I've seen pictures of older A/S's with painted interiors, and from what I saw they looked nice. The only comment I have for you is that if you're going to do it, make sure that the 30 years worth of grime that is on that vinyl-clad is pristine clean, or that acrylic won't stick.
Frederic
__________________ SFC Frederic Lynes 1971 Sovereign International 2004 F-350 King Ranch EX-WBCCI # 8371 AIR # 8239
Has anyone painted over the fake wood paneling in a newer Airstream such as a 2001? It has lots of real oak, but in places there is the fake finish which we can't stand. I'm thinking of a good primer and paint in a cream color.
I'm also wondering if others have made aesthetic changes to change the blah interior of similar trailers. Our '34 LTD looks rather boring. Thank you!
I'm about to primer my interior vinyl walls tomorrow and I found this particular Kilz Primer, and picked this up thinking it might work a bit better. Does anybody have experience using this particular kind? http://www.kilz.com/pages/default.aspx?NavID=29
We were attracted to it beacuase it apparently prevents stains and mildew, etc. and thought that added bonus was enough to pay the extra 8 bucks.
we decided to go with the krud kutter sticky wall remover method, as it seemed to do the job, and didn't contain some of the more hash chemicals within it. So we'll clean off the walls with the krud kutter and then primer the walls. After a few weeks we will probably select the colors for hte walls, and we will more than likely use a top shelf sherwin williams, like others have on the forums.
Question: Is it really necessary to sand the vinyl walls first? It seems like the Kilz should do the job. This is a water based indoor/outdoor primer, FYI. also, the endcaps. I must say Im a bit nervous to apply the Kilz to these. I'd like to paint them, but I would hate to mess them up in any way, cause I don't necessarily mind the yellowish look, but to have them new looking and redone I think I would still like better.
Thanks for all your info all my airstreaming friends..
-Kelly
__________________ "We are facing a movement of population beside which even the Crusades will seem like Sunday school picnics." www.readysteadytow.blogspot.com
I have used Kiltz many times in building department store fixtures and displays. I like it because it does prevent old stains from creaping up through your top coat. However, I prefer the exterior oil base type. It is a lot tougher. It will give a primer look to your walls so consider a top coat.
Neil.
i definitely will do a top coat as soon as I decide which colors to go with. Thanks for the additional go ahead. I think the premuim will do the job then. I'm just worrying about weather or not to do the end caps.
-kelly
__________________ "We are facing a movement of population beside which even the Crusades will seem like Sunday school picnics." www.readysteadytow.blogspot.com
I'd be way more concerned with painting the vinyl wall covering than the endcaps. the endcaps are definately do-able. You might want to inquire about the material of the endcaps, though...I'm not sure if they are plastic, or fiberglass. On mine, (one year newer), the front endcap is definately plastic, but the rear...looks like fiberglass...I'm not sure.
Krylon makes a special line of spray paint that is specifically made for plastic. I've tried it, and it seems to work well. Other manufacturers have a special primer that you have to use. The issue is that your typical latex paint won't stick to plastic. I don't know if it would stick to the vinyl wall covering, but if I had to guess, I'd guess that it won't. But thats just a guess. I'd find out for sure from someone who has done it before embarking on such a project.
Everything is out of the front half of our trailer, down to the off white metal walls. What should the walls be painted with? Primer or exterior paint, what color?
I don't know what the 79 was originally painted with... but we painted our interior of our Bambi with Zolotone. Very happy with the results! We were able to wash down the original walls well and clean them, then sprayed the zolotone right on top! It is tough paint! I think it will last another 40 years!
I'm very happy with my tinted flat primer/finish. It wasn't the easiest material to spray, but I think it would go on easy with a roller.
It's Devoe "DevFlex PF" (primer-finishcoat), DTM (direct-to-metal) 4020-1000. It's available from ICI paints. About $40 a gallon. Sticks to anything. Tints to any color. Acrylic latex, cleans up with water. Doesn't smell bad.
Whatever you decide, I think you need an exterior paint for flexibility at low temperature.
I wanted to try re-doing the Zolatone, but my wife said she hates it.
So do you have to basically gut the inside of the AS out to get a good paint job on the internal skin? Has anyone done it any other way? Just looking for the easies method.
Before we painted our interior, all surfaces were cleaned with Power Spray Orange - it really cuts off the mold, grease, and grime like a champ. We primed using Glidden Gripper Primer, and finally topcoated with Glidden Evermore paint. The was used on vinyl coated walls and the ABS interior endcaps with excellent results.
__________________
Bob Fowler
Some people are like Slinkies. They're really good for nothing, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
I am suprised to read that noone has tried TSP to clean the grime off and prep for paint or that anyone has used Benjamin Moore Paint. I am new to the Airstream business, but in my 30+ years as a commercial licensed interior designer, TSP and Benjamin Moore were very good to my clients. Benjamin Moore is usually more expensive the Sherwin Williams and all of the other paints, but always covers better!
Has anyone tried these products in their Airstream?
First, I would definitely recommend against Zolatone. It is a fantastic paint but it can be extremely tricky to apply, especially if you are painting around contours. It requires a sprayer with a pressurized paint cup, and oversized nozzle. It also needs to be applied between 70 and 80 degrees with low humidity. It will set you back a grand or more for the primer, paint, and special equipment to spray it. It says it covers 120 sq ft / gallon, but it is really half of that to get full coverage. You need a contrasting color of primer to see when you have complete coverage. If you spray white over white, you will never get the uniform continous film that is required for the paint to hold up. Even with lots of experince spraying automotive paints, it was a pian. I did it once but never again! I just painted my 31 footer with Sherwin Williams Primer, top coated with Sherwin Willians Pre-Catylized Water Based Epoxy. This an awesome combination that can be applied by spray or brush and roller. You can get any finish and color you want. I did mine in semi-gloss bright white and the results are great. I really like the white color in a trailer because it makes the space so much brighter and seems so much bigger. I also found a cleaner/prep called Marine Clean. It as made by the POR-15 people. You can clean a wall with whatever you want, but when you spray the Marine Clean on afterward, you'll see that is wasn't really clean at all. It's nasty stuff though. You need good ventilation, gloves, and you really should wear a mask to prevent breathing the vapors. It will choke the heck out of you. 30 years of cooking grease and cig smoke just ran down the wall after being hit with this stuff! That epoxy paint I used makes a super tough and scrubbable wall finish. I used light gray primer and two coats of paint applied by roller & brush. The stuff dries quickly, even at low temperatures. It can be applied down to 50 degrees. It took 4 gallons to do the complete trailer including closets and overhead cupboards. The Zolatone takes 6 to 8 gallons at $128 a gallon plus catalyst, and $210 for primer. The epoxy was $36 a gallon and seems just as bulletproof.
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