Exterior Painting Questions - Fiberglass RV
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Old 05-13-2021, 11:17 AM   #1
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Exterior Painting Questions

Hey everyone,

I’m considering painting the exterior of my Triple E Surfside. I’ve done absolutely zero painting of fibreglass, or any other vehicle for that matter. I would like to buy a sprayer and do it myself. I’m not looking for showroom quality or anything, would just like to freshen it up, with a nice glossy finish. I’m looking for some start-to-finish input on the following:
- do I need to sand existing paint before starting?
- do I need to use something to help the new paint stick to the old?
- what type of paint works best for fibreglass trailers?
- do I need to use a thinner if using sprayer?
- do I need a clear coat after I paint?
- I have a 3 gallon, 100 psi compressor. Will this do the job?

Any other tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
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Old 05-13-2021, 11:51 AM   #2
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I recommend a large dust-free building with a air filtration system and tons of lighting.
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Old 05-13-2021, 12:00 PM   #3
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Gelcoat or paint?

Ours has Gelcoat and you can buy it by the gallon, colour matched with wax pre added, thickness set for painting on or spraying on. If not pre waxed gelcoat requires a special sprayer to adds the wax as it's applied. Make sure it is clean we washed ours like you would if prepping a boat first; for the areas we have worked on. Very light find sanding between coats to make finish smooth maybe needed in spots. Last checked it was about $280 a gallon in Toronto plus tax and shipping. They offer spray cans that can be filled for those of us without your sprayer. For deeper divots you can make a paste and fill in layers till flat and sand smooth prior to spraying it. They have kits for small fixes you can try to colour match as well at marine places.

Glenn Baglo is right about keeping thing clean and need for lighting.

Hope this helps
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Old 05-13-2021, 07:30 PM   #4
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Ours has Gelcoat and you can buy it by the gallon, colour matched with wax pre added, thickness set for painting on or spraying on. If not pre waxed gelcoat requires a special sprayer to adds the wax as it's applied. Make sure it is clean we washed ours like you would if prepping a boat first; for the areas we have worked on. Very light find sanding between coats to make finish smooth maybe needed in spots. Last checked it was about $280 a gallon in Toronto plus tax and shipping. They offer spray cans that can be filled for those of us without your sprayer. For deeper divots you can make a paste and fill in layers till flat and sand smooth prior to spraying it. They have kits for small fixes you can try to colour match as well at marine places.

Glenn Baglo is right about keeping thing clean and need for lighting.

Hope this helps
Wow, pricey stuff! Thanks for the info.
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Old 05-13-2021, 09:49 PM   #5
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re: your compressor, you left out the most important number, CFM. I've got a cheap compressor that can do 120 PSI but it can't keep up with a air tool for more than 20 or 30 seconds, then has to run for a minute or two to build pressure back up.
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Old 05-14-2021, 05:16 AM   #6
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re: your compressor, you left out the most important number, CFM. I've got a cheap compressor that can do 120 PSI but it can't keep up with a air tool for more than 20 or 30 seconds, then has to run for a minute or two to build pressure back up.
Can’t find it written in mine anywhere, but when it do a search for Campbell Hausfeld 3 gallon compressor, the spec says 0.5 SCFM at 90 PSI, 0.7 SCFM at 40 PSI.
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Old 05-14-2021, 06:17 AM   #7
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Painting is one thing. Gelcoat refinishing is another, very expensive. Paint or gelcoat restoration is warranted if the gelcoat is severely weathered, or if there has been extensive repair and patching of the fiberglass. With paint, there’s no going back to a gelcoat finish.

If it’s just dull, you can do a lot to bring back a shine with Meguiar’s Marine/RV Fiberglass Restoration Kit (around $40 on Amazon). Others de-oxidize and follow with Zep high glass floor polish. It has to be stripped and reapplied every year or two. Maybe try before committing to paint?

Lots of threads about painting. Type of paint is important. It has to have some elasticity to allow for the flex of the fiberglass without cracking. Prep is key to a good result: filling and sanding, removing windows, vents, and exterior hardware. And yes, a clean environment when applying.

Roll-and-tip using Interlux Brightside (one-part marine paint) is a common low-budget approach and gives good results provided you do good prep. Limited color choices. Can be mixed but not custom tinted. This might be preferable to a low-budget spray.

A good quality spray is better, but I’m not sure what kind of paint is typically used. Some people do all the prep and let a professional do the actual spraying because they have better equipment and a paint booth.

Consider incorporating a chip-resistant coating on the lower front of the shell.

I’d recommend a search of old threads. The “site search/google” option at the bottom of the search menu gives best results.
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Old 05-14-2021, 07:39 AM   #8
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There are literally hundreds if not thousands of threads discussing painting FG trailers. I'd do a search via google and learn from others that have done it.

Myself, I am in the polish the gelcoat instead. First, it takes a lot less effort and time. Secondly, its a lot cheaper. Third, properly maintained, gelcoat can last forever. Paint is something that eventually has to be redone.

To properly paint one of these trailers, you should remove every window, hatch, vent, etc. Paint and then properly reinstall everything.

The other choice is to spend half a day cleaning and polishing.

Now I considered buying a Hunter Compact. That trailer needed LARGE patches in the shell, lots of work. And it had old paint that had failed. So if I bought it, I figured a lot of sanding, stripping, and then repainting (and of course patching too). In the end, I passed on the project, no regrets.

First picture is before polishing. Second picture is after. Later I did the belly band so it looks a little different now. Zep floor polish, over 2 years ago. I'll probably refresh next year. I should have polished AFTER doing the belly band, as the sanding/grinding/fiberglass work marred some of the polish. Polish LAST is my lesson. IMHO, for a 44 year old trailer that was neglected for decades, its looking pretty good!!
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Old 05-14-2021, 07:51 AM   #9
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Agree, though it took me two hard days to do the Meguiar’s 3-step process on my 13’er. That included a very thorough initial wash with Barkeepers Friend to remove black spots on the roof. Half a day for a badly weathered trailer seems optimistic to me. But maybe I work slow.

Now that I have a garage for the Scamp, next time I may try the Zep. Looks good!
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Old 05-14-2021, 11:03 AM   #10
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If you never spray painted anything ever I would hire an experienced painter. No pro would ever consider using gelcoat it is just not cost effective. I have painted hundreds of fiberglass boats & always used two component urethane paint. Best & easiest to spray is Awlgrip brand but lesser expensive products are out there that work very well.
if you don't need a showroom finish use a brush or roller with flow out reducer , I have had excellent results this way also. But if you have no clue about products & how to use them , well good luck & it will get real expensive when it goes wrong !
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Old 05-14-2021, 12:24 PM   #11
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No pro would ever consider using gelcoat it is just not cost effective. ...
HUH? the marine repair pro who repaired a gouge and hole in my E21 used gelcoat over several square feet, matched the factory gel so perfectly I can't tell where his repair stopped. he had a vintage 36 foot sailboat in his shop (fiberglass hull, wood deck), getting the whole hull totally redone with gelcoat.
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Old 05-14-2021, 01:51 PM   #12
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For me using gelcoat is not cost effective as experience rules when it comes to cost effectiveness. Small repair spots of a couple sq.ft maybe but to repaint a whole boat or trailer, not for me. Just need to do price check to compare. Also labor cost using epoxy primer & urethane topcoat is very fast & efficient compared to working with gelcoat. My 40 years experience in the composite trade.
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Old 05-14-2021, 01:55 PM   #13
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then why do boats (and our FG trailers) use gelcoat? taken care of, it lasts the lifetime of the hull.
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Old 05-14-2021, 07:07 PM   #14
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Thanks for all the tips everyone. You’ve all been really helpful. I think I’m gonna try the Bill’s polishing approach to try and bring it back to life, at least for this summer. The trailer really doesn’t have any damage to the original finish, other than a couple scratches on the front, so a nice cleaning and polishing may do the trick until I can gather the funds for a new paint job. Here’s a pic of the trailer last week when I first brought her home.
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Old 05-14-2021, 07:16 PM   #15
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Gelcoat

[LIST][*]Agree

Myself, I am in the polish the gelcoat instead. First, it takes a lot less effort and time. Secondly, its a lot cheaper. Third, properly maintained, gelcoat can last forever. Paint is something that eventually has to be redone.

The other choice is to spend half a day cleaning and polishing.

Now I considered buying a Hunter Compact. That trailer needed LARGE patches in the shell, lots of work. And it had old paint that had failed. So if I bought it, I figured a lot of sanding, stripping, and then repainting (and of course patching too). In the end, I passed on the project, no regrets.

First picture is before polishing. Second picture is after. Later I did the belly band so it looks a little different now. Zep floor polish, over 2 years ago. I'll probably refresh next year. I should have polished AFTER doing the belly band, as the sanding/grinding/fiberglass work marred some of the polish. Polish LAST is my lesson. IMHO, for a 44 year old trailer that was neglected for decades, its looking pretty good!![/QUOTE]

Agree with you Thrifty Bill; and you can colour match Gelcoat over a patch. Scratches and dents repairs are easier to do later as well.
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Old 05-14-2021, 07:49 PM   #16
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Polish and repairs

Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonGill View Post
Thanks for all the tips everyone. You’ve all been really helpful. I think I’m gonna try the Bill’s polishing approach to try and bring it back to life, at least for this summer. The trailer really doesn’t have any damage to the original finish, other than a couple scratches on the front, so a nice cleaning and polishing may do the trick until I can gather the funds for a new paint job. Here’s a pic of the trailer last week when I first brought her home.
Agree with Bill; For repairs you can get kits small and medium with 3 colours bottles to colour match at marine supply stores, takes a little practice literally 3 drops mix with some base in tray to later add to final mix, tint is strong.

In trays with lids, if not to hot, will keep a bit. We use very small throw away plastic dishs with coffee stir sticks. Small final batches is a good idea as it takes practice to get gelcoat, wax and tint right.

It is the wax that makes it harden so we added it last.

A purchase of min 1 gallon to get it pre colour matched from polished sample.

Remember to give it a good polish first as it will change back to the original colour when oxidation is removed. Ours went from egg shell white to soft yellow.

They have pint up to 1 quart for small repairs

Note: "other colours" We had to also get brown tint separate to match the Boler. Needed 3 drops to two table spoons of gelcoat base mix no wax, then added about 3 drops to final colour mix. We used mostly yellow but your mixes will be different. Have fun
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Old 05-15-2021, 07:46 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonGill View Post
Thanks for all the tips everyone. You’ve all been really helpful. I think I’m gonna try the Bill’s polishing approach to try and bring it back to life, at least for this summer. The trailer really doesn’t have any damage to the original finish, other than a couple scratches on the front, so a nice cleaning and polishing may do the trick until I can gather the funds for a new paint job. Here’s a pic of the trailer last week when I first brought her home.
Good call, and I think it’s going to look great after you de-oxidize, polish, and wax. I see nothing in the picture that would indicate it needs paint. In fact, I think paint at this point would hurt rather than help its value.

Wax on, wax off!
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Old 05-15-2021, 12:50 PM   #18
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Last checked it was about $280 a gallon in Toronto plus tax and shipping.

Hi Borden,
I sent you a PM about this. I'm interested in talking to you about it and getting the source.
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