interior painting questions

[Naomi P]

Hi,
we're progressing along on our Boler and once we patch up the seams we'll be painting.

I am wondering what type of paint to use both on the ensolite walls and on the fiberglass cabinets.
And do we sand the fiberglass before painting?

We're really hoping to have it done to go to the meet in Fort Langley in May.
thanks in advance

[Kevin K]

This is what I would use http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductId=35

[Greg A]

Second what Kevin said... That's what we used and two years and two kids in a 13 I can vouch for it's durability.

[Naomi P]

I've been reading some different posts on here and it sounds like something with mildewcide is a good idea. As for the fiberglass maybe melamine or interlux marine paint.
I guess I just need to know if I sand the fiberglass parts before we begin painting....

[Barbara Gardin]

We painted our complete boler interior, cabinets and ensolite 6 years ago. We used oil based melamine paint from Home Hardware. I sanded lightly on the fibreglass and used no primer. It still looks brand new. Very easy to clean. A Mr. Clean Magic Sponge takes off any marks on the fibreglass.

[Doug Mager]

We painted our complete boler interior, cabinets and ensolite 6 years ago. We used oil based melamine paint from Home Hardware. I sanded lightly on the fibreglass and used no primer. It still looks brand new. Very easy to clean. A Mr. Clean Magic Sponge takes off any marks on the fibreglass.

The Trailer Goddess n I just used a good wash down with a strong concentration of TSP, rinsed that twice and used a good quality interior/exterior washable paint for the soft stuff. For the exposed fiberglass we SCUFFED, not sanded (skuffing is generally a LIGHT sanding) two coats of primer (made for fiberglass) scuffed again between coats and also used ensolite, two coats, scuffing between first n second coat.

Planning to use a roller to paint??
Be SURE you use a FOAM sleeve (also foam brushes) as even the 'lint free' ones aren't 100% lint free. We neglected to use a foamy roller and IF you look closely at the fiberglass wall in the trailer, you can see the millions n millions of ripplettes formed by using the 'wrong' species of roller sleeve!

[April Wilcox]

where did you get those lights under your cabinet? They look nice! I have been thinking about painting the inside of ours too. I wonder if using glossy finish is a bad idea. I know it is easy to wipe clean in the house, we used it in the kitchen, but I don't know how it would work on the textured surface of the ensolite. I found one seam that the cauk has started peeling back on, so that will need to be resealed, and painted over again. Does anyone have trouble with paint fumes lingering using the mold resistant paints?

[Raya]

Does anyone have trouble with paint fumes lingering using the mold resistant paints?

I may paint the inside of my Boler (haven't decided yet, as the original Ensolite is in good shape; I'd just prefer a whiter color), but I probably won't use a paint with mildewicide built in. That's not so much because of odor, but because there are some potential concerns with mildewicides used indoors in terms of their effect on one's respiratory system.

Let me stress that this is just a personal choice of mine, and that they may perfectly well be fine, so I'm not saying that anyone who has used a mildewicide indoors has made a mistake. It's just something to consider. All paints fall somewhere on a line that runs from perfectly safe to toxic, and so with any coating you have to make a choice based on your own personal criteria.

From my background on boats I know that I can keep mildew at bay with reasonable ventilation (mildew likes a combination of moisture and still air), so I will provide that. Also, my particular trailer shows no signs of mildew at this point in its life (perhaps attributable to the opposing, small jalousie windows over the stove and in the door, which the previous owners had a note to leave "cracked" when the trailer was in storage; I do leave them ajar most of the time as well).

For preparation of gelcoated fiberglass (i.e. the glossy side that was up against the mold when fabricated - such as the surface of the closet and kitchen cabinets that faces the living area), one should technically wipe with a solvent such as Interlux Solvent Wash 202 before any sanding or scuffing. This is to remove any mold-release wax (which, somewhat unbelievably, can linger 40 years later...) that could interfere with good paint adhesion. Once that's done you can lightly sand the surface (oftentimes the paint you are going to use will suggest a grit level to use), then wipe down one more time before painting.

By the way, it is possible to skip the mold-release-wax removal step and still get a good paint job - but you won't know for sure whether a prior owner has done this or not.

I've been wanting to try the new "hotdog" rollers but haven't as of yet.

Raya

[Doug Mager]

Here's a pix of WHY we painted the innerds of our egg. The stock color of many Trilliums of 'that' era was this Pea Soup Green color as indicated in the picture.

The lights???
I need to dig deep to get make, model, etc. But I can tell you that they come in a set of six, are either surface mountable or counter-sunk as shown. They are 110V powered (power reduced to the lights with an included transformer). Lights are 4leds in a puck (white LEDS) and 6 pucks to the set. They consume next to 0 drain offa 12V battery, being LED. They are bright and made all the brighter sunken into a white backdrop with light reflecting off the white backdrop.