General Boards > Redecorating and Updating your Motorhome

Marquis replacement ceiling panels

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Dave Cunningham:
Hey, started this project a couple of weeks ago, finally got around to finishing it, pulled apart my cracked Makori ceiling panels and replaced them with cherry plywood. Pretty easy really, the five coats of Varathane it took to match the Marquis finish , are a bit time consuming, but other than that, pretty straight forward, here's a couple of pix.

Edward Buker:
Dave,

They look very well done. How are you doing the Varathane. Foam brush, bristle, or spray? Did you bother with a grain sealer first? The cherry will also darken with age and blend right in.

later Ed

Dave Cunningham:
Hi Ed, I wrote out a huge description of how I did it, and then accidentally deleted it when I went searching for the pictures , ( curse words, swearing ect.) so I thought I would see if any body was interested before I retyped.
As you can see it is quite easy to remove the panels, just the four screws and unplugs the lights, the panels come out really easy, just unscrew the blocks around the edge, cut new panels from the 1/4" cherry plywood ( $70.00  per sheet here in Canada ) stained them with Varathane's traditional cherry stain, then sprayed five coats of Varathane high gloss ,oil based clear, sand ing with 400 between coats until the last which I used 600 wet , they turned out awesome, and are almost a bit shinier than the original finish.
I have been in the illuminated sign business for years and have done lots of painting, and I think that if you did not have any spray equipment, that you could get just as good results from a foam roller.
A strange thing happened when I plugged the 12 volt rope lights back in, they all worked perfectly when I unplugged them, but when reinstalled, only a few of the little bulbs illuminate, changed the wires around, same thing, what could have possibly happened, you don't even touch the lights while installing the panels ( more swearing , curse words ect.)

John Hennessey:
Beautiful. We had Beaver coaches replace ours with maple since we have the light cabinets because ours were all cracked too

Edward Buker:
My guess on the lights is that a wire is disconnected somewhere in the chain. Maybe a poor contact where you put the plug back in. Obviously they are filament and the handling could not have caused that many bulbs to be out one would think...a close look with a magnifying glass is in order. You could check out the filament in a bulb that is not lit and see if it is in tact. If so you know it is a connection.

My coach has cherry wood with light burl inserts. I think in my case i would have to go with something light in the panels or as a possibility that cherry and holly marine plywood flooring. Not sure if the holly striping would look good on the ceiling. The teak and holly always looked great as a marine floor. I have several HVLP guns that I use to paint automotive finishes with, they should work well for the Varathane. Maybe a next winter project. Good luck with those lights.

Later Ed

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