School me on camper painting.

[Wyocrawler]

I have a 91 hallmark ute with fiberglas siding that is starting to look a little bit long in the tooth. I would like to paint it to match my truck and need advice from the experts on how to rattle can it and still look good and be durable. Thanks for the help

 

[tanglefoot]

I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I rattle-canned my '88 Four Seasons a year or two ago. I did minimal prep (just a wash and a light sanding) and didn't even remove the stripes. The fiberglass siding seems to hold onto paint very nicely. I was expecting to have to do some touch-up but I haven't had any peeling/flaking/etc. I've had good luck getting an even coat with opaque shades of Rustoleum. I used Rustoleum Gloss-white...same as the truck. I tried a metallic spray paint on the truck in the past--that was much more difficult to get an even coat and it didn't look very good. Simpler, colors come out nicely though. I also only used one coat (and went back to touch up the thin spots). I sprayed right over everything but the lights and windows, for a modern, monochrome look.

Before:

After:

 

[Wyocrawler]

Thanks that looks great. Gonna go blue with black and red stripes to match my power wagon. Did you just use a fine grit sand paper to sand yours?

 

[tanglefoot]

Yes, I just hand-sanded with some fine-grit paper, mainly to smooth out the stripes--they had a few ragged, peeling edges. The fiberglass seems to have enough texture on its own--the sanding might just help remove foreign material.

 

[1stDeuce]

Get a green scotchbrite pad and scrub it with that. It'll take off the gunk, and rough up the fiberglass a little too! I notice the fiberglass on my '93 is pretty chalky, but the chalk comes right off with a green scrubbie, and I think the paint would stick better that way.
Good luck, and post some pics!
Chris

 

[Wyocrawler]

Thanks guys. Gonna start peeling the decals off tommorow. I'll try to get some picks up as I go.

 

[Wyocrawler]

This is what it looks like now.

 

[Wyocrawler]

 

[Wyocrawler]

One side side striped. 20 year old decals are a *****.

 

[SLO_F-250]

Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out! :coffeedrink: How did you strip the decals off of the older camper?

 

[Wyocrawler]

Hair dryer, scraper and finger nails. Lol

 

[Wyocrawler]

Alot of them came off pretty easy with alittle heat. The ones on the back are in much worse shape and are really being a pain. I've got about half done now. Hopefully get the rest off tomorrow. Sand and paint prep after that.

 

[jronwood]

I have found in prepping anything I want to "strip down", getting all the grease, oils, films, and such that Westley's Bleach White is outstanding. I would heat, scrape decals, then a LITTLE laquer thinner IF needed on the GOO, then Westleys, then slight buff with formentioned ScotchBrite pad and ROCK with the paint. I have noticed many formerly "flat" paints are only now available in Satin or Gloss. My NAPA guys have me buying flattening agent ($$$$) to mix in. This hides ALOT of imperfections. AND also, a cheap spray gun and a small compressor can layout paint really well, minimizing the chance of area's where it isnt "wetted" enough and creating a dry looking spot...


Jronwood

 

[Wyocrawler]

Got all the decals striped off. Should be ready to spray primer tomorrow.

 

[SLO_F-250]

Looking good! Cant wait to see how this one comes out!