Gloss or not to gloss, that's the question!

[sunny16]

I painted my trailer with oil base primer over the weekend. Looks great so far.
My question to you on the forum is, if you painted your tear, did you use gloss paint , semi-gloss or other? What problems, concerns, good stuff did you find with what you used? I hope to get er painted by the weekend. Camping is coming up real fast!

Sunny16

[Ira]

Sunny, I think it depends on the brand AND the color. Some glosses are REALLY glossy, while most semi-glosses give you a great gloss anyway.

But I would think you would definitely want a gloss for cleaning.

[surveytech]

I used two coats of oil gloss on mine.


Applied it with a foam roller. It took forever to really dry. It was dry to the touch in about a day but I dont think it reached full hardness until about a week. (weather was sunny and 80 when I painted it). I painted outdoors and it did collect some bugs in the paint. I waited till it was dry then pulled them out of the paint.

I used gloss to make it easier to wash and clean up. So far so good.
Last camping trip the people next to us at the campground were surprised to hear that it was painted plywood and not FRP.

I kept the trailer in the garage and I bet it was a week or more before it didnt smell like paint out there.

Be careful of the roller choice. Some will fall apart and leave "fuzz" all over (and in) your pretty new paint job.

Good luck!

Walter

[rainjer]

It depends on the finish you are looking for.

Remember the higher the shine, the more prep you need to do because it will show more inperfections. My walls are MDO so the are really smooth. My roof & hatch are laun, they looked & felt smooth after I sanded them until I painted them. Now it looks like I troweled the paint on because of the grain.

I have decided on the 10 ft rule: How does it look from 10 feet away.

I know I would never get a perfect finish, I do have a paint booth & some day I plan on putting a aluminum skin on.

[surveytech]

It depends on the finish you are looking for.

Remember the higher the shine, the more prep you need to do because it will show more inperfections. My walls are MDO so the are really smooth. My roof & hatch are laun, they looked & felt smooth after I sanded them until I painted them. Now it looks like I troweled the paint on because of the grain.

I have decided on the 10 ft rule: How does it look from 10 feet away.

I know I would never get a perfect finish, I do have a paint booth & some day I plan on putting a aluminum skin on.

Yeah good point!
I used a short nap roller cover with the primer and it added a very small amount of texture to the finish which helped the over all appearance.
then applied the two coats of finish.
I agree.........I knew I would never get a perfect finish. Just one good enough.

[sunny16]

I used a 3/8" nap roller for the primer and it did give it a nice "textured" finish taht I think looks good. Some of the wood must have sucked up the paint as it is more smooth. I think if I use two coats of paint to finish it the texture will be more even and it won't show any wood grain. An I think the gloss finish will be better for cleaning any grime or dirt/dust that will get on it. I still welcome any and all comments. I know there are many others who have painted trailers. Thanks so far.

[surveytech]

Sunny,
I also sanded mine after I applied the primer.
I think it helped get the finish more even.
light sanding though.....not much.

Walter

[doug hodder]

I know that with an automotive paint...gloss gives you a more durable finish...in the sign industry flattening agents are used regularly in these paints, to hide a lot of cosmetic flaws...however they do oxidize much more rapidly...I would imagine the same thing exists on any of the oil based/latex also...a gloss surface is much more resistant to any UV/dirt/oil etc....just a hunch...Doug

[cracker39]

I used oil gloss enamel, sprayed on. It does tend to show any imperfections. As for the plywood grain, I worked really hard to fill all the grain, but didn't do such a good job on the tongue box. You can really see it there. Use a water putty to fill in the grain, sand, and fill again (and again) if necessary to get it smooth.

I use the touch method. If you can feel any grain, you'll see it after you paint. If it feels smooth, chances are it will have a smooth painted finish. I'm in the process of sanding and repainting some areas prior to putting on edge trim that I found out that I needed after I was done. I hope to have a good, smooth surface all over when I'm finally done (well, except for that tongue box).

[doug hodder]

I'm sure that a lot of people know this trick, but for those of you that don't...prior to putting on any finish, wipe the wood with a damp rag...the moisture will raise the grain, let it dry, and you can lightly sand off the "fuzzy" areas with very fine paper...those are the little fibers that are going to raise when you put the finish to it...your last chance to get them taken care of....Doug

[kayakrguy]

One advantage of a gloss is that it is more heat reflective, everything else being equal...

Jim

[cracker39]

Now that you brought heat reflectiveness... Most heat reflective roof coatings are silver in color. I found by testing, that white will reflect heat better than silver. Back in the 60s, I painted two of my children's swing seats, one silver and one white. After a couple of hours in the sun, they could sit on the white seat, but sitting on the silver seat burned their little bottoms. I think I'll test a piece of metal painted white against my chrome bumpers on the truck to see which reflects heat better.