Mouse Fur to Paint?

[JeniEliser]

Well, my husband and I just bought our first Airstream, a 1999 Limited 34'. She's is in good shape, but we're updating her a bit. There are a couple big projects we want to do before we actually use it (hoping for January 1). One of those is getting rid of the yucky mouse fur. I understand the appeal of the mouse fur and foam headliner. But the mouse fur is really beyond cleaning. The PO scrubbed and scrubbed and nothing came of it. We know we need to take it out. The question is, can I paint the area it was in? The headliner is foam/vinyl business. (Also not my favorite but I think a good thorough cleaning will bring me around) I've seen a few threads on here in which people replaced the mouse fur with new mouse fur or with leatherette or other fabric type things. Has anyone just painted the walls were the fur was? If so what's your final opinion? Thanks so much in advance!

[timk]

Congrats on your purchase. I randomly found the start of your remodel on instagram the other day!

We did exactly what you are asking about. We pulled the carpet of the walls and had a couple different ideas, tried glueing up new fabric with very limited success and in the end decided to just paint. Unfortunately all my searches led to zolatone and restoring the original finish in older trailers.

We just lightly sanded the glue residue, not completely smooth, so as to have some light texture on the walls. Used a few coats of 2 in 1 primer/paint and it turned out surprisingly well.

The only hangups some might have about the final finish. Depending on how well the interior aluminum panels are fitted the seams/overlaps my or may not look great, as well as the rivet heads are exposed. For us, the outcome looks and feels way better and cleaner than before, the majority of the panel seams are hidden (behind the couch, etc), and we actually like the look of the exposed rivets and seams.

It was by far the cheapest/easiest option for the result we achieved. The thing I dont know about, is how regular house paint works as far as "flame retardant", as I know that original carpet is supposed to be just that. My justification was that if the trailer happens to be on fire, I don't think the thin layer of paint on the walls is gonna be the defining downfall.

Tim

[skitique]

If you paint be sure to clean the walls well so your paint bonds. I sanded lightly & cleaned the walls with Borax (can find at Lowes & some grocery stores). Borax creates a great surface to bond to by breaking down dirt, etc. I painted the inside of my Argosy with the highest quality interior Sherwin Williams alkalyd primer & the water based paint. Didn't want to deal with oil base or any other smelly paint & it has held up great. Have several high quality paint brushes because as you paint they will start to get thick & gooey. That is the plastic coating on the aluminium releasing. Just soak the brush in mineral spirits & start using a clean one.

Good luck!

Jane

[JeniEliser]

Thanks y'all!!! I was beginning to think the only option was more mouse fur ��

[m.hony]

Hmm...
Good ideas to get rid of the mouse fur in my 2013.
For now, it is still clean, but maybe in 15-20 years...
What would it look like to paint it gray/silver to somewhat resemble aluminum skin on the inside like the new Classic and Flying Cloud trailers?
I will probably leave the padded white vinyl headliner because I'm not sure if anything else is under there. Maybe we could just remove it entirely and replace with aluminum skin and LED puck lights?
Also, I would like to remove/replace the padded white vinyl material under the overhead lockers. What's under there? More hickory wood or plywood? Could the plywood be stained to match existing hickory?
I also would like to recover the gaucho and dinette benches with cocoa Ultraleather.
It's bad to think of so many ways to renovate a nearly new trailer...

[m.hony]

A trip to Jackson Center and $20,000 would probably get me the exact interior I want!

[ChrisDPT]

Originally Posted by timk

Congrats on your purchase. I randomly found the start of your remodel on instagram the other day!

We did exactly what you are asking about. We pulled the carpet of the walls and had a couple different ideas, tried glueing up new fabric with very limited success and in the end decided to just paint. Unfortunately all my searches led to zolatone and restoring the original finish in older trailers.

We just lightly sanded the glue residue, not completely smooth, so as to have some light texture on the walls. Used a few coats of 2 in 1 primer/paint and it turned out surprisingly well.

The only hangups some might have about the final finish. Depending on how well the interior aluminum panels are fitted the seams/overlaps my or may not look great, as well as the rivet heads are exposed. For us, the outcome looks and feels way better and cleaner than before, the majority of the panel seams are hidden (behind the couch, etc), and we actually like the look of the exposed rivets and seams.

It was by far the cheapest/easiest option for the result we achieved. The thing I dont know about, is how regular house paint works as far as "flame retardant", as I know that original carpet is supposed to be just that. My justification was that if the trailer happens to be on fire, I don't think the thin layer of paint on the walls is gonna be the defining downfall.

Tim

Hi Tim, I hope you get this. What brand/type of pain did you end up using? Can you be as specific as possible please. Thanks
- Chris