Painting exterior of camper anybody ?

We used a heat gun to remove our decals, and it worked like a dream. Just finished painting the camper and are trying to find new decals that we like but won't cost us a small fortune. We used high performance urethane automotive paint in a paint gun to paint it, and I LOVE how it turned out. DH even did some body work to repair the hole the PO put in it when he was trying to pry the door open. Said he left the keys home, but I'm pretty sure it was because the old Coleman lock was finicky and wouldn't open. Oh, well! The camper looks brand new now--and I'm super picky. Have to say, I'm pretty impressed with DH's skills... I guess I'll keep him around.

 

Check eBay for RV graphics. You might even find some branded stuff for cheap!

 

Heeyyyy we have the same Avatar LOL

I painted our E1 recently. Posted on here somewhere about it. Think it was in the Evolution E1 E2 E3 thread. Anyway, I stripped everything off that I could. What I couldn't I surgically taped off. I wet sanded with 400, where it broke through to metal I shot with self etching primer then final sanded. Went to the auto paint store with my truck VIN number. Got a single stage paint, activator and reducer. Mixed it all up, dropped that in my HVLP gun, set the pressure to bout 20 pounds. Laid down a wet tack coat then came back in with another coat. Let that dry and shot a final coat. The job came out pretty and more importantly, bulletproof LOL. It won't be peeling, fading, failing anytime soon and that's a darn good thing! Picked me up some vinyl stickers on line and done deal...

 

I did, Dubbya. Not much luck. I found the gal that does a lot of the pop up camper decals and sent her an e-mail. She communicated well for about 2 days. I sent her the dimensions of my camper and then she stopped responding. It's been about two weeks since I sent the dimensions, and I've e-mailed a couple times, but I still haven't heard anything. I finally just gave up on her. It's a pretty small camper--nothing too complicated. I guess she just didn't need the business.

Anyway, I think I may have found a company that can do it in my price range, but I'm still waiting on a quote. Hopefully that one works out.

 

Hey! That's exactly what we did. Did you hit Space Age Paints? They are awesome!

 

Space Age? No, I'm in Tucson they are not I don't think.

 

No, maybe they aren't. I love your camper, though. You did a great job!

 

Why thank ya ma'am! So kind of you to say...

 

Brian if you achieve the perfect childhood let me know please. I've been working on mine for ages and haven't achieved it yet. Hope I never do, childhood is just to much fun.

 

Thanks everyone for the information about painting the exterior of a popup. I've started cleaning off the decals and will tackle the rest of the glue when done. I was at a loss as to the type of paint to use, but you have all helped a lot.

I have some sign painters paint (it has lead in it) and might use that since it's very hardy and durable. If I do I'll put a warning on it, "Do not eat the camper, paint contains Lead and may be harmful if eaten" I think that's only fair. Maybe then no one will nibble on my camper. If I don't use it I guess I'll try Rust-Oleum it seems popular. Not sure about needing to prime since if it's clean enough, yeah right, and has a textured surface, it might not really need that (hopefully).

Please let me know if any of this seems really wrong or if there's a better way to do the paint job. I dislike the yellowed white on white, where the decals were.

 

I have a cousin who paints cars. I plan on taking a weekend to go visit him and bring him paint to use. I want to paint my pup blue.

 

Hi, so can anyone tell me the best type of paint to paint a late 90's pop up camper. It's that bumpy plastic type of surface.

 

I used a half dozen rattle cans... Turned out great. Spent a lot of time making. Couldn't be happier.

 

I'm wondering about painting the vinyl strip at the bottom of the canvas. It is maroon and I wanted to paint it a different color. Has anyone done this?

 

I've used vinyl paint on car interiors before. It seems to hold up well, but those surfaces don't fold.

 

I will be doing an experiment in the next month or so. I bought some marine vinyl to patch a hole over a bunk end that has been there since I purchased her. The previous owner just has awning tape over it. Surprizingly this tape has held up over the last 7 years that I have had her. Still no leaking and just starting to peel up around the edges. I live in Wisconsin so it goes through heat and freezing temps not to mention a bunch of rain storms while camping.

Anyways, Since I do live in an area with temperature extremes I want to see how two different vinyl paints hold up. Technically one will be a vinyl dye. I have plenty of vinyl to experiment with. So far I think I will prep four pieces. Spray two with one, and two with the other. Once cured I will put them both through freezing temps and heat while trying to sure that a portion of the painted surface of each piece is touching ( to see if they stick together and peel the color) The cold will be easy to do just by putting them in the freezer for a week. The heat... I am not sure how I will do that yet. I want to be able to have the verdict (whether I am going to attempt to paint my vinyl or not) before summer hits so I can do it before it's scorching hot. I can use the dryer but I will need to put them through a cycle or two daily for a while.

I have been unable to find anyone who has used these kind of paints on a popup camper. So this is the only way I will know for sure if I even want to chance it. Regardless of the results, I should post them here along with pictures.

Wish me luck
Tisha