Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

In the planning stages I was all about the beadboard, but ultimately it weighs a lot, adds cost, and I'm not trying to build a luxury lodge, I'm trying to build a dry, comfortable place to camp with a real bed and climate control and haul some stuff with me.

So why not just paint it?

I don't know off the top of my head if I've seen pics in build threads of people who have painted their plywood. Anyone done it? Got any tips or pics?

Thanks for looking.

Yeah, why not?

The only disadvantages I can think of are 1) weight of the paint, 2)paint fumes for a little bit. Who cares? I painted the floor of my old cargo trailer with a couple layers of polyurethane deck paint. The floor was bomb proof and easy to clean! I may be wrong about this, but I always think that plywood gets harder and more durable when it's painted with a good polyurethane paint. Paint would also reduce the amount of splinters you get.

Go for it!

I am going to paint my roof a pale cream colour to reflect light better. Sides will be varnished ply. Floor will have carpet under my bed

I'm going to varnish/poly the doors - they're hardwood.

I'm just not enamored of the huge pine grain on my walls enough to want to look at it.

Even better than painting it - getting someone else to paint it. I don't hate painting so much as I hate prep. Angie's list is full of "Paint a room $99" deals. That's one coat, but if they leave all the masking, I can knock out the second coat. I know a lot of people take issue with "paint & primer", but I think it's almost necessary to knock it out in two coats on untreated wood.

Im just going to give the ply roof 2 coats with a roller before I fit it, then touch it up afterwards

I used some spackle and float fill then primered and painted. Easy to repair. I do plan on repainting it using a light colored coat a bit later when I get the trim and some other things done.

yes I painted mine its a tan color

felixx wrote:Im just going to give the ply roof 2 coats with a roller before I fit it, then touch it up afterwards

Yup, that's exactly what I did with the ceiling, painted the 4x8 sheets bright white, cut to proper size and installed. A ton easier than painting a ceiling after it is installed.

As for the wall, no reason not to paint the walls. I went with carpeted walls as the plywood on my walls didn't have an A side, so was pretty rough. Cheaper to hang carpet indoor/outdoor carpet (about $70) than replace all the plywood on the walls and buy paint.

Was going to paint the floor, but Home Depot had a Black Friday sale on 7.5x14 roll of rubber diamond plate floor for $48, and this was what I really wanted in the first place.

My T@G came with a painted interior already - a soft white - the cabinets are dark stain. I like the contrast. But the interior is very bright and airy. With that base coat, you could repaint it any color you like.

I'd highly recommend spending a few bucks more and getting the non-fume type paint.

So why not just paint it?

Because this place is too nice of a place to paint. If I could... I add a fireplace with a moosehead over it.

T

Yep.

Before:


After:




Now appears bigger and brighter inside, easy cleanup. I think it was a Home Depot interior wall paint with the primer built in.

• walls: TSC tractor enamel (MF grey, same as exterior)
• trim: Rustoleum semi-gloss (black, same as exterior)
• ceiling: TSC reflective silver silo paint (same as roof)
• inner shelf: flat black Krylon rattle-can

I painted the interior in either Jan-Feb ?, using a small space heater to warm the interior up to 80 degrees or so (so the paint would adhere, and cure). I had to paint in stages, pulling the heater out while I was inside, and stopping the painting when the temperature dropped inside below 45 degrees. Then, I would re-heat until I could resume. Took me two days, over two weekends. I didn't mind the fumes (I used to build Military models in a small, closed room in the 50's-60's..."smells like Victory!"). But, a word of caution; don't wear your only good pair of glasses when painting a ceiling in a 4x8 trailer, only inches above your head. Dries quickly, and irremovable from plastic, coated lenses!

I was going to go the beadboard route too, but wasn't sure I wanted the extra weight. I checked around and found this at Home Depot (Canada): http://www.homedepot.ca/product/beadboard-paintable-wallpaper-prepasted/811470. Company also offers "plain" paintable wallpaper as well as other "finishes". This is the heavy stuff that you can apply right over "paneled" walls. I'm going to give it a try: beadboard on lower wall, chair rail, and plain wallpaper above, all painted.

My wife and I visited our local HD to check out samples. The product looked good. Be interesting to see when I get to that stage.

Just my $0.02.