Have you applied Zolatone to the inside of your Avion?

[lifeincolor]

I'm realizing that painting the inside of vintage kin trailer is not super popular around here, but I want to know if you've done it. The problem is the inside of the 78 Avion we are looking at was smoked in, heavily. I will certainly scrub it and see what I can do, but if it still has a very yellow tint I just don't think that's something I can live with. I just received samples of Zolatone and love the polomyx airless, it has a similar texture to what is already there and seems like a good match. I'm talking about the actual walls, not the cabinets, but painting over the sort of textured walls (spray, probably professionally). So has anyone tried this?

I attached a picture of the ceiling because I think that shows what the material is like that I want to paint over best.

[Jarrod White]

I recommend mr clean magic erase to clean the yellow inside with (also works great on boats and removes most childrens crayons from surfaces in a house). I've never painted interior.

[Becky B.]

In one of the last 2 or 3 podcasts of the VAP (vintage airstream podcast)
Colin Hyde talked about painting over the vinyl walls of an Airstream. These walls are virtually identical to what you have in your Avion. He said they was the walls with a citrus based cleaner (I've used totally Awesome from the dollar store & it works well) and then they primed them with a plastic primer (I'm not certain of what kind, maybe you can listen to the podcasts) and then painted them with zolatone. You may be able to PM Colin H or Safari Tim and ask them this question about the primer. It can be done.

[lifeincolor]

There is an airstream podcast?!?!?!? Sweet, I'll check it out, thanks!

[SuzyHomemakr]

I used the Flex roll-on version of Zolatone, on the inside of my Airstream. Check out this thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f39/...ct-128898.html

Worked great!

[lifeincolor]

Originally Posted by SuzyHomemakr

I used the Flex roll-on version of Zolatone, on the inside of my Airstream. Check out this thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f39/...ct-128898.html

Worked great!

Cool I'd love to see pictures!

[pattydoug]

We had a similar condition when we bought our '86 and learned from the Avion restoration Group the simple solution of using Westley's Bleche-Wite. Spray it on, scrub lightly with a soft brush and wipe it off with a rag dipped in clear water. Total cost: $3.99 plus tax and the results were amazing. Some spots in ours to a couple of applications but it was minimal effort for good results.


Sent from my iPod touch using Airstream Forums

[SuzyHomemakr]

Here's pics of the interior, and a close-up of the Flex Zolatone

[youngpeck]

Very nice.

[lifeincolor]

Originally Posted by SuzyHomemakr

Here's pics of the interior, and a close-up of the Flex Zolatone

That looks amazing. How long has it been on there? Is it holding up?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, does your Avion look like this one?

[lifeincolor]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, does your Avion look like this one?

No my Avion remains hypothetical... Is that one in Salem right now? I hardly see them around!

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by lifeincolor

No my Avion remains hypothetical... Is that one in Salem right now? I hardly see them around!

Hi, this Avion and several other kin are rentals in Dayton, Oregon.

[Lumatic]

I have used a similar product on an older Avion called Multispec.

[SuzyHomemakr]

Originally Posted by lifeincolor

That looks amazing. How long has it been on there? Is it holding up?

Thanks! I did it last summer, it's holding up great. The roll-on Flex is good for touch-ups, or blending new work with old

[lifeincolor]

So I ended up getting a different Avion, that I do not need to paint, but I thought I would update this post because I found something out. The wall material is a very thing metal, not plastic, like I thought. The texture and coloring is maybe put on like a powder coating? You can really scrub it, and it doesn't seem to hurt it. I want to try and find something to get as much yellow out of it as possible, but it looks like Westley's Bleche-Wite isn't made any more (as some one suggested). I'd take other suggestions of what to clean it with. Mine is actually pretty clean I'm just wondering if there is some kind of cleaner that will sort of bleach it out and make it more white than yellow?

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Zolatone is an awesome product. The original, industrial line is virtually bullet proof. The newer water based version works fairly well also. I do not believe however it is going to hold up on top of vinyl clad aluminum for very long. I frequently see small bubbles between the vinyl and base sheet. If the subsurface moves, the zolatone is going to start shedding.
It was mentioned a pro does this. I have heard very mixed reviews on this technique. Personally, I would not do it.
I use Magic Erasers and Clorox Bathroom Cleaner with bleach to clean this type of clad aluminum. You are not going to get bright white however, the original would be ivory with taupe highlights.