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

[1000arms]

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.

So Im going the direction of gray.

First photo is how it sits right now, with an off-white finish.
Then light, medium, and dark grays...

Please give me some feedback.

Thanks

To answer the question you asked, I suggest the lightest gray that you can get, which will help you keep it cool in the heat with your new air-conditioner (another of your threads). It is easier to heat it in the cold rather than cool it in the heat.

I suggest you paint it white to really help you keep it cool, and to avoid being hard to see in fog and heavy rain (which gray tends to do). Yes, I read that you think it would be too much with your white truck, but, I urge you to reconsider!

 

[Brewdiak]

i'll be interested to see how it turns out. i did my hood/roof of the cab on my kodiak with the rustoleum roll-on idea... the internet makes it look so tempting but mine didn't turn out particularly great. I'm not painting it anytime soon but still consider what color i'd change to and what i'd use - no way i'd want to pay for a professional job on a vehicle that's designed to go through tree branches and mesquite bushes though.

good luck, great looking rig no matter what you do!

 

[IdaSHO]

Lots of good comments. I appreciate it.

I am still considering white to match the truck... but will explore the possibilities of a gray for a bit more.

To clear up some confusion....

This isnt the every-day wood camper. The skin is entirely marine grade miranti ply, that has been saturated in penetrating epoxy, and all joints glassed.
Its essentially a seam-less shell, that doesnt seem to expand/contract, AT ALL.

If it had, the original paint on it would have failed a long time ago. It is nothing more than an alkyd based Rustoleum single stage.
At the time I was intending to use Monstaliner. But I was concerned about the mentioned expansion and contraction.
So the Rustoleum was a test, that proved excellent, and we ran for it for a LONG time. mainly because it happened to match the old off-white truck perfectly.

But I'm after a thicker, more robust coating, that goes with the (new) truck better.
And now that I know the thing just doesnt move, Im going for Monstaliner.

Some photos....

during construction...

There are no sharp corners, anywhere. Entire thing was rounded with a 3/4" router bit.

entirely saturated with epoxy, and prepped for paint

During paint. One of a few layers of sanding coat.

Assembled and out in the sun for the first time.

And since then, 2013, it has never seen the inside of a garage, or even a cover.
It lives outside, 24/7/365 in North Idaho weather, and on the road everywhere we go.

From 20 below to 110+ degrees F, it the thing just doesnt care...

And in all that time, not one repair to the exterior.
A few spot tough ups from chips and scrapes, but no repairs.

The following are some photos I took just a few moments ago to show its current state (no different), but also addresses why Im going for a change...

And the real reason why Im changing color....
Many photos are deceptive, not truthfully showing the actual difference in color between the truck and camper.

This paints a better picture.

 

[Chorky]

Your close-up pics are impressive! Let me know if you ever swing by western MT!

As for the color. I vote light grey. I think it balances the white of the truck well, with the black bed. The other colors, at least via photoshop, seem to be to..er...heavy. It makes it feel like the back end of the truck is super heavy and not balanced. To me anyway.

 

[IdaSHO]

Im in Moscow ID, not too far from Western MT

Im leaning towards light grey at the moment.... but bright white still isnt off the table.

 

[Brewdiak]

could you do a two tone gray/dark gray? that build is just gorgeous, love it

i hear the others re: visibility on the road and cooling etc. re: visibility that's easily solved with reflective striping / decals, or led marker lights so not a deal killer (aesthetic v. safety ... have both!). Cooling i'm sure is legit - i've considered painting the roof of my ambo white, or maybe vinyl wrap the roof white (or even something more reflective so I can be seen from space ) . I've also been thinking of building a second 'roof' to create an air gap up there but that'll probably never happen given that i should probably actually finish my truck and start using it instead of screwing around with more of my (not)brilliant ideas. z(yet another idea was to have a tarp that would attach to one side, wrap over the roof, then be my awning over the side entry door side of the vehicle - would create a weather tight seal on that side of the rig, cool and shade the entire roof, etc but not totally sure how i'd deploy it and stow it)

anyway... i think you can't go wrong it should turn out fantastic whichever color you choose

 

[Pinnacle Campers]

My typical assumption is that if some one takes the time ask questions and to say things like, "As a person that has done a similar project in Monstaliner "
or "What I see is hairline cracks" that they potentially have important data that they would like to share and learn from others.

There is no confusion @IdaSHO about how your camper is built. I'm quite familiar with your camper (although I did forget that you didn't go with the elastomeric coatings you had discussed). I used your build thread (on pirate) as well as many other sources as a guide to build "a similar project". In the past I have had the impression that you like to focus on facts and data that is why I offered what I have learned.
I have rolled and sprayed nearly 50 gallons of the Monstaliner and will continue to use it in certain applications based on my data and sample testing.

Even the samples that @Hillbilly Heaven says, "I bent the poster board sample several times with no signs of cracking or popping." Crack like potato chips between my fingers, (yet I still used it anyway). These are fresh 12/19 and haven't been sitting out in the sun for 3 years, but then again Monstaliner is 100% UV stable so....


In another attempt to point out "what I see", here is a pic of the corner of your camper with what appears to be the exact type of crack "I'm seeing".

By the way, my "similar project" looks perfect on the sides and bottom too.


But enough about facts and data.
I will let you guys get back to picking colours.
Happy Monstalinering!

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

I appreciate you doing the exact test I did. Strange that we come up with exact opposite results. Maybe it has something to do with coating thickness. I do not know.

 

[IdaSHO]

Ive got a fresh color chip set coming.
Ill be sure to check the flexability.
Perhaps they have changed the formula...

And fear not, that isnt a crack on that corner. Just a bit of road crud

 

[givemethewillys]

I really like the medium gray color, but I think what others have said about heat absorption are really valid concerns. So, I'd go with the light gray.

 

[IdaSHO]

Another bit I should mention about the paint/coating choices, one I keep forgetting about...

While this is a pretty tough paint that's on it, it is a single stage. And even using a good amount of hardener in it when applying,
the paint fades and chalks. Enough so that when water drips onto the truck, over time, it actually stains.
The most evident was the windshield of the old truck. Pretty hard to see the stains, until you try to use the wipers.
And they are incredibly hard to remove....

A coating like Monstaliner is supposed to be much more UV stable.


And to clear up any doubts....

Camper is back in the shop for this project, here are some shots I just took.
One before cleaning, another after a bit of window cleaner and a rag.

The camper is far from perfect, but certainly no cracks...

 

[IdaSHO]

I appreciate you doing the exact test I did. Strange that we come up with exact opposite results. Maybe it has something to do with coating thickness. I do not know.

To be fair, those have been bent far more than this camper will ever be....
If it ever gets bent that far, the coating will be the last of my concerns

 

[Buliwyf]

Dark Grey. Leave the roof light colored. Boxes look best when they contrast the truck.

Do the accesories in black. Doors, cargo box, window tint, etc.

 

[IdaSHO]

Another round.... different perspective... same goal.
First photos is as it sits... but we need to match the bright white superduty better.
So, white, light gray, medium gray, or dark gray? You may have to squint... these are terrible photochops

 

[IdaSHO]

Another shot showing the fading of the original single stage paint.

Hard to imagine it shinier, but it was.