Right guys thought i would start a thread and keep updating as i do bits and bobs. Here is the story so far
I purchased a 1979ish Dandy 6 Blind off eBay for the princely sum of £261, after a few weeks of clashing diarys i finaly went to pick up the dandy on 6th of June, initially excited but a tale of woe from the seller that somehow water had ingressed into the dandy between them taking out of storage in March(when they took the pics for the ebay sale) and when i picked it up causing the interior to become water marked quite badly, a few mins of wrangling about the state it was in and the seller remembers they have an original awning and poles that they have never used in the loft. So i agree to purchase anyway as the awning was a big PLUS.
Heres the Dandys pics as advertised on eBay
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Dandy coming home
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Sooo where to start, well on first assessment
I have a plastic bodied dandy, originally grey and has been painted badly in a cream emulsion type paint that hasnt keyed well with the original plastic.
At some point in time one of the owners attempted to put external access to the under seat storage area but changed there mind and re-attached the attempted doors. Bad repair consisting of rivets and gaffa tape, weather tight but looks awfull.
Most of the corner plastic trim is damaged way beyond repair. I would guess this is one of the areas of water ingress.
Lower plastic angle is fitted badly due to corrosion on lower sections.
Interior fabric is all beyond usable.
Nasty chipboard number plate holder and rear lights are in serious need of some attention.
May seem a doom and gloom story so far but there are also many plus points
Was supplied with 3x nearly new 12" tyres(and rims obviously), Original awning & Poles, excellent running gear, hubs, brakes etc all in excellent condition,
And here the story starts, so here is the evolution of my dandy 6, initial plans are to carry out essential repairs and general tarting up, between working 12hr continental shifts, being a single dad with 50% custody of my kids and being a GMB Senior shop steward, coupled with the fact the dandy is at my girlfriends house and not mine, my free time is tight, as is money.
Aim to have the dandy at a usable state by 10th Aug
Week 1-
In work pretty much all week, got chance to erect the dandy and have a better probe into jobs, also had a root around the house for fabrics to use on the interior. As always you realise its a bigger job than you thought hehe
Week 2-
Still not a lot of free time and weather isnt the best for working on the Dandy as it can only stay up whilst im there, no option to leave it up overnight and work on it.
Only things i could really do was order bits for the dandy and rejuvenate the awning as it was extremely dirty from years of use and storage(much dirtier than the dandy), also had a lot of tyre marks on as previous owners elected to store the spare wheel on top of the awning under the dandy cover whilst not in use
Pics pre-clean
This is the inside of the PVC
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Outside of the PVC
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After lots hot water, some heavy duty catering grade detergent, and a few hours of elbow grease
Still cant get the tyre marks out and the top and side where just too big to do to a A1 standard but A1 would show up the dandy as the clean of thats a long way off hehe
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Front panel came out much better, being smaller and more managable
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Week 3-
5 days off, 4 days of heavy rain and high winds
but today, clear blue skies

Operation dandy in full swing, job for the day, pick up wood for jobs, and start jobs proper hehe
So today's job by the time i got through the days chores which took till 2pm
Replace the rotten end bed panel and repair dodgy repairs to the end panel frame(fixed double bed end)
All went pretty well considering its the first bit of tinkering on the dandy also a few other things ive not done for a while(not drilled out rivets in 18 years, not cut wood neatly in over 4 years, not ever worked at my girlfriends house so arrangements first couple of times will be hit and miss with tools and working areas)
Pictoral proof:
Old rotten wood
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Lovely new 3.6mm Red Plywood panel and repaired frame (sorry forgot to take before and after pics of frame, but the frame was broken on 3 corners and has had multiple botched repairs including awful welding, the repairs i removed where corner brackets fitted with wood screws)
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Back on the dandy just needs a lick of paint
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Hopefully future posts wont be as EPIC as i will try to post as i go, but back in work now for a 60hr week 2x12hr day then 3x12hr night stretch so you wont be seeing any new pics till at-least midweek next week
Oh and finally note to myself in future - when drilling out rivets and they spin, don't hold the other side with your fingers
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I purchased a 1979ish Dandy 6 Blind off eBay for the princely sum of £261, after a few weeks of clashing diarys i finaly went to pick up the dandy on 6th of June, initially excited but a tale of woe from the seller that somehow water had ingressed into the dandy between them taking out of storage in March(when they took the pics for the ebay sale) and when i picked it up causing the interior to become water marked quite badly, a few mins of wrangling about the state it was in and the seller remembers they have an original awning and poles that they have never used in the loft. So i agree to purchase anyway as the awning was a big PLUS.
Heres the Dandys pics as advertised on eBay
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Dandy coming home
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Sooo where to start, well on first assessment
I have a plastic bodied dandy, originally grey and has been painted badly in a cream emulsion type paint that hasnt keyed well with the original plastic.
At some point in time one of the owners attempted to put external access to the under seat storage area but changed there mind and re-attached the attempted doors. Bad repair consisting of rivets and gaffa tape, weather tight but looks awfull.
Most of the corner plastic trim is damaged way beyond repair. I would guess this is one of the areas of water ingress.
Lower plastic angle is fitted badly due to corrosion on lower sections.
Interior fabric is all beyond usable.
Nasty chipboard number plate holder and rear lights are in serious need of some attention.
May seem a doom and gloom story so far but there are also many plus points

Was supplied with 3x nearly new 12" tyres(and rims obviously), Original awning & Poles, excellent running gear, hubs, brakes etc all in excellent condition,
And here the story starts, so here is the evolution of my dandy 6, initial plans are to carry out essential repairs and general tarting up, between working 12hr continental shifts, being a single dad with 50% custody of my kids and being a GMB Senior shop steward, coupled with the fact the dandy is at my girlfriends house and not mine, my free time is tight, as is money.
Aim to have the dandy at a usable state by 10th Aug
Week 1-
In work pretty much all week, got chance to erect the dandy and have a better probe into jobs, also had a root around the house for fabrics to use on the interior. As always you realise its a bigger job than you thought hehe

Week 2-
Still not a lot of free time and weather isnt the best for working on the Dandy as it can only stay up whilst im there, no option to leave it up overnight and work on it.
Only things i could really do was order bits for the dandy and rejuvenate the awning as it was extremely dirty from years of use and storage(much dirtier than the dandy), also had a lot of tyre marks on as previous owners elected to store the spare wheel on top of the awning under the dandy cover whilst not in use

Pics pre-clean
This is the inside of the PVC
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Outside of the PVC
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
After lots hot water, some heavy duty catering grade detergent, and a few hours of elbow grease
Still cant get the tyre marks out and the top and side where just too big to do to a A1 standard but A1 would show up the dandy as the clean of thats a long way off hehe
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Front panel came out much better, being smaller and more managable
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Week 3-
5 days off, 4 days of heavy rain and high winds




Operation dandy in full swing, job for the day, pick up wood for jobs, and start jobs proper hehe
So today's job by the time i got through the days chores which took till 2pm

Replace the rotten end bed panel and repair dodgy repairs to the end panel frame(fixed double bed end)
All went pretty well considering its the first bit of tinkering on the dandy also a few other things ive not done for a while(not drilled out rivets in 18 years, not cut wood neatly in over 4 years, not ever worked at my girlfriends house so arrangements first couple of times will be hit and miss with tools and working areas)
Pictoral proof:
Old rotten wood
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Lovely new 3.6mm Red Plywood panel and repaired frame (sorry forgot to take before and after pics of frame, but the frame was broken on 3 corners and has had multiple botched repairs including awful welding, the repairs i removed where corner brackets fitted with wood screws)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Back on the dandy just needs a lick of paint

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Hopefully future posts wont be as EPIC as i will try to post as i go, but back in work now for a 60hr week 2x12hr day then 3x12hr night stretch so you wont be seeing any new pics till at-least midweek next week

Oh and finally note to myself in future - when drilling out rivets and they spin, don't hold the other side with your fingers

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