Painting my 93 Dutchmen

[jbilling]

I have been a member of this forum for a while now and I have benefited from the good advice and solutions that are shared. Each time I looked at my 1993 class A I was discouraged at the faded paint and cracked peeling decals. I began to research possibly repainting it myself. There was an immediate cloud of negotiate comments on each forum I looked at. Finally on a little known forum for tiny trailers and home built teardrop campers I found sound advise from people who had actually did what I was thinking of. About 2 months ago I bought an airless paint sprayer from Harbor Freight for my grandson to help him with a commercial job he was painting. I watched him paint metal doors for a church and lacquer some heavy wood doors for inside the church. I was very impressed with his skill with the machine and the resulted he achieved. That's when I decided to go for it and the work began. I spent over 80 hours removing the old decals, sanding scrapes and scratches and rebuilding the front door.

[gaymeadowsman]

You have a very Classic look going on. Very nice job.

[jbilling]

For those who are thinking of painting their RV. Just roll up your sleeves and go to it. Jeff

[jbilling]

I'm very pleased with the final outcome. I wondered when I started this project if I wasn't exceeding my capabilities. But I just kept at it one task at a time and it turned out great. Thanks for the kind words. Jeff

[jfkmk]

Man, that looks awesome!

[westend]

Very classy, a job well done!

[jbilling]

Well I finished the Dutchmen paint job today, I added two accent stripes. The upper strip is a dark blue and the lower stripe is teal. These colors match the awnings and the interior colorings. I think they make the white and grey come alive. Jeff

[2012Coleman]

Very nice job - maybe a good retirement gig?

[westend]

jbilling wrote:
Aruba5er and Western, yes I will do 2 full length stripes in dark blue over turquoise. As for the Harbor Freight airless unit, it worked great and is still working. I have several more projects for it. The secret to airless sprayer, Harbor Freight or Graco or whatever is as always prep and cleanup. I am not a big reader of instructions but on complex items I follow the directions to the letter. My grandson (a professional house painter) was impressed with the unit. Before starting the job I ordered an assortment of spray tips for the different paints and primers. The tip that ships with the unit was way to big #515 it would go through a gallon of paint Fast!!!

Stripes sound great!
Yes, the trick with airless sprayers is to keep them clean and use oil on the pump shaft every time it's used. My Graco has a bottle holder that carries that shaft oil dispenser bottle. It just takes a few drops or a healthy squirt to oil the shaft.

I think my Graco is about 15 yrs old. It has paid for itself many times over. I did have to take it in for pump seal replacement, once. I got caught up spraying some military stuff for a collector and the last gallon was some type of self-mixing epoxy and I didn't have a solvent that would work. Before I could get solvent, the pump, lines, and gun all had to be broken down and cleaned, a long tedious process.

[Campinfan]

She looks real nice. You and your grandson probably had some good quality time together. I miss my grandfather and cherish the times we had working together on little projects.

[RollandB]

Great work, you should be smiling big as you head down the road.

[MrWizard]

Great job

[Bionic_Man]

Wow. Lots of time and effort. Well done.

[jbilling]

Here is a shot of the paint room. Jeff

[ppine]

Most RVs don't get used much. They sit outside in the weather and look old. Assuming they have not been lived in, many quality older trailers are worth saving. Fading decals is a problem. They can be removed. An all white trailer looks pretty great to my eye. I like to put some stickers on mine to make them more interesting to look at. Replacing the faded light lenses really helps also.

You did a great job. You broke with conventional wisdom and greatly increased the value of your rig.