This summer I re-did did all the interior panels and cupboard insides in
my van.  I toor off all the old
brittle vinyl, (i used a heat gun to get off the few bits that were
still stuck on.)  Then I primed and painted
all the panels with a small roller.  I got some exterior latex paint
that matches the colour of the beige
cupboards.  A patterned texture is left on the panel from the glue once
the vinyl is removed, and when
you paint over this, the hatched texture remains, giving a nice look.
The van looks great inside, and I'll
never have to wory about ubholstery peeling off.  If I throw my bike in
the van or a ski pole bangs the
panels, I dont' have to worry abouyt tearing upholstery or covering. If
it makes a scratch, I just give it
one pass with the paint roller and it looks good as new again.   The one
thing you'll find with doing this
job is it requires complete dissasembly of the westy interior.
Everything has to come out.  This can be a
good thing, because it gives you a chance to get at the back of any rust
that may be hiding, (like the
dreaded sem rust on the panel below the inlets). It also gives you the
opportunity to re-insulate yout bus
with decent insulation.

If you've got any questions about this whole job, let me know, I'd be
happy to help.  Have fun with
those propane pipes if you take out the interior. : )

greg.
82 westy.

Ron Schlamp wrote:

  I am new to the list.  What a great resource.  I am in the process of
repairing all of the interior panels in
  my 81 Westy.  it seems that the panel above the drivers cabin as well
as the sliding door and others have
  either become brittle and broken or lost their glue and become loose.
I am finding it difficult to get a
  match at any local auto upholstery  venue.  I was hoping to avoid
having to replace the tan mac-tac like
  stuff for all of the interior panels.  Not to mention that much of the
cupboards also have the stuff inside.
  Any ideas. Ron Schlamp