Paint 84 funchaser
I'm about to strip the faded and cracked decals and sand and repaint the top and bottom. Anyone with experience have suggestions on stripper, sanding, patching, kind of paint, new decals, etc?
Coach m |
It's gel coat - like a boat... not a car. Different beast.
Decals can be replaced with vinyl decals, that's all they are anyway. A decal shop should be able to duplicate them... check with an RV place that does repairs (body) and they should be able to point you to someone that makes them. |
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Decals can be removed using heat gun or a hair dryer and some sharp razor blades, when I painted mine I cleaned the surface with mineral spirit and clean the surface of oil, dirt and as for paint, a single stage paint (paint, thinner, hardener) all mixed with correct ratios for each, 3 coats should be plenty to cover over the old paint.
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paint 84 funchaser
Great advice, Jim and david. This is an aluminum shell. I dont want to spend a lot of money but i don't want to be embarrassed ether. Jim, i had small holes like you described opposite the shower wall. I patched these from the inside with fiberglass. Seemed to work good. I have noticed paint bubbling up and suspect these are the same holes in the making. I don't want to do patching from inside anymore. Can I just use bondo or is aluminum too thin?
David, great if my dryer can get hot enough . |
Painting HiLo
I haven't painted our exterior fiberglass or removed decals. However,I have been studying this issue for some time. Do a search on the internet. The website irv2,vintage has some people that have removed decals and done some painting. If you have a specialty paint shop that supplied the local auto body shops you can get advice. Maybe,this sumer we will paint ours?
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I have not tried a project quite as large as you will be undertaking but I have just tackled a problem with my 2000 F250 tow vehicle. The sun has taken its toll on the 'clear coat' finish on all four fender flares as well as my Raider Camper. The top of the camper shell has had the clearcoat completely burned off and the same around the sides. The flares were scroungie looking from the flaking of the clearcoat. I got an estimate and they wanted $450 for the four fender flares and $1250 for the Camper shell. I decided to tackle the project myself. First I bought a dual-action sander and 800-grit 6" sanding discs. I found that the correct color of paint was available in 6 oz 'rattle cans' at the local Auto Zone and after sanding, priming, painting and applying new clearcoat, I finished the flares. I have never tried this before and the first flare took me all day and of course I messed it up and had to do over a paint run. As I did the next three, it became easier after I finally got the hang of it. The camper shell is a different matter as it is a custom job with a two-way back door [2-doors, one lifts up for loading full width items and the 2nd door opens out with a smaller opening]. I am going to remove all [5] windows plus rear door and replace all the window caulking as it has also deteriorated and lets water leak in. So now, I am looking for an airless painter before I tackle the camper shell. I believe, after gaining experience with a spray painter, that I could tackle painting the Hi Lo if that ever becomes necessary. The biggest problem might be an inside place where painting wouldn't be a problem. If your 'skin' is aluminum, this may not work for you with consideration of the information given to you by Jim L. You would have to be sure and get a non-metallic sandpaper as I can vouch for the dissimilar metals reacting chemically causing erosin. I just went through that with my roof having a total of [45] holes of varying sizes caused by metal rot [electrolysis]. Good Luck. Jerry Curtis 2406 T |
Obtaining an airless painter
I remember reading an article about a guy who painted his winnebago. He purchased his High velosity low pressure spray gun that attached to a large air compressor. DeVilbiss was the make. Then he sold it on ebay and got 2/3rd of his money back. Corection-sold it on craigs list. Even though he was a retired architest he had some help from someone with bodyshop experience. The article is improving the view in July 2011 Motorhome. I agree with Jerry that is is really hard to do and you would have to have a dust free indoor place to work on it. We'llget an estimate on our HiLo painting and it will probably exceed the value of the trailer. Materials are just expensive.
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I was thinking naptha would remove the decals and glue residue.
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How nice do you want it?
We have an 83 HI-Lo that we repainted a little while ago. We knew better than to get to crazy on that old of a trailer. We had some pinholes on one side that we filled with bondo, besides that we scuffed the whole trailer with mild 320 sand paper. We removed the old decals with a heat gun and razor blades, be careful I had some experience before this project. Then we spot primered over any areas we had repaired and laid down about three coats of Omni single stage white over that. It has only been a little while but it is holding up great. The nice thing about single stage is that it is easy, and if you mess up you can sand a run or blemish out quickly. Here is a link to the finished product Face lift - Page 2 - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum
Good luck and if we can be of more help let us know. |
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