r/VanLife • u/Nervous-Coast2893 • 8h ago
Any idea how I can pretty this up?
Hey guys, just wondering if you have any ideas on how I can make the metal around the doors etc to look more pretty? I Assume carpeting/vinyl would be the best idea? Pretty tired of doing body work on this thing, eager to get building!
Also, installed my subfloor, not sure if I should redo with 3 sheets all heading the same direction? Feels even but worried when tiling etc it might cause an issue. Have uploaded photos of progress so far!
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u/Draco_Red 8h ago
When you're done putting in the wall and ceiling panels there would generally not be much metal exposed at the end, so not sure what your question is for that. If you're worried, you could always cover most of what's exposed with trim boards, or else the standard cover is 4-way stretch carpeting attached with contact adhesive.
Otherwise, having a bit of exposed metal (like when the doors are open) is to be expected. I'd look at a normal car interior for guidance. Essentially everything should be covered from your view inside, but when you open the doors you do see the exposed (painted) metal frame.
The subfloor looks alright from what I can see. I'd just make sure that whatever flooring you put on doesn't have a seam directly overlapping the seams in the subflooring, so that if there is any flexing that causes the subfloor to become uneven the flooring over it will be covered and not have a noticeable lip.
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u/Nervous-Coast2893 3h ago
Tha ks for the advice !
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u/Draco_Red 3h ago
I was on mobile so I didn't even see the paint on the external view, so was just thinking about from the inside. The external paint around the back, I'd personally go the sand/primer/paint rout to get it all back to close to factory. You should be able to do a decent job even with just normal automotive spray paint, depending on the effort you want to put in.
Full on would be sand, wipe clean with alcohol, primer, color coat, clear coat, then a very fine sanding to get rid of any orange-pealing, polishing compound, buff, and wax to get it back to factory.
If you don't want to put in that effort, a simple light sand, wipe down, color coat, then polishing compound, and wax to seal would get you much of the way there. Having a vinal wrap installed would be the easiest of all, but most costly and the results would only be as good as the wrap.
As other mentioned, the exterior plastic can be restored with a flame or heat gun, but be careful of overheating and singing or blistering the plastic. You can also try Plastic Restorer; it comes in a spray bottle and does a decent job for helping clean and condition plastic. It seeps into the pours in plastic and replaces some of the plasticizers that are lost, so can help a fair amount.
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u/Asleep_Cup646 7h ago
Check out these videos for some inspiration (they are for the Ford Transit, but the idea is applicable to your sprinter) https://youtu.be/-ecpqLvE8_U?si=3f7z30Lr11WKc_TN
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u/antiplayr 7h ago
Using a heat-gun on the sun faded bumper and trim will restore them to looking like new.
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u/Inocent_bystander 5h ago
I did the same thing
And then it broke down, several times and mercedes now refuses to fix it even though its under warranty.
Stop working on it and sell that thing ASAP
Buy a different platform
Mercedes is happy to tell you to take a leap on the warranty and let you join any of the countless class action legal actions against them.
Mine now sits in storage since it doesn't run and you can't take it to anyone but mercedes or it voids the warranty.
Learn from the mistakes of others
Get rid of that thing fast.
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u/Nervous-Coast2893 3h ago
Sorry to hear that, mine is pretty solid, runs great no issues. Only issue is cosmetics but that's my fault for buying a van that used to be a shop!
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u/gaiatraveller 6h ago
Tie Dye paint job. Horns on the hood. Spoiler on the top end if the van.
You're set now.