Aero-1, the build....

[Arne]

The house paint collects dirt easily, going down the road it collects quite a bit over time...

The t/d was processed using a 'deglosser' I got from Lowes. Then I used an orbital sander with 60 grit on the whole t/d. It is now ready for paint.

The new paint is marine top deck paint and appears to be similar to interlux. It should leave a surface similar to fiberglas gel coat so it should stay cleaner, look better, and be easier to clean. They recommend not painting below 50 degrees... I'd like it about 70, so the paint will level better. Tomorrow, back to lowes for rollers, paint pans, etc. 2 coats of primer and two coats of paint... primer dried to touch in 4 hours, so will see how it goes if it needs sanding between coats. If so, will wait overnight.

[Senior Ninja]

Our formulations for Latex House Paint were designed to be soft. It prevented cracking and prevented splitting and checking over a wide range of temperatures. The other thing about latex exterior paints was that they would breathe. They wouldn't allow liquid water to penetrate, however they did allow water vaporto pass through them. Again that was done to prevent splitting and peeling.
Steve

[Micro469]

What kind/brand deck paint is it? Is it a two part epoxy paint??

[Arne]

No, I don't see the necessity for the complexity of 2 part. It is a marine product, as mentioned, similar to interlux. So, I suspect it may chip if given a whack, but since it is white, and I'll have some left over, that is not a problem...

http://www.poolandmarinepaint.com/shop/index.php?action=category&id=9

[Arne]

I have sanded my tear and applied blue water top deck paint to it... a one part polyurethane. the high gloss white. will post pix later.

Painting with house paint was a mistake.. it got dirty way too much.

The marine paint is high gloss. I am writing this mainly to save others a pain of using house paint... go for a marine paint instead. Sanding and repainting is a pain... had to mask the windows and other exterior hardware, which was not removable...

It came out good for using a roller over ply.. not a good as over fiberglass...

My opinion, spend the extra money from the get go, and save yourself a lot of dirty paint and problems.... The marine paint is tough stuff.... and I recommend it over rot doc uniflex 255, which got dirty and was impossible to clean...

[Arne]

paint is dry, new lights installed.... heading to lexington, KY tomorrow a.m.

[High Desert]

looks really nice Arne!

have a good trip too.

[kennyrayandersen]

let us know how that paint holds up on the road!

[Arne]

I only pulled it about 20 miles yesterday, it got a few smudges/dirt marks on it...they wiped off.... with the house paint, they might have washed off...

And I like the high gloss finish much better. much closer to the gloss on my van than the house paint was.

I doubt I will get much stone damage. the front of the trailer, by design, is only 24" from the back of the van, just enough to get the van back lid up. If I had measured better, I could have made it 18" and cut the air turbulence between the van and trailer even more.

And when I turn the tightest circle I can with the van, I still have 8" of clearance between the van and the front corner of the trailer, partially due to the curved front on the trailer.

[Arne]

gas mileage for trip from ct to ky and return.... first and last tank not included.

[Arne]

gas mileage for trip from ct to ky and return.... first and last tank not included.



when I drive locally, I avg 20-21 mpg.... on the highway, 22-23.... I specifically drove the northern route to avoid the hill in w. va....

[S. Heisley]

It looks really good, Arnie. It looks like it matches your minivan exactly!
Glad you had a good trip.

[Arne]

re the paint... it worked, and is working, great. unlike the ben moore house paint, this washes just like a car... wish I had done it from the get go and save myself a lot of work.... i.e., repainting the t/d..

The primer and paint each cost about $65/gallon (the ben moore cost about $30 per gallon) and the paint should last for years... I have enough of each left from the gallon cans to fix any dings, but this stuff is tough... would take more than a kicked up stone to hurt it.

darn, just did a check on it, and they are now having a 25% sale on the stuff... right after I bought it..

http://www.ipaint.us/blwamatopa.html

I used the one part ... http://www.ipaint.us/blwapoto.html

[Arne]

more on blue water marine paint. after 2k mile, bird crap, road debris, I washed it..... this is what it looks like now...

[aggie79]

Arne - It looks like the paint is a winner! Can you say how you applied it? I thinking of using this on my tongue box.
Thanks, Tom