Just a note on painting your own trailer

[DannyH]

I figure I still have about 6 months until the trailers finished, but it's coming along fine. I've started Painting the exterior using the role and brush method. I'm using Pettit Easypoxy topside paint. I picked this one because of reading better online results than other brands. For a month I checked in the area to have it done by someone else, but got quoted over $1500 to do a "so so job", but for $3000 it will turn out great. I have about $250 in supplies to do it myself. I put on two coats of primer which covered up most of the spider web cracks and other blemishes, I reinforced the back of these areas with extra fiberglass. I now have one coat of the finishing coat on and it looks fine, and I'm pretty picky. I'm doing it in a garage, so I don't have problems with dust and critters going into the paint. I also have been starting it at 7:00 am while it's cooler to lengthen the cure time.

The one thing I found online that has helped tons is from a professional fiberglass painter. I had many little holes in the fiberglass and couldn't seem to fill them. Everything I put in would come out when I sanded. Then I read to use house Spackle to fill the tiny holes, not on anything big, just the tiny ones I had. The online guy said using this was easy because it sanded up easily and kept a small amount of material in the hole that the paint would seal. I tried this on the final primer coat and it worked great. After the first coat of finishing paint was dry this morning, I went around and found about 20 more that I filled. I checked the other ones that I filled and could not find them.

I think I have enough paint for 2 to 3 more coats, so depending on my work load I will have it done in a couple of weeks.

Photo's will be coming after I'm done with the paint.

[MyronL]

Looking forward to your pictures. Have done a lot of the same to mine and must soon decide how to finish off and hide the many patches and blotches.

[DannyH]

Looking forward to your pictures. Have done a lot of the same to mine and must soon decide how to finish off and hide the many patches and blotches.

My scamp looked very similar on top. I filled in a vent hatch hole and moved it to another location.

[Robert Johans]

Danny,

I have a '69 Trailswest Campster in the shop at the moment for renovation. I want to paint it myself, but have never done one before. Very interested in hearing more about your process and results. Specifically, roller and/or brush marks. Does your paint brand come in other colors besides white?

[BruceG]

How much paint did it take for one coat of primer and one coat of top coat? Just trying to estimate how much I would need to buy to paint mine.

[DannyH]

It took 3 quarts of primer to do 2 coats. The paint seems much thinner. I bought a gallon and one coat used about 20% of it. I plan on putting on multiple coats. The first paint coat over the primer showed some little area's that runs occured in primming, that I missed, so this coat is sort of a fix it coat. I also found 10 more small holes that I filled. Another thing that I found that works great is using a scotch bright pad to scuff up the paint between coats. It does a great job in taking the shine off, but leaves almost all the paint on. I also found that using my regular purdy paint brush worked great. The badger ones that were recomended were to thick to fit between the bumper and shell, the Purdy fits great and leaves a nice surface. It will be interesting on how the final product looks. I was worrying about doing this project, but as with all the other projects I broke it down to something managable and take my time. I'm also getting it in my mind that it is only a trailer that will get road rash, so a perfect paint job is not my utmost priority. My wife was thrilled how much better it looked with the first coat on and half of the shine taken off.

PS...I got a quart of fire engine red that I will use to put a nice stripe around the band. I did a test patch and it looks cool.

[Heath G.]

is this the same sort of paint as Interlux? and I to am wondering about roller or brush marks

[Cloud 9]

Hi,

We have a 1972 Cloud we are working on that needs a paint job. How did your approach work out? Could you post photos and send along any tips?

[DannyH]

I put a shot of the finished paint job in this post, look at the bottom. http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...n-40411-2.html . As for tips. I found that it rolled out pretty well but did have lots of small bubbles in it. A quick light hit with the brush got rid of them all. I also agree with doing a small area, as it will make the transition between the areas easier. I did mine in a garage and it was nice not having to deal with outside stuff in the air. Now that it is dry and I've seen it in better light, I do notice a couple of small runs and blemishes I hadn't noticed. But when I point them out to freinds, they say they would have never noticed them. I'm very happy with the result. I will have more images as I get more items put back on the trailer. Good luck with your project.