old friend that not doing well and his wife told me that he has a 1994 Airstream that she needs to sell. Took a quick look and it is in great shape for the 1994 model and decided I need a project. The headliner is falling down but the cabinets are in great shape and seem to have solid bones. This is going to be a family project and my son and grandkids can use it. Now the adventure begins. The biggest question is do we restore or do we paint the cabinets and bring up to 2020 decor.

 

[Jim]

Looks like a fun project and from what I can tell, it looks to be pretty good shape. As for the cabinets, and this is just my opinion, I would paint them. Seems it would be a lot easier, less expensive as well, and assuming you pick a light color, it should open the feel up as well.

Good luck!

 

[bpaikman]

We’ve had such a bad experience with painted cabinets in our house - I wouldn’t paint. In fact, I’m searching for our next motorhome, and our next sticks and bricks, and when I see painted cabinets, that’s an immediate No. I look no further than the kitchen.
In MY mind, the value of the motorhome or house drops 50% immediately. None of the new RVs have painted cabinets. To build cabinets, you have to use a much more expensive wood if they’ll be stained - so, paint just screams cheap builder cop-out to me.
However, this IS a much older RV. What do you plan to do with it? Painting cabinets (and antique furniture!) is popular with young people - they have no idea of the value of stained cabinets and they’re painting everything! Arrrrgh, When wood is stained, the color soaks deep into the wood grain and I wonder if you can possibly get it all off, and maybe there’s some oil in there also?
In my experience, with cabinets that were originally stained and later painted - the paint starts wearing off and chipping and peeling immediately, maybe because it was improperly prepped? Maybe because it had been stained first?
Our current house is the first house I’ve ever lived in with painted cabinets and it appears that they were originally stained some light 1980s color, and then were painted. Paint was wearing off all the cabinets - so badly that we replaced all the kitchen doors and had the whole thing professionally redone, with explicit instructions for longevity. It did no good, The paint chipped and peeled within months.
Maybe there’s a way to do this that will last, But I doubt it.
What wears off, on a stained cabinet, is the clear finish, ’exposing’ the wood under it. It doesn’t show wear as much because you already see the wood.
What wears off with a painted cabinet, is PAINT, exposing the wood or whatever under it, which is probably a diff color, and it shows,
Have I mentioned I detest painted cabinets? ?.
We’ve owned 6 different homes, and this is the first time we’ve had painted cabinetry. Never again!
Convince me I’m wrong - I’m truly listening. Painting IS cheaper, but the cabinets don’t look bad to me. It seems to me that it would be far less work to freshen them up as they are, than to prep and paint.

 

[bpaikman]

You really really really might want to take a look at this video. This sounds like a nightmare, especially when she ran into the unpaintable silicone caulk that was everywhere in her rv.

 

[Gizmo]

This year Airstream has a wall covering that they call "Mouse Fur" and feels just like mouse fur. Once it gets stained, turns yellow and dirty it is impossible to clean so it has to be dealt with either painting or wallpapered. As for the cabinet painting if it is done right it will last but I do agree that white in the camper will be hard to keep clean. Painting cabinets consist of proper prep, using paint that is made for cabinets, and ensuring that it last even a couple of coats of urethane to seal it. My thoughts are this Airstream is borderline vintage and shameful to do updates that can't be reversed.

 

[Amigobaja]

At least when your coach was built everything went through the door so to remodel is fairly easy compared to most coaches.

 

[murphysranch]

Airstreams are very popular to rent via AirBnB.

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Airstream rentals are a unique way to experience the outdoors. Here are the best Airstreams to rent on Airbnb. Book now and enjoy your trip!

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Take Glamping to the Next Level With These 13 Airstream Airbnb Rentals

These are the best refurbished vintage Airstream trailers you can rent on Airbnb.

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36 Airstream Short Term Rental ideas | short term rental, airstream, airbnb

Aug 11, 2020 - Making an #Airstream into an #Airbnb. Check out my online course that teaches people how to start up a #vacation rental. https://www.alishaarnold.com/strlab #shorttermrental #superhost #Airbnbsuperhost #tips #tricks. See more ideas about short term rental, airstream, airbnb.

www.pinterest.com

 

[bpaikman]

This year Airstream has a wall covering that they call "Mouse Fur" and feels just like mouse fur. Once it gets stained, turns yellow and dirty it is impossible to clean so it has to be dealt with either painting or wallpapered. As for the cabinet painting if it is done right it will last but I do agree that white in the camper will be hard to keep clean. Painting cabinets consist of proper prep, using paint that is made for cabinets, and ensuring that it last even a couple of coats of urethane to seal it. My thoughts are this Airstream is borderline vintage and shameful to do updates that can't be reversed.

No amount of prep can help unpaintable caulk. And digging it all out, everywhere, looked painful. But I’m wondering if Airstreams have so much caulk, if any. It might not be a problem. But I agree, painting is pretty much irreversible.

 

["EZ"]

We visited an old friend that not doing well and his wife told me that he has a 1994 Airstream that she needs to sell. Took a quick look and it is in great shape for the 1994 model and decided I need a project. The headliner is falling down but the cabinets are in great shape and seem to have solid bones. This is going to be a family project and my son and grandkids can use it. Now the adventure begins. The biggest question is do we restore or do we paint the cabinets and bring up to 2020 decor.

Looks like it's in great shape except for the headliner. But that's not a big deal. Congrats!!