No More Squealing!

Each time we started Smidge she squealed like a banshee! Then after a couple of minutes she'd suddenly stop. So we booked her into the local garage.  

The heavens opened up as we drove to the garage, which was an ideal opportunity to see if the wipers worked effectively. Thankfully they did.

Back home we used the rainy day to start sanding Smidge's cupboard doors. They're painted white but hadn't had the best of paint jobs. We wanted them sanded back so we could apply a couple of coats of fresh paint. We've decided to paint them white again, only we're hoping the finished look will be much better. Plus they'll have new handles and hinges.

A couple of hours later we got a call from the mechanic to say it was an easy fix. Although Smidge had a new fan belt fitted before the previous owner sold her to us, it turned out it wasn't the right size. So after the correct sized belt was put in, she started without any screeches. It was great to hear the engine running without squealing and even better to hear the cost of the repair was much cheaper than I'd anticipated. A win - win.

The last couple of days I've been busy sanding while Bernie has made a start painting the interior. After I'd sanded the first few cupboards by hand, I decided there must be a faster way.

And there was/is. We bought a little sander from Mitre 10, which has made the job so much easier.

A bonus with this little sander is it has a pointed tip that gets into those tricky corners. It saves trying to fold sandpaper into a tiny point when doing it by hand. 

Although I'd like to click my fingers and have Smidge finished and ready for our first adventure, I'm enjoying tackling these DIY projects and learning a few things on how to restore an older campervan. And it's rewarding giving Smidge a spruce up and some much needed TLC.