Alternatives to painting Fiberglass

[Night Sailor]

I like Interlux Perfection for paint. It goes on in thin coats, so the surface needs to be prepared perfectly. It is not all that difficult to apply with a roll and tip method. I am getting ready to repaint my boat after some storm
Damage. I used this last time, this time will be much easier as the surface is repaired and in nice condition.

Wraps on boats are popular in Europe. They compare favorably with painting and can be repaired easily.


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[ArneB]

Does anyone know if Interlux Topside paint has a distributor in Canada. This sounds like a product I would be interested in finishing my Boler with.


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[Arnold]

I saw a fiberglass dune buggy painted with Zolatone. The owner said the paint job was over 10 years old. He said zero maintenance and very durable. Also very easy to apply. Has anybody used Zolatone on an FGRV?

[ScribeWithAStylus]

Beauone, you mentioned

"After using the product I found somethings that would lead me to think twice as far as an alternative to painting. The product is easily damaged either by a rock, tree limb, etc, also it is easily removed with W2 metal solvent."

When damaged by a rock or limb, how hard is it to repair? Can you just trim off the damaged area and respiratory it?
My son in law's car seems to be doing fine with it. However, he had a paint shop that specializes in plastic dip apply it. He had purchased a small car for commuting.
Since it is applied in multiple layers, that would seem to imply that one could have it thicker for impact resistance, or does it not work that way.
Walk in His Peace,
ScribeWithAStylus

[Hidalga]

I'm looking at this thread because I'm in the process of getting the lower sides of the trailer wrapped (to hide a fiberglass patch and old Scamp vinyl shadowing) and I just finished applying the Monstaliner truck bed coating yesterday to the front of the trailer and the framework.

Interlux is a great paint brand and I used the 1-part for the interior of the trailer. After the 4-5 year lifespan of the wrap, I'll probably look into painting the lower part of the trailer.

The wrap is expensive, but I designed the file for the graphic designer, so I saved $ by giving him the complete images. ($10 per square foot for vinyl output, plus 4 hours installation). The attached graphic image is my first draft (superimposed with PhotoShop) and is close to the final design. The wrap will be installed in two weeks.

I sprayed plasti-dip on the rims of my tow vehicle, and I'm impressed how long it's lasted and held up. It's easy to touch up. Plasti-dip is a softer material and a lot less expensive than Monstaliner, but Monstaliner is permanent and pretty bomber—probably the best DYI roll-on product aside from sprayed Line-X.

[rdickens]

Jeanine,

I like the nautical motif!

I'll look forward to seeing the Monstaliner coating on your frame/front in a
couple of weeks.

Ray

[Hidalga]

Originally Posted by rdickens

Jeanine,

I like the nautical motif!

I'll look forward to seeing the Monstaliner coating on your frame/front in a
couple of weeks.

Ray

Thanks Ray.
I've been pulling out all the stops on the exterior. You'd have to second-guess it's Hidalga, let alone a Scamp! The Monstaliner come in 39 colors, and I might switch up the front rock shield color eventually if it doesn't work with the wrap. The wrap goes on next week. Today I've been revamping both interior (another new breaker run) and ALL exterior lighting (even adding extra LED tail/turn lights) to get things prepped before the wrap. Less bulges on the exterior, the better for the installer.

In our prior discussion about vinyl graphics, I'd like to show you an alternative in a few weeks at the Eggs on the Mississippi Rally. I've discovered reflective tape in several colors and even reflective vinyl sheeting in black. It's popular with motorcyclists and those who want to either pimp their ride, or have night safety concerns (or both).

Since finding these tapes and sheets, my design world has opened up to numerous possibilities! You'll have to shine your flashlight on my trailer during an early evening walk. Below is one of the initial images I saw that inspired me.

See you and Francie soon. Safe travels, and we'll talk about what you can do to decorate the exterior of your new trailer.

Kind regards,
Jeannine

[Stavig]

Originally Posted by Keaner

I threw different ideas around as well but opted for Interlux Topside. I used the roll and tip method and the finish is fantastic...looks sprayed on. It's relatively easy as well, I did a coat top and bottom in about 3 hours. Here's a before and after with just one coat of blue glo white and sapphire blue applied.

Late reply, I know [emoji51]
I'm thinking of painting my trailer this summer...do you have any tips or technique suggestions that you discovered for using Interlux Topside? I generally have more time than cash but I'm afraid I'll ruin my, not-that-bad, current finish!

[Mikmay]

Originally Posted by Stavig

Late reply, I know [emoji51]
I'm thinking of painting my trailer this summer...do you have any tips or technique suggestions that you discovered for using Interlux Topside? I generally have more time than cash but I'm afraid I'll ruin my, not-that-bad, current finish!

Ia l have used the topside on a few different trailers and have been happy with the results. The first couple of trailers I taped off the trailer and sprayed the entire trailer and they turned out great. The last trailer I did in February in California was our rental bar trailer that a customer wanted yellow and payed us to paint it but we did not have much time to prep it and spray it so we used the roll and brush method to save time. I have to admit it turned out better than the ones I sprayed. What I did was taped off some areas and used a small cup gun and only sprayed hard to brushareas, sort of cutting in with the spray gun but you can just use a brush if spray equipment is not available .i used a good quality foam roller and rolled about as much area I could reach from the ladder and amediatly finely brushed out the area and moved on to the next section just repeat in a quick and steady fashion and it should turn out great.also make sure you have a uniform base , if you are going over the existing paint and have patched areas make sure to prime the same color as the exsisting paint or prime the entire trailer. It would also be better to fine sand when dry and apply a second coat if nessasary. Good luck and I hope this helps.

[Stavig]

Originally Posted by Mikmay

Ia l have used the topside on a few different trailers and have been happy with the results. The first couple of trailers I taped off the trailer and sprayed the entire trailer and they turned out great. The last trailer I did in February in California was our rental bar trailer that a customer wanted yellow and payed us to paint it but we did not have much time to prep it and spray it so we used the roll and brush method to save time. I have to admit it turned out better than the ones I sprayed. What I did was taped off some areas and used a small cup gun and only sprayed hard to brushareas, sort of cutting in with the spray gun but you can just use a brush if spray equipment is not available .i used a good quality foam roller and rolled about as much area I could reach from the ladder and amediatly finely brushed out the area and moved on to the next section just repeat in a quick and steady fashion and it should turn out great.also make sure you have a uniform base , if you are going over the existing paint and have patched areas make sure to prime the same color as the exsisting paint or prime the entire trailer. It would also be better to fine sand when dry and apply a second coat if nessasary. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Thanks, great tips! I do have a sprayer and I was trying to decide if I could coat, evenly, with that but I now think I'll go with the roller and brush method.

[Hidalga]

The vinyl wrap is on with MonstaLiner roll-on truck bed liner front and chassis, new LED lighting, and my latest addiction of a project, reflective tape! I'm using both sheet and roll form in black and silver/white tape, but 3M also makes it in blue, red, yellow...it opens up creative design for a night appearance that can be completely hidden/different than a day appearance (and assists in safer visibility).
I've only just begun in the night design...

This stuff is so fun!