Painting our RV ourselves?

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thechaseison

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Joined
Oct 2, 2010
Posts
4
Location
Perris,Ca
Please redirect if I have posted it in the wrong area. I would like some advice on the remodel I am doing on my "almost as old as me" 1984 Winnebago Cheiftan. My husband and I would like to do as much as we can ourselfs. The 454 has just been confirmes SOLID! Yeah!!!  Now it is on to her look.

  I would like to paint her myself. Is that crazy? I have never painted a whole vehicle before. Can anyone make some suggestions on what to use. Can you pressure wash the old paint and light sand to start? I would also like to reseal the roof. What is the best material to use as we live in the sunny state of CA. I am in the process of researching the best cover for the rig, so many choices!


Edit by John:  changed the subject to be more descriptive
 
I have to think that I am capable of doing this myself after being quoted from a local guy ... it will cost more then the three grand I paid for the RV itself. Can I power wash the outside and just get right to primering. or do i have to sand it all? Just asking :)  I think i know the response. what do i sand it with for the best result on the winne. I will start there for now but if you have suggestions on paint types for when i get here please comment.
 
Hi Natasha!

A couple of years ago I completely refinished my Japanese mini-truck and oh my gosh it was a lot of work.  I wound up with knots on a couple of finger tendons and needed surgery to correct a trigger finger.  All of this was thanks to the month I spend spent sanding and holding a spray gun trigger.  You have youth going for you, so maybe you wouldn't screw up your hands  ::) like I did.

As far as the painting process, surface prep is the key to how good the job turns out.

The process in summary:
- pressure wash
- wet sand
- spray primer
- wet sand
- spray another coat of primer
- wet sand
- spray first color coat (or another primer-sand cycle)
- wet sand
- spray second color coat
- wet sand if necessary
- spray clear coat (one or two coats)

Without a spray booth, you are continually fighting dust and dirt, so more sanding is usually indicated.

Equipment:

Air compressor, good spray gun (I like a gravity feed high volume low pressure model (HVLP), good touch up spray gun, and a desiccant air dryer.  Lots of various grits of wet/dry sandpaper and sanding blocks.

Paint:

Since my mini-truck is a working vehicle for our ranch, I used Rustoleum and it did fine for my purposes.  For your classic Winnebago I would use a good automotive enamel (look up auto paint dealers in your area.)  For a bullet-proof finish, a two part urethane like Imron or AwlGrip can't be beat but the paint is a little tricky to work with.

If you have the time, the facilities, and the energy to take this project on, good for 'ya!  If you guys don't have any spray painting experience, you would certainly want to build up your skills before getting started on the Winnie.
 
Thanks for the step by step info. I really appreciate it. I also am thankful for your honesty. My uncle volunteered t lend a hand with the painting part. He has done multiple vehichles and has all the equipment. I just have to get her prepped for paint. I think my hand is gonna hurt :)  thanks again.
 
The prep work is what really makes the final results stand out. Do you have the space and all of the tools for the job?
J
 
You should be aware that the materials alone to do a proper job will probably be close to the three grand you paid for the MH. And its really a lot of work not to use the best!
Ernie
 
Thinking more about this, a lot depends on your standards for the job. Heck, you could sand it and paint it with a brush if you want. Won't look like the factory finish, but a modern,top quality, semi-gloss paint will flow out nicely even when brushed. So will high gloss automotive paints, if  thinned properly for brushing.

We repainted the aluminum siding on our stick house using Glidden's Dulux and there isn't a brush mark anywhere - indistinguishable from a spray paint finish. But the stuff is $50/gallon too.

But trying to do an automotive quality spray paint job in your backyard is a challenge even for those with experience. Spray painting broad vertical surfaces without getting runs & sags or uneven coverage is no small chore. And working outdoors means lots of dust and dirt in the wet paint, no matter what you do to avoid it.
 
Living here in a National Park I see lots of RV's every day, from sparkling new Newalls to 1970's (and earlier) motorhomes and trailers.  Among the vintage units, some are repainted, deom roller joobs to brush jobs to spray jobs.  If I have seen a good one I didn't realize it.  The home done all look home done.  How bad is the finish now?  I would be more inclined to do a real good wash and wax. 

That age I would guess decal stripes, this is what usually looks worse, these can be removed carefiully and replaced. 

There is a big reason the cost is so high, many manhours, and expensive materials. 

 
50 years ago my Dad brush painted an old car with Valspar paint (that stuff is still available in stores today). No brush marks, and he'd occasionally have people stop him to ask where he got the professional paint job done. As others have said, prep is key to the finished job.
 
There is a paint application method called 'roll and tip' - takes two people, one rolls the paint and the other 'tips' it or brushes the paint in long strokes with a very high quality brush to flow it out.  With experienced painters (and the right surface prep and good paint) the finish can rival any spray job.
 
I just wanted to pass on some personal experience with your question. Last year I repainted my 1986 27' class c. I used A roller technique that was very extensive but really paid off with great results. I was fortunate to buy an rv with fiberglass sides so I used yacht paint for the fiberglass and used Rustoleum paint from home depot for the van front. I posted all my pics on a web site called "rolledon.com". My project is listed under ultimate roller job. Hope this helps! Oh and it took me like two months of continuous sanding, peeling stripes, body work and paint, FYI.
 
I agree with the last few posts. I own a 76 RV and when it comes time to paint the rig I'm going with a good quality roller method and a high gloss paint. If you take your time and attack one panel or section at a time the end result will come out just as good as if you took it to a quality paint shop. When my time comes I will do one side at a time and take my time doing a quality prep job so the result will be a nice finish that will look great! Remember that a RV is just an extention of your house so to me a high quality enamel will look great and last at least 15-20 yrs. about the same as a house.
 
Natasha you may find that most paints won't adhere to sanded aluminum siding. If you remove all of the factory primer, it will have to be replaced with a primer formulated for aluminum. I would definitely do some testing before tackling the whole vehicle.
 
Equipment:

Air compressor, good spray gun (I like a gravity feed high volume low pressure model (HVLP), good touch up spray gun, and a desiccant air dryer.  Lots of various grits of wet/dry sandpaper and sanding blocks.


Why can't she use a motorized sander?  I have never done this nor would I want to but a 1/4 hp electric motor will out work an individual by a mile.  I'd live with slightly less perfect end result than kill my self on the job.  Just my 2 cents
 
Red36, If you had ever done it you would know that it takes blocking to even out the dips and imperfections that are present on all flat surfaces. A motorized sanding job usually makes a lot of dips and swirls that show up in the finished product and looks terrible.>>>Dan
 
thechaseison said:
Please redirect if I have posted it in the wrong area. I would like some advice on the remodel I am doing on my "almost as old as me" 1984 Winnebago Cheiftan. My husband and I would like to do as much as we can ourselfs. The 454 has just been confirmes SOLID! Yeah!!!  Now it is on to her look.

  I would like to paint her myself. Is that crazy? I have never painted a whole vehicle before. Can anyone make some suggestions on what to use. Can you pressure wash the old paint and light sand to start? I would also like to reseal the roof. What is the best material to use as we live in the sunny state of CA. I am in the process of researching the best cover for the rig, so many choices!


Edit by John:  changed the subject to be more descriptive
Wow! you go girl! I thought about doing the same thing to my 1988 Elandan, but after I washed the whole thing, I realized the amount of work at hand and backed up. If you are up to the task, I had thought about sand blasting the whole thing. Make sure the windows and seals are well protected, because they will edge. then a good coat of primer for plastic surfaces, then you choice of marine paint. The hard part would be keeping the fresh paint from getting contaminated by dust. Just for the paint alone, I was quoted $2,500(four hands worth) for a thick finish. That gives you an idea how much you will be spending on material alone.
 
utahclaimjumper said:
Red36, If you had ever done it you would know that it takes blocking to even out the dips and imperfections that are present on all flat surfaces. A motorized sanding job usually makes a lot of dips and swirls that show up in the finished product and looks terrible.>>>Dan

Sad news as doing it by hand does not sound like fun.
 
There are ways to take some of the work out of it, I use an air file that reciprocates and does a good job of "blocking" on flat surfaces, but a rotary devise does a poor job.>>>Dan
 

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