DIY MH paint job?

A lot of good info here...PPG Delstar Arcylic enamel is about $300.00 a gal. It is BEAUTIFUL PAINT which does'nt demand any clear coat....
Bubbles and pinholes are normally associated with laying on coats before the previous coats have released the reducers, thats why you wait inbetween coats..... called POPPING, a dreaded situation which ruins the finish.......The reducer vapors are going to come out of your paint regardless....if you dont wait the correct time between coats it will still come out thru your previous coat and POP your finish..the correct reducer for your temp should avoid this.......and waiting between coats...
When I do a show car I do it in a homemade plastic bubble booth with adaquate ventilation.... NEVER, NEVER, EVER breath these paint fumes...they contain isocynates which can kill you and most absorbed thru the eyes and skin..... I wear long sleeve shirt , a great breathing mask, gloves and goggles... and hat.....
Hope this helps in your decision to paint your MH.

PPG Acrylic Enamel is beautiful paint and is flexible. Mack Trucks uses it. Put 3 coats of clear on top or 1 coat clear 1 coat silver metal flake and another clearcoat.Painted airplanes and a couple of tricks one can use. If you have small bubbles in the paint, heat it to about 175 degrees in an oven, sand after each coat w/500 grit to make paint adhere better and use tacky cloth to remove all dust after you wash it.

I had a friend that painted a Cessna 150 using a short nap roller. Don't know what kind of paint he used but it looked pretty darn good when he finished. Much better than the old peeling and faded paint on it before he started. http://forums.iboats.com/trailers-towing/painting-trailer-foam-roller-577823.html The above link is talking about painting a boat trailer but gives you a idea of the process. 1 more link and I am through. http://www.ehow.com/how_6946585_paint-car-foam-roller.html

Yes you can paint them similar to an auto. For me, I would not care if it looked pro or not.... I mean, sometimes you just can't make it look worse. lol

fourmat wrote:
This is not a job for beginners you will have thousands of dollars in paint and materials for a job done correctly You also will need a pressure fed paint application so you can mix and spray several gallons of paint. Enclosed building what type of ventallation will you use? The devil is in the details and doing this alone you will have weeks of prep work, masking,sanding and primeing. Then everything has to be perfectly clean dry and tacked I was in the auto body biz for years and would not tackle it.

And that is why you do it in sections so that you do not need to mix and spray gallons of paint and have weeks of prep work at one time. RV's have many places where you can have a paint break, both vertically and horizontally. Painting one section at a time will still allow you to use your coach between painting periods and also allow you to purchase exactly how much paint you need, as you need it.

This is not a job for beginners you will have thousands of dollars in paint and materials for a job done correctly You also will need a pressure fed paint application so you can mix and spray several gallons of paint. Enclosed building what type of ventallation will you use? The devil is in the details and doing this alone you will have weeks of prep work, masking,sanding and primeing. Then everything has to be perfectly clean dry and tacked I was in the auto body biz for years and would not tackle it.

dieharder wrote:
Your motorhome is stored in an enclosed building. I see your first problem being ventilation, the other being cleanliness of the air. The paint is not something you want to be inhaling, and any dust will ruin your job immediately. Doing it outside is just asking for trouble, for the same reason - one gust of wind and you're screwed by any dust kicked up.

I have no experience painting, except some work I did in a motorcycle detailing and customizing class I took in college. One minor flaw will stick out like an obvious sore thumb once the paint is on and make you wish you had paid a pro to do it in the first place. There is a lot of work involved to have something go wrong and have to re-do it. If it were me, even having one of the best painters in Ottawa having showed me the ropes, I'd fork over the $ to him to make sure it's done right in the first place.

A little dust blown into the paint, or a bug, even if you use urethane paint, can be easily wet sanded once the paint has cured in a few weeks. Most shops wet sand their paint jobs anyway to remove any flaws and to give the "mirror like" shine that people like. Trust me, mirror like finishes do not magically come out of a spray gun. They are usually the result of after painting sanding and polishing.

Your motorhome is stored in an enclosed building. I see your first problem being ventilation, the other being cleanliness of the air. The paint is not something you want to be inhaling, and any dust will ruin your job immediately. Doing it outside is just asking for trouble, for the same reason - one gust of wind and you're screwed by any dust kicked up.

I have no experience painting, except some work I did in a motorcycle detailing and customizing class I took in college. One minor flaw will stick out like an obvious sore thumb once the paint is on and make you wish you had paid a pro to do it in the first place. There is a lot of work involved to have something go wrong and have to re-do it. If it were me, even having one of the best painters in Ottawa having showed me the ropes, I'd fork over the $ to him to make sure it's done right in the first place.

pictures of your finished job,,, anyone???

I FORGOT TO ADD THAT JOB WOULD BE $10,000 LABOR IF I DID IT FOR SOME ONE ELSE....FOR A TOTAL OF $14,000........
tom