Month: June 2019

A few years ago, Betty & I drove through a swarm of lovebugs on Mustang Island, near Corpus Christi, Texas. A copious crowd of copulating creatures covered the front of our coach, splattering our windshield and making it difficult to see where we were going.  As soon as it was safe to do so, I pulled over and squeegeed the front of our motorhome.  Under other circumstances, the bugs would be gone then, or at the next pressure-washing truck wash. However, these acidic double-headed flies ate through the Diamond Shield coating on the front of our rig, leaving pock marks that were impossible to remove. Yuck!

On return to Winnipeg I stopped by an autobody shop with experience painting motorhomes, and received a quote of $2,000. to remove the rascally creatures’ residue. While I like to keep the old Boy looking reasonably good, I could think of many other things that 2 grand could go for. So until now we’ve been living with our front face’s acne.

This month I picked up 4 bottles of touch-up paint, to replace the last batch that had succumbed to a cold spell, and set out to cover all the nicks and scratches acquired over the past couple of years of almost constant travel. I gave our home a good wash & wax, and stood back to admire it.  Well, what about that front cap?

I went on-line and watched a number of YouTube videos on removing Diamond Shield coatings. None suggested it was an easy job. And of course the most promising product – Ugly Shield Remover – does not appear to be available in Canada. The recommended approach was to remove very small sections at a time, in order to avoid peeling off paint underneath. I didn’t follow the recommendations…

Beginning with an inconspicuous edge, I started to pull the plastic coating, and was pleased to see how well it came off, leaving glue, but an otherwise unblemished surface, behind. I kept pulling and within 2 hours had the whole pitted Diamond Shield coating removed from the front hood – all paint still intact. Yeah!

Ok. I celebrated a little too soon… While the plastic coating was relatively easy to remove, the glue underneath was another story! I used everything in my limited arsenal, with success coming only after about four days of labour. Even though I had my iTunes playlists attempting to keep me in the groove, I found the job to be extremely boring, and had to quit each day after hours of scrubbing. I used Goo Gone, WD 40, Dawn detergent, plastic scrapers, and Norwex cloths, which appeared to work best. (shout out to our daughter Valerie who sells the cloths.)  One on-line posting suggested gasoline would do the job, and I almost resorted to that at times. (Burn baby burn. Lol) In frustration, I also fantasized about finding which of our kids has my belt sander, and taking that to the obstinate covering. (Betty held me back from that extreme inclination.)

Well, it’s done now. Or at least one central contaminated section. There’s no chance that I’ll commit the time to removing the rest of the coating, but I can at least stand back and admire the fresh, unadulterated paint on our front hood. BTW, we’re also never going back to Corpus Christi during lovebug season again! lol

Happy Canada Day & Cheers!

Life has been busy for Betty & me since our return to Winnipeg last month. Because our blog chronicles our travels on the road, there have been no updates recently. We have been able to reconnect with our family and many of our friends, but are still getting questions about our “down time”. Here’s a very brief update:

We’ve settled into our campsite at Town & Country, watching the glorious sunsets and appreciating the return of warm weather, green grass and leafy trees in Manitoba. We’ve flowered out around our site, and added cucumber and tomato plants, with the first crop of tomatoes due any day now.

Last month my brother, Allon, was able to visit from the Yukon, and we celebrated his and son-in-law Adam’s birthdays at Kevin and Valerie’s home.

 

 

Neighbours of Betty’s brother, Jack, from southern Ontario stopped by on their way through Manitoba. We had also enjoyed a visit with them in Yuma, Arizona the winter before last.

Our friends, Peter & Janet from Manitoulin Island, featured in a post from June 2018, stopped in for a dinner together and a far too brief visit on their way through to their son’s in the west.

A great Mothers’ Day celebration was held at our campsite last month, followed by a wonderful Fathers’ Day family gathering here this month.

Betty has expanded her sewing centre into our add-a-room, and is trying her hand at quilting, with great success so far!

I have completed a series of golf lessons, and am looking forward to getting out on the links with our dear son, Andrew, in the not distant future. The new clubs purchased in Florida this winter are performing well so far.

I also completed a “travel photography” class, and have signed up for a series of “digital camera 101” lessons. Crossed fingers for better pics to come!

The Smart car went in for service last week, and we were forced to drive a new Mercedes Benz in its absence. Tough job, but someone had to do it… The CruiseMaster goes in for an oil change next week, on our way to

the Winnipeg Folk Festival in Birds Hill Provincial Park. With the able assistance of our wonderful neighbour, Brian at Town & Country, we have now completed the transition to all LED lights in our motorhome. Bet’s bike got a major tune-up since our return, and we’re looking forward to many more rides together soon.

We’re booked for our first major Family Motor Coach Association conference in Minot, North Dakota in August, and have begun more detailed plans for our fall and winter trip to Arizona, as we continue our goal of visiting 48 states and 10 provinces during our overlandish odyssey.

Cheers to all for now!