Gladiator Pop-Up Pass Through Camper Build

[1000arms]

Alright, I'm getting close to a big decision, the paint job. I thought about just rattle can spraying the shell in a textured black to save money, but I've received quite a few comments like "you've put too much time in this to settle for a subpar paint finish". So I guess I have to go big, or go home.

I ran to a couple local paint shops this afternoon to get quotes. For the Crystal Granite color, one shop estimated $1000 for paint, and maybe $500 for the remaining body prep (maybe less), but wanted to see the shell in person for the quote. The second shop will get back to me in a day or two.

The conversations about the paint quotes were short, but answering all the questions about what the heck it was and how I built it, took a while .

Any boat shops near by? If so, you might want quotes from them as well.

Have you considered painting the shell yourself with paint designed for boats? Or maybe follow @IdaSHO 's lead and Monstaliner it?

Idacamper2.0 Color change, please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks guys The wife thinks I should make the round vent cover into a rising moon..... :ROFLMAO: But even with my OCD, no way I bothering with the vents any further. They fit the bill, and are designed with function in mind. They are both stainless, and I could have left then as they were...

expeditionportal.com

Idacamper2.0 Color change, please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks guys The wife thinks I should make the round vent cover into a rising moon..... :ROFLMAO: But even with my OCD, no way I bothering with the vents any further. They fit the bill, and are designed with function in mind. They are both stainless, and I could have left then as they were...

expeditionportal.com

 

[Mules]

Any boat shops near by? If so, you might want quotes from them as well.

Have you considered painting the shell yourself with paint designed for boats? Or maybe follow @IdaSHO 's lead and Monstaliner it?

Idacamper2.0 Color change, please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks guys The wife thinks I should make the round vent cover into a rising moon..... :ROFLMAO: But even with my OCD, no way I bothering with the vents any further. They fit the bill, and are designed with function in mind. They are both stainless, and I could have left then as they were...

expeditionportal.com

Idacamper2.0 Color change, please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks guys The wife thinks I should make the round vent cover into a rising moon..... :ROFLMAO: But even with my OCD, no way I bothering with the vents any further. They fit the bill, and are designed with function in mind. They are both stainless, and I could have left then as they were...

expeditionportal.com

Wow! What an incredible DIY paint job.

 

[1000arms]

Wow! What an incredible DIY paint job.
View attachment 711339

To help push you in to doing your own paint job, I'll link a few more of @IdaSHO 's posts in the same thread.

Idacamper2.0 Color change, please let me know your thoughts.

Alright, we are pulling the trigger on a color change. I have the time to do it before our next big trip, so now is the chance... The entire thing will be coated using Monstaliner. But I need your help with colors, er... grays... Bright white to match the truck is just entirely too much white...

expeditionportal.com

Idacamper2.0 Color change, please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks guys The wife thinks I should make the round vent cover into a rising moon..... :ROFLMAO: But even with my OCD, no way I bothering with the vents any further. They fit the bill, and are designed with function in mind. They are both stainless, and I could have left then as they were...

expeditionportal.com

Idacamper2.0 Color change, please let me know your thoughts.

Always naysayers, or those that think you need a space shuttle to travel in :ROFLMAO: Wood has its place, but it isnt for everyone. Most are simply too lazy to fully commit to a project like this. Done right, it is excellent. Not perfect, but excellent.

expeditionportal.com

 

[IdaSHO]

Thanks guys

Yeah, if you have any questions, please feel free.
Always willing to help

And yes, Id also do it again with the same product, 100%
Monstaliner is an incredible product.
Though product availability is a legit concern right now.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Thanks guys

Yeah, if you have any questions, please feel free.
Always willing to help

And yes, Id also do it again with the same product, 100%
Monstaliner is an incredible product.
Though product availability is a legit concern right now.

I have used Monstaliner in the past and have to agree, it is a solid product for sure. Dries rock hard and paints nice. The aluminum on my camper is looking like crap from all the aging and there is no easy way to keep it looking nice, so I think I might go the same route.

Nice work BTW.

 

[IdaSHO]

I have used Monstaliner in the past and have to agree, it is a solid product for sure. Dries rock hard and paints nice. The aluminum on my camper is looking like crap from all the aging and there is no easy way to keep it looking nice, so I think I might go the same route.

Nice work BTW.

For aluminum, I highly recommend Upol's Acid#8

The best way I've found to adhere coatings/paint to raw aluminum.
And with monsta, its super easy to apply the #8, using a foam roller and/or brush

 

[Mules]

 

[Mules]

Alright Idasho's thread has me thinking about graphics. I love the mountain graphics and the tread graphics. Any pictures of Overlanding graphics would be appreciated. Also love Idasho's Built not Bought decal (might have to steal that one!).

 

[mog]

Alright Idasho's thread has me thinking about graphics. I love the mountain graphics and the tread graphics. Any pictures of Overlanding graphics would be appreciated.

I don't know if these count as 'Overlanding graphics' but when I was trying to come up with a paint scheme for my MB1017 these were in the works ?

 

[IdaSHO]

You are welcome to steal as many ideas as you want Mules,
Im excited to see this sweet build come together with a proper coating.

 

[ITTOG]

Alright Idasho's thread has me thinking about graphics. I love the mountain graphics and the tread graphics. Any pictures of Overlanding graphics would be appreciated. Also love Idasho's Built not Bought decal (might have to steal that one!).

View attachment 711673View attachment 711674View attachment 711680View attachment 711682

I stole the built vs bought idea. Sticker is just waiting for me to finish my camper.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Mules]

Alright, there's a lot of support in the Overlanding community for tough coatings like Monstaliner. I haven't bought in yet but the Monstaliner samples are on order. Idasho's rig, shows you can make the stuff look beautiful. It's hard to believe you can roll on this good looking of a paint. Monstaliner has a hundred examples of entire vehicles painted in the stuff (especially Jeeps), and it is compelling. Below is a link to examples, and their facebook page has even better examples.

http://www.monstaliner.com/monstaliner_photos_video.htm

 

[IdaSHO]

You can roll it on. Though Ill always suggest spraying.
Far more control over texture and you never need to worry about roller marks.

Have you been in contact with anyone at Monsta yet?
Pretty sure they are (still) having a terrible time getting product out.

If you are not already part of their facebook group, I recommend you joining.

 

[The Artisan]

I bought a 2 part sprayer to coat all my panels for my pods and toppers. Have not set it up but it creates a tough smooth polyurea coating. I bought a light med gray
Kevin

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Alright, there's a lot of support in the Overlanding community for tough coatings like Monstaliner. I haven't bought in yet but the Monstaliner samples are on order. Idasho's rig, shows you can make the stuff look beautiful. It's hard to believe you can roll on this good looking of a paint. Monstaliner has a hundred examples of entire vehicles painted in the stuff (especially Jeeps), and it is compelling. Below is a link to examples, and their facebook page has even better examples.

http://www.monstaliner.com/monstaliner_photos_video.htm

I rolled the tub of my CDN M101 Iltis trailer, and it worked amazingly well. The nice thing about spraying is you can get a lot of product out quickly and get-er-done. The nice thing about rolling it on, you can control and fine-tune the finish texture. I experimented with a few different rollers, and found that using a small high quality foam roller worked the best for the finer texture I was looking for. Some of the sprayed textures are a bit rough for my liking on the inside of an enclosed capped trailer, where I was going to be rubbing my knuckles all over it getting my stuff in and out.

I was VERY happy with my choice and the finish was really strong. I did my fenders as well and they still look good 8 years later. I sold it but have seen it a few times when I met the 3rd owner after me.

Roll on heavy > spread out evenly with roller > carefully back-roll and level until desired texture was reached.