Exterior Painting of Motorhome

House paint would likely not stick well. Nearly impossible to get a passable sheen on the smooth surface without lots of lumps, brush or spray marks.

You might get by with marine enamel. I have used it on a boat - roll on and smooth with a brush. It probably costs more per quart than good house enamel costs for a gallon.

How about satin auto primer in a color, like a rat street rod?

I hear some people go to Mexico for paint jobs.

Matt B

I don't think any nice paint job will be cheap. The previous owner of my 94 Bounder painted the bottom half a dark Mercedes colour and removed the original stripes and kangaroo logos and replaced with matching stripes. This has taken many years off the look of the original. He owned a body shop so the cost is unknown. I feel the colour changes are worth it if you want to keep an older rv on the road.

Have you considered the ZEP/Red Max Pro Process/

It did a nice job on our 96 Southwind. It won't eliminate scratches but, it will restore the shine.

It's work but, it's not difficult. The prep work is the key to a successful job.

After you clean and remove the oxidation, use the CAR WAX OF YOUR CHOICE. Some don't like the idea of floor wax on their rig.

I used Red Max Pro, Zep 3 is the same thing.

I would try this process before I attempted to paint it myself.

Let us know what you decide.

Frank,
I feel your pain as I was just working to get my 1988 Prevost painted. RV shops are $10,000+ (closer to 15 or 20) but that's not what I want. I just want a good single color or 1 color plus a strip or 2 but no one will offer a reasonable price claiming that the paint costs $800/gallon. I think I may have to take the RV to Mexico. I just want Earl Scheib to do the work not Michelangelo!
There is a video on line about a guy who painted a Mustang with canned paint but it was a lot of work and multiple layers with sanding and buffing to get a smooth gloss finish. You might want to try to Google that. I have painted portions of my RV with a rattle can and the results have been excellent but I don't know how you could do the RV sections at a time and get a good result. Please keep us informed if you try something as I really, really need my home painted!

Frank,

Not to change your approach, but you aren't that far from Rocky Point Mexico. Maybe you should consider a quick trip down there for a paint job. When I was down there last year they were re-doing strips and whole paint jobs on several rigs and they looked pretty nice when they were done as compared to what they looked like when they came in. I can't remember how much they charged, but I did speak to someone who was having his decal stripes taken off and painted on and he was very happy with the process and price. I think you can even stay in your motorhome while they do the work on-site.

Hope this helps. Just another thought and approach to the problem.

John

House paint isn't going to cut it. That would be a mess to scrape off later. A cheap paint job could be done with a roller and rustoleum or better yet, thinned and sprayed on. Any paint job looks better the farther you get away from it. How far back do you want to stand?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTO3q7Bpkbw

Cost for decent automotive paint and supplies will probably set you back 500 dollars. On top of that, you will need to build a spray booth, get a respirator etc. Modern automotove paints can be extremely toxic, so spraying wihotut proper safety equipment is out of the question. How good will it look? Depends on how good of a painter you are, and how much prep work you put in.

TNGW1500SE wrote:
House paint isn't going to cut it. That would be a mess to scrape off later. A cheap paint job could be done with a roller and rustoleum or better yet, thinned and sprayed on. Any paint job looks better the farther you get away from it. How far back do you want to stand?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTO3q7Bpkbw

With good surface preparation (which is key in any case, and quite labor intensive unfortunately), and a little bit of care, you can indeed get a remarkably decent paint job with Rustoleum and a roller. That's probably the least expensive route to go.

I might be tempted to get the generic equivalent at Tractor Supply and use the catalyst they have, which makes for a harder finish (but also prevents storing leftover mixed paint/catalyst). It would presumably be a little more durable that way. It's also an accessible place to get several colors of enamel in gallons at not unreasonable prices. The colors are unsurprisingly mostly things like John Deere Green, so it's an added bonus if you are especially fond of some particular brand of agricultural equipment.

have you asked a shop that reworks large trucks. not cars and pickups.

but paint is costly and Labor it even more. 60 percent of time is getting unit ready for painting... clean, strip, unbolt, mask. if damage.. fixing. even small stuff... scratches will show thru new paint.. so must be fixed.

forget house paint.. will not stick, will not shine. and even worse to remove.
rustoleum is not much better. OK for frames but not much else.

IDK what to tell the op
But that $800 gallon sounds like imron aircraft paint
Or maybe the military grade paint