Zolatone Dandruff

[Jabba]

Hi Everyone,

We are looking at getting going on our trailer after a hiatus. One of the things I'm looking at doing is the Zolatone. It is the original Zolatone, it is complete and in pretty good conditon except one problem. It is coming off in a light dust, call it Zolatone dandruff. If you rub your hand across it it will leave a slight residue, and as it sits it leaves a very light dust on things over time. Anyone else experience this phenomena? I'm going to guess that it is from it being 53 years old and just drying out. If we re-zolatone is it recommended to strip to bare aluminum or can you rough the original and go over it? Can anyone recommend someone in the midwest that can do the job?

Thanks!

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Jabba

Hi Everyone,

We are looking at getting going on our trailer after a hiatus. One of the things I'm looking at doing is the Zolatone. It is the original Zolatone, it is complete and in pretty good conditon except one problem. It is coming off in a light dust, call it Zolatone dandruff. If you rub your hand across it it will leave a slight residue, and as it sits it leaves a very light dust on things over time. Anyone else experience this phenomena? I'm going to guess that it is from it being 53 years old and just drying out. If we re-zolatone is it recommended to strip to bare aluminum or can you rough the original and go over it? Can anyone recommend someone in the midwest that can do the job?

Thanks!

Why go through all the trouble of re-zolotoning?

Wash the walls down so that they are clean and dust free.

Then apply a couple of coats of a "GOOD" automotive clear to the zolotone.

That will stop the dust forever, and, give you a fresh some what glossy paint job look.

You can test a small spot to see what it would look like.

Andy

[dwightdi]

You could use a matte finished clear coat such as Krylon, if you wanted to maintain the original look. Unless the original paint has lost all its specks and is badly discolored, I would not bother to repaint it completely. You could use a mild clear soap with a little bleach if you want to brighten it up from any discoloration it has accumulated over the years. Look in the inside of the cabinets to see what the original color looked like. The Zolatone was applied at the factory before the cabinets were installed.

[CanoeStream]

Good to see you posting Jabba. Welcome back!

[Mark Wiltrakis]

Jabba -
I have my '59 interior removed and plan to repaint the walls. The original Zolatone is not dusty or flakey, but is scuffed in many places. I received a lot of conflicting advice about repainting. One RV paint shop recommended sanding with 120 grit paper and an orbital sander, cleaning walls with a degreaser, then repainting; I haven't encountered anyone recommending getting back to bare aluminum. I emailed Zolatone, and received a prompt reply from the National Sales Manager of the Zolatone Automotive, Industrial, & Marine Division. Here is the information he sent:

Repaint Info for an AirStream:
Thoroughly clean / scrub the interior of the trailer with a “Soilax” and water mixture. Spic ‘N Span will also work. (These are available at hardware stores and house paint stores).
Rinse with clean water and allow to dry for 24 hours.
Wipe out the area to be coated with a high quality grease and wax remover available at automotive Jobber stores. (Look in the yellow pages under “automotive paint”).
If the new Zolatone color you wish to use is similar to the old, you may proceed directly applying the new Zolatone color as outlined on our web site Zolatone Automotive, Industrial, and Marine Coatings under "application information." You must use pressure spray equipment (pressure pot) and apply in a two step process. High pressure closer to the surface then low pressure further from the surface. (Sheer Coat then Pattern Coat.)
If the new Zolatone color you want to use is substantially different from the previous, you will need to prime the area with our Z91 Basecoat Primer Sealer. This product comes in white Z91-02, gray Z91-81 and black Z91-06 depending on the Zolatone color you want to use on top. It is available in quarts and gallons. Please refer to the table on our web site (www.zolatoneaim.com) to see what prime color goes under the various Zolatone colors.
The primer may be thinned 5% with water. You only need to spray a thin coat -- not too heavy. It should dry within an hour, given normal shop temps and humidity.
Hope this helps -
Mark

[Jabba]

Mark,

Thank you for posting the Zolatone info, nothing like having the info right from the manufacturer, that helps. I'll prbably have some more questions for you once I get into it.

Andy & Dwight, it didn't even dawn on me to clearcoat it to seal it. Another path to contemplate vs. a repaint.

[john hd]

jason!

glad to see you back on board! i would go for the clear as suggested!

john

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Jabba

Mark,

Thank you for posting the Zolatone info, nothing like having the info right from the manufacturer, that helps. I'll prbably have some more questions for you once I get into it.

Andy & Dwight, it didn't even dawn on me to clearcoat it to seal it. Another path to contemplate vs. a repaint.

Use a high quality clear, for a long lasting job.

Spray can stuff is more for short term.

Andy

[Jabba]

Hi John! Glad to be back.

[NorCal Bambi]

Howdy Jabba, I have a 63 Bambi that I completely restored. I resprayed the Zolatone and am very pleased with the results. If you go to my thread, http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...-17925-16.html
,Around post 307 to 315 you can see some of the process. These numbers can be found in the upper right hand corner of the posts. I've had many complements and people have just stopped by to see the Zolatone finish. Returning to the orininal sheen is quite nice. Zoletone requires some special equipment and care during application. However it is not that hard. If you have spray painted before. I would be glad to answer any question. I guess an important consideration is what level of restoration are you interested in. Zolatone is not cheap.
Don

[Jabba]

Thanks, quite a bit of good info to go thru, looks like you did a nice job on yours.