Argosy paint cost?

[hkwdesign]

Hello - About to jump on an Argosy...just wondering if there is a big cost difference between painting vs. buffing (a silver un-painted AS?) I live in New England, if anyone can give me rough estimates of costs; painting a 22' Argosy vs. buffing an un-painted AS, I'd really appreciate it! I figure this will be one of the more expensive undertakings of this Argosy project - want to budget up front. We plan to do all body work ourselves. Thanks!

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by hkwdesign

Hello - About to jump on an Argosy...just wondering if there is a big cost difference between painting vs. buffing (a silver un-painted AS?) I live in New England, if anyone can give me rough estimates of costs; painting a 22' Argosy vs. buffing an un-painted AS, I'd really appreciate it! I figure this will be one of the more expensive undertakings of this Argosy project - want to budget up front. We plan to do all body work ourselves. Thanks!

Painting costs depends on what kind of paint job you want.

Some owners have used house paint, and rolled it on.

Others have used top quality Dupont paints.

Andy

[TG Twinkie]

A professional paint job will be $3K to $5K. If done right it will last for years.
Polishing is about $100 per lineal foot. But it won't last as long as a paint job.


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[idroba]

A professional high quality paint job on an Argosy is fairly expensive. Several thousand dollars. However, if you are willing to go for a less than auto body quality paint job there are three options. One is a roller job and it has been covered in old Posts here on the Fourm, would take some searching but it is there. By all accounts, the person who did it was happy and got a lot of positive feedback.

The second way is a rattle can spray paint job. You say you are going to do all the body work yourself, you could consider doing what I did, Krylon rattle can spray paint. Many thin coats but mine has held up well and looks very good. Again, it is not an auto quality gloss job, but then I can touch it up every year or two for a small cost. People have complemented me on how good my trailer looks, and they are unaware the paint came from rattle cans. $300 will buy a lot of rattle can paint, and some places like hardware stores may give you quite a discount if you order several 6 can cases at a time. Or Wal Mart has good prices, but are often out of the color or gloss you wish to buy.

The third thing you might consider if you are brave is to learn how to spray paint yourself. Takes a good compressor, good gun and good paint though, and might cost a lot just for the equipment. I like rattle cans best.

[J. Morgan]

A good paint store can take a piece of your trailer, (like a compartment door) and mix paint to match and give you a code for future reference.

I have more than once been very tempted to paint my Airstream even though it polishes up pretty nice.

I still might.... I am not a fan of the act of polishing.....

Paint could look pretty dang cool, especially if a person feels free to free style a bit..



By the way, if you are going to spray, I recommend industrial Imron 3500 HG, good stuff for a good price. Two gallons is more than enough to paint any Airstream. My cost is about $100 a gallon. (One gallon will paint a 22 footer if done right)

That is what the red is in the photo. It looks pretty darn nice as sprayed, and it can be cut and buffed to perfection if a person wanted an absolutely flawless finish.

If I was painting in my shop, an as sprayed paint-job would be about 3k for one color, and another $500 for two colors using the "cheap" imron.

"Regular" auto paint would be more as the paint alone would be near 1K and up.

FWIW,,, I could have painted my trailer two or three times for the same time I invested in the polishing, and even though it lives in doors, the glory has faded from the polishing.

[hkwdesign]

Great options - we actually have a nice compressor (I never thought of DIY) we just may tackle this too, thanks!

[hkwdesign]

Wow, J. Morgan, yours looks fabulous! Love the paint styling. We were thinking of 2-tone also in a more traditional styling w/pin striping...got us thinking! The inside will be pretty much a gut job, so it won't be "original," we plan to do our own thing. Thanks for your help!

[J. Morgan]

The inside of mine does not resemble a stock Airstream in any way except shape.

Best wishes for your project, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed mine.