Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Thinking about painting the exterior of my TD...after sealing w/ CPES and filling all screw holes and smoothing out w/ epoxy and some light bondo.
1.) Those who painted their TD, do you regret it, wish you went aluminum, etc.
2.) What primer did you use? (Although, I was told CPES is the primer)
3.) What paint did you use?
4.) Did you put a clear on top of the paint to help w/ UV?
5.) How did you apply it....roller/spray?

My TD will be outside all spring/summer/fall and in storage over the winter.

Heard good recommendations about marine topside paint and the Rot Doctor recommends their Uniflex...but, $$$?, what about enamels, etc.. I bought an HVLP gun at HF today incase that wins over "rolling" it on, #94572 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?function=Search .. had a friend paint a couple nice trucks w/ HF guns, not this one, but an HVLP and they look really good...and they're not $800... anyway... to paint or not to paint.

Keith,
My td will be pulling out this spring. I will have a garage to store it in. And I only have the trim painted but I used latex primer and Sears exterior latex house paint. Only time will tell.



I think you'll get a lot of different suggestions....................and that's a good thing!
Barb

Hey Keith..... I'm not a pro like you, but went with painting my exterior since I like color and didn't feel like doing aluminum and didn't have the $ anyway...

I also didn't have the $$ for the higher end finish, and when deciding on paint I looked at my 50+ year old house that hasn't been painted in 20+ years and needs a new paint job , but heck... it sits outside 365 and in the sun, rain, snow, heat.... and there's no paint peeling or awfully bad fading , etc...

So maybe I went on the cheap, but I bondo'd , sanded , primed, sanded , primed... and then used ValSpar Severe Weather Exterior Latex... 15 yr warranty. I do wish I had a smoother finish, but I settled for $15 / gallon and a simple trip to Lowe's.

It may not be perfect , but I love my Jewel Box!!!

(note: my pics are not updated...will be soon. My exterior colors are "pale wheat" and fenders are garnet red)

Well, ya know... a house see's a lot of sun, so house paint might not be so bad...but I kinda wanted something a little "smoother and shinny" - champaigne taste, beer budget.... Topside Marine paints, and clear etc. would be almost as much as aluminum...I even thought about experimenting w/ fibered aluminum roof coating on some scrap....and I'm far from a pro... "Jack of All Trades.. Master at None"

I also went with House Paint. I uesd Kelly Moore's Best Latex Primer 3 coats and two coats of the best latex House Paint. I have stored mine inside so far. All the coats were applied with 1" Knap roller, and made a nice textured finish.
jplock

Is that (the second picture) and this (the first picture)


one and the same... it sure looks different. How much does it finally weigh?

Mike...

jplock wrote:I also went with House Paint. I uesd Kelly Moore's Best Latex Primer 3 coats and two coats of the best latex House Paint. I have stored mine inside so far. All the coats were applied with 1" Knap roller, and made a nice textured finish.
jplock

Yes that is the second picture. The only thing I have Actually weighed is th tounge it weighs 180 pounds due to the tounge box with the battery inside. I am hopefullfy guessing 800 to 1000 pound range.
jplock

Keith...topsides or house paint...if you go with paint spray it...you can certainly get a nice finish with brushes/rollers but you can get a GREAT finish with a sprayer...as always...the work done on prep pays off handsomely with the finish!!!
madjack

I paint houses and for the most part use Kelly Moore Paint. My salesman suggested Dura-Poxy. I rolled mine for a pebble finish, partly to hide flaws in the wood. They do make a gloss that would come close to an automotive finish if sprayed. My trailer is stored in the garage, but having camped alongside Davel this past year, it's seen it's share of rain. I'm satisfied the paint will hold up outside with no problem. About $35 a gallon.

http://www.kellymoore.com/products/peah_1680_dura_poxy

JPLOCK: How did you build your wall's perimeter curved frame.. I like that and would like to try something similar.... Your wall looks light and sturdy. very nice.

One of the shells that i sold the guy paint it with spray can paint call wet metal ftom wall mart and a clear coat said it cost$35.00 it is the coolest thing i have seen

Seems like there's been some good success w/ paint.. I guess I have the HVLP gun so why not ehh? I guess if I don't like it or whatever I can always cover it right.

My trailer has 1/2" MDO walls & 1/8" Luan roof. I only sealed the Luan with CPES because the MDO is alreay water resistant. I primed the entire exterior with oil based primer & the paint it with 3 coats or Ace Hardware exterior high gloss oil based paint. I used a really short nap roller to apply it.

Keith B wrote:anyway... to paint or not to paint.

Hi Keith,

Paint is something we can offer assistance in. As you've seen by our pics we're not ready to paint yet, but we're working on it. BTW, hubby is a veteran housepainter, was trained by an old Swedish house painter. Anyway, here's our plan.

We are sealing the wood with Penetrol to give the wood more life and to protect it temporarily from moisture since we're building it outside.

After the layer of Penetrol we'll sand it down lightly (Sanded before Penetrol coating) then put the first layer of oil based primer on it.

After 24 to 48 hours we'll lightly sand again and coat with a second layer of oil based primer.

The reason for oil is that oil penetrates the wood, latex is plastic and stays on the surface. Also latex adherse to itself more than the surface. The water in latex also draw the natural oils out of the wood.

After the second coat of primer we'll sand lightly again, then put on two layers of finish. No sanding between finish. We're either going to apply the finish with a sponge roller or spray. Then we'll coat with a clear coat, one or two layers depending on how the first layer looks.

Hope that helps.

Lynn & Paul

What kind of finish paint are you considering... enamel so you can't put clear on it?