Painting in Mexico

[tom240842@...]

Here is hoping with only 13 shopping days left until Christmas that y'all
are keeping your stress levels manageable. Peggy and I are taking life easy
here in Charleston, heading down to Savannah on the 15th to spend a few days,
tour houses, eat with Paula Dean and then back up here for Christmas.

After seeing several coaches that have been painted in Algodones Mexico, and
talking with one of the owners, we are going to take the coach over to Yuma
the end of March, they will come look at the coach in Yuma, assess what it
will take and what we will have done, then we will drive the coach across the
border and have it painted. I am of the mind that I will rent a storage shed
in Yuma, and store everything out of my bays and storage pods. As I
understand from George Lowry we will be in a enclosed compound, but at the
border I
don't want to have to unload all "our stuff" at the whim of some border guard.

There are a couple of things I would like some opinions on:

1) the left rear compartment door. I have a 33 footer so the docking light
is in the door. I got too close to a concrete post and flatten the rub rail
on the bottom of the compartment door. Not only did I flatten the rub rail
but warped the door. Those of you that know how these are constructed, would
it be easier just to get a new(er) door than have the rub rail replaced if
possible and the door straightened?

2) when Blue Bird constructed my 'goat rail' on top, they used steel rivets
through the aluminum railing. Over the years these have all rusted. I would
like the railing left original (I have seen painted ones and would rather
clean up the rail) When I put the railing back together, would it be better to
use stainless steel screws or put the same rivets in? And will it make any
difference if I do this, if I use aluminum rivets?

3) the front covers for my radiator, and both headlight housing sides have
the hex nut screws. These were originally painted. If I have them paint
these, they are going to have to do them individually, then screw them back in.
How can I prevent the paint from getting knocked off them again? Somewhere,
maybe JC Whitney, I think I saw a wrench set with nylon inserts for
protecting painted fasteners. Would that work with these?

4) I do not have any leaks up on top from the many screws that hold my
"diamond deck plating" to the roof. Is it going to be worth the time and
trouble
of having them remove the A/C units, the roof vents, the deck plating, just
to paint underneath it.

I don't have but a couple of dents to have pulled and the rust is minimal,
however because some repainted the front and rear caps before I got the
coaches, rivets in those areas are starting to rust. The rain rail will have
to be
taken off, cleaned up, straightened and I would assume that they would
remove the all the awnings rather than mask and paint around them, I would
want
them removed anyhow, as I would the marker lights and all the chrome.

Any other suggests would be welcome.

Tom Meservey, USN (Ret)
'81FC33' brrrrrrrrr in Charleston at 37 degrees


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