So things have been moving along.  I used a utility knife to clean up all the rough edges where we’d hacked out the damaged ceiling panels.  This was of course after trying various other techniques such as a rotary rasp and a few other fancy specialty tools, only to discover that really the utility knife is the cheapest, cleanest and easiest route.  1/8th “ ply is wafer thin.

 

I used 1/2” foam, foil one side insulation between the supports.  I reinforced the supports with square aluminum pipe, (can it still be pipe if it’s square?) strong but light weight.  Now the ceiling’s not sagging.

I replaced any rotten board with 1”x2” poplar.

 

Reading several peoples recommendations for the interior finish I found that a little stain and Bulls Eye Amber Shellac seemed to be the consensus for the best choice.  So that is what I bought.

Armed with my Amber Shellac and fancy, pricey, recommended by the professional, brush, I rushed on home to start work. (At this point I’d already cut all the replacement  pieces of ply. And my kind hubby, who worries about my lungs, had spend a couple hours doing the worst of the sanding inside the trailer.)  I sanded my new pieces thoroughly, ‘til they were smooth as a babies bottom.  I diluted my shellac to the proper, recommended for my job  consistency. I sanded lightly between coats. I did every thing I was supposed to.  And well my final word on the matter is, shellac sucks.  It is no fun at all to work with.  I do not like it.  So there.

 

The final product did however turn out pretty nice.  It hasn’t changed my feelings about shellac though.

 

So here it is with the new pieces in, the old pieces recoated and the tail end of the bad smell trapped behind the new coats of shellac.  No trim bits up yet.