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thefroghouse · 01-19-2015, 11:09 AM

I live in Courtenay and want to attempt the end caps on our 94. Is there any special brand of spray paint to purchase? Great step by step breakdown, Thanks

Jenniflow · 01-19-2015, 11:16 AM

I just talked with the owner of a nice old Excella, I think it was, who came into our campground and she told me that she'd painted hers with a roller. I'm wondering if you've tried that so as to compare it to the spray. I realize that the spray you're using bonds with the plastic, which is a big plus, and that the finish is a lot more even when you spray. But do you happen to know if that spray lasts a LOT longer than rolling or brushing on a conventional latex or oil onto the end caps? Does the rolled-on paint crack? chip? I mean, what exactly is the complaint about it?

Thanks!

thesignlady · 01-19-2015, 11:59 AM

Hi thefroghouse. With the 94 I am not sure if you have plastic end caps or fiberglass. I know for sure in my '72 argosy it is plastic so I used the Krylon Fusion so I could get that molecular bond that I know won't peel or chip, you could use still the fusion on fiberglass with proper surface prep like I described if that is what your trailer has....

Here is a cut and paste from the Krylon website

The revolutionary no-prep, superbond Fusion for Plastic® now makes painting plastic possible.

No sanding or priming required
Bonds easily to most plastics, PVC, resin and more
Fast dry; fully chip resistant after 7 days
Features EZ Touch 360® Dial Spray Tip
DRY TO TOUCH
15 minutes
DRY TO HANDLE
1 hour
FOR USE WITH
Wood, Metal, Wicker, Wrought Iron, Plastic, Hard Vinyl, Glass, Plaster, Ceramic, Paper, Paper Mache.

[COLOR="Blue"]Also if it is fiberglass you could also use regular enamel spray paint as well with proper surface prep

Here is site that gives instructions for painting fiberglass

How to Spray Paint Fiberglass | eHow
It is much the same as what I did

Being only a 94 it may also not really need a painting yet. If you have never used Mr. Clean magic erasers yet I would recommend buying some from your local grocery or hardware store and try a good thorough scrub with pine sol or a similar de-greasing cleaner. You will be amazed at how much gunk get lifted off with just those magic sponges. Post #23 in this thread shows the amazing difference I got cleaning my walls with various cleaners using them. You can clearly see how dirty the walls were by the lines left behind after I removed the tape. The one thing to note with the sponges is they only work when wet so bring a bucket of water in with you and rinse your sponge often. They also get break apart and smaller as you go, buy the heavy duty ones if you can find them. Post #5 shows a picture of a used Mr. Clean Magic eraser sponge with the 000 steel wool I used to revive my tambour doors you can see how it starts to fall apart. But man those things are amazing...

thesignlady · 01-19-2015, 12:23 PM

Hi Jenniflow, I have rolled a lot of paint at work but never personally rolled paint anywhere in any of my AS collection. I know in my '63 Tradewind it has the old Zolatone finish and a previous owner rolled primer and regular house paint over it and that has failed horribly. It is coming off in major chunks and I will have a major job one day to strip it that will include having to gut the whole trailer so I don't accidentally splash stripper on the solid wood interior or floors. I of course don't know what surface prep that previous owner did...I can just see the layers where it has failed to know they did prime. It could simply have been a problem of improper surface prep and not researching what paint to use, but in the end it is a disaster that I will have to deal with.

Not saying it couldn't work, just pointing out the one experience I have with roll on paints over Zolatone.

Foiled Again · 01-19-2015, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesignlady

Hi Jenniflow, I have rolled a lot of paint at work but never personally rolled paint anywhere in any of my AS collection. I know in my '63 Tradewind it has the old Zolatone finish and a previous owner rolled primer and regular house paint over it and that has failed horribly. It is coming off in major chunks and I will have a major job one day to strip it that will include having to gut the whole trailer so I don't accidentally splash stripper on the solid wood interior or floors. I of course don't know what surface prep that previous owner did...I can just see the layers where it has failed to know they did prime. It could simply have been a problem of improper surface prep and not researching what paint to use, but in the end it is a disaster that I will have to deal with.

Not saying it couldn't work, just pointing out the one experience I have with roll on paints over Zolatone.

Failed paint over Zolatone - one crazy tip that MIGHT work. An acquaintance of mine had her grandchildren over for a week long visit. They got into her garage and played with some cans of paint, and "decorated" her car. The whole family is in somewhat straitened means - so even Earl Scheib was out of the question. Of course she didn't find the mess until the day after so the paint was all dry. The newish latex loosened with hot water and dishwashing soap. Not 100% but maybe as muc as 90% - plastic razor blades and the edges of credit cards - and 4 or 5 ruined fingernails got off most of the rest. On the oil based paint - she laid down DUCT TAPE (sort of like waxing legs to remove hair) and let it sit over night then carefully peeled it back. Not saying the car looked like new when she was done but it was a beater before the kids started anyway. Dirt, wax and grease are the things that make for a poor bond between the surfaces. Whew.

thesignlady · 01-19-2015, 12:57 PM

OH MY LORD... This is why children are created cute...so we don't kill them in instances like these ;-)

thesignlady · 01-19-2015, 01:00 PM

On and hey...froghouse, I'm in Victoria BC, maybe we should organize our own Vancouver Island AS Rally one day ;-)

Jenniflow · 01-19-2015, 01:11 PM

Geez! What a story! Did they think they were doing her a favor? What a nightmare!

Thanks signlady, again, so helpful. I am in the process of deciding how much I care about the interior right now, so no hurry, but I'm starting to hope that someone comes up with a rollable Fusion because I am super lazy!

thefroghouse · 01-21-2015, 05:09 PM

Yes, Signlady in Victoria, we would love to do a rally in the future. Thanks for paint type; my husband and I just finished a project with Krylon paint. We ripped out the fuzzy wall stuff in the bedroom and replaced with tin panels and painted all the window frames, curtain rods and elec. cover plates. See attached. I will have to muster up the courage to do the front end cap. It has yellowed and I believe it is plastic./Users/dougmcgill/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2015/Jan 20, 2015/IMG_2292.JPG

Jenniflow · 01-21-2015, 05:15 PM

Hey froghouse, I wasn't able to find your pics. Can you post the entire URL? Or am I missing something about how this works?

Thanks!

**DKB_SATX** · 02-09-2015, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenniflow

Hey froghouse, I wasn't able to find your pics. Can you post the entire URL? Or am I missing something about how this works?

Thanks!

It looks like froghouse posted the path to some photos on her Mac, which isn't going to help you much. It happens when you use the link-photo button instead of the attach button for a file that's just on your local machine.

Jenniflow · 02-09-2015, 01:12 PM

thanks DKX_SATX,

I guess I'll move on to the next thing. No worries!

Rsmied · 03-07-2015, 03:37 PM

This thread is great! It helped me refresh my end cap, walls, and tambour doors. I used Krylon Fusion on the end cap and the tambour. An oil based enamel Kilz Primer/Stainblocker was used on the walls and a white Rustoleum oil based enamel was used for the top coat on the walls. Needless to say I am more than pleased with the results.

Jenniflow · 03-07-2015, 04:13 PM

You make it sound so easy! I'm still hoping to get to this before the end of the millenium ...

thesignlady · 03-07-2015, 11:45 PM

Wow Rsmied, it looks awesome. It sure makes a hell of a difference it making it feel more modern and airy inside to :-)

Rsmied · 03-08-2015, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesignlady

Wow Rsmied, it looks awesome. It sure makes a hell of a difference it making it feel more modern and airy inside to :-)

Thanks! Now if only the exterior was as simple as the interior....

TammyGe · 05-11-2015, 06:04 AM

Hi,
Did you have to fix any tears or rips in the plastic? We have a 74 Argosy that has some breaks in the plastic end cap. Would DAP work ok on them too?

thesignlady · 05-11-2015, 08:23 AM

My end caps didn't have any cracks but I did have some to repair in my fridge restoration project. Starting at post 20 here... http://www.airforums.com/forums/f425...-125067-2.html

I still have yet to finish that fridge. I ended up using the Argosy as a storage spot for all the interior of the Safari while I redid her sub floor. Note to self must finish fridge....

If you have just a very minor crack that is no longer spreading, you could try the DAP but it would not have a structural hold just a cosmetic fix Paint the first two coats of your cap first (if you are planning to paint) before you DAP.

If you are going the better way of using the methylene chloride (also called Dichloromethane) do it before painting.

And most importantly post pictures of your finished result when you are done so this thread stays alive

Bauxter · 05-11-2015, 04:13 PM

I drilled 1/8 holes at each end of the crack and applied West System Epoxy. That worked great. I sanded and painted the end cap. No issues, presently.

thesignlady · 07-29-2015, 02:04 PM

Hi All, Bathroom reno time...Someone had put a post in another thread about how their paint failed in their bathroom in the upper end cap area but worked great in the lower area ABS stuff, so since I am now redoing the old yellowed ABS bathroom fixtures in the 69 safari I decided to do a paint test on the Gel coated fiberglass upper area (an area hidden away in the closet since my gel coat still actually looks awesome and doesn't need a redo) and I have confirmed the krylon does not bond to gel coat even with the proper surface preparation.

So....confirm whether the year of trailer you have has gel coated fiberglass or ABS plastic before going ahead with the Krylon Fusion

on a side note I was painting my frame with POR15 and the can says it does stick to gel coats...I haven't done it but for those interested it may be worth looking in to...