Repairing Paint on Our Dynasty

[zmotorsports]

Originally Posted by rhusak

Mike..
Thanks for the info..
Ron

No problem Ron, glad to help.

Mike.

[gunrunner]

Originally Posted by zmotorsports

Thanks. I love the paint job on your trailer to match your Dynasty. I had some stripes along our last trailer to tie in with the coach but our current trailer is plain white. I debadged it, removed all of the sticker and it just looks like a large bar of soap behind the coach.

Mike.

the trailer has a vinyl wrap .with suv protection .I did paint my A/C covers .satellite dome Freddy

[Steve N Sal]

Great job. Want to work on ours?

[DDMA]

Thanks for sharing the photos and the paint you used.

How did you blend the clear coat?

[zmotorsports]

Originally Posted by DDMA

Thanks for sharing the photos and the paint you used.

How did you blend the clear coat?

The only place I blended the clear coat was on the gray stripe on the front slide out. All of the others I either broke it at the ends of the panel and clearcoated the entire slide or broke it at intersecting paint lines.

For the gray when blending clear I scuff a few inches past where I will actually end my clear. I paint and blend the color. Then just before starting the clear process, I mix up a mixture of approx. 5-10% clear and 90-95% DT reducer. I spray this just past where I am planning on stopping the clear but still in the area where I have scuffed with approx. 600-800 grit (or gray Scotchbrite pad). This creates a softening of the original clear slightly but has just enough clear in it that it doesn't flash off too fast and all is lost.

I then clear the area normally blending it out to the area I previously hit with the over-reduced clearcoat. I then have another small detail gun with straight (100%) DT reducer in it and switch to that gun and "melt" the edge of where I left off with the clear and the over-reduced clear. I do this on the next two coats and end up at the end of the scuffed section with straight DT reducer melting the edge down.

It sounds a lot more in depth or difficult than it really is. I hope I explained it well enough so you can visualize the process. This makes for a very smooth transition that requires very little polishing to make a seamless repair. I didn't want to have to do very much buffing/polishing as it would put me back into the same situation as before, making the clear coat so thin that it looses it's UV protection.

Mike.

[myliladog]

WOW looks great I'll call you when it is time to do mine.

[zmotorsports]

Originally Posted by myliladog

WOW looks great I'll call you when it is time to do mine.

I'll pass, but thanks for thinking of me. It is a pain. I really didn't want to do my own let alone anyone elses.

I thought about just living with the peeling clear coat for another year or so until we decide to have the entire coach painted but it just isn't in my make-up. It was causing me so much anxiety and frustration every time I looked at it or thought about it.

The paint is still far from perfect but at least it doesn't have big gaping patches where the clear coat is missing.

Mike.

[DDMA]

Originally Posted by zmotorsports

The only place I blended the clear coat was on the gray stripe on the front slide out. All of the others I either broke it at the ends of the panel and clearcoated the entire slide or broke it at intersecting paint lines. For the gray when blending clear I scuff a few .

I just saw that. Just wanted to learn your technique. So in general, wherever clear was pulled you got all the way down to fiberglass then sealer, blend base and cleared? And how did you terminate towards where the trims were? I know on mine caulkings are also painted. Or so I think. I noticed you removed the caulking, painted and recaulked? One more question when you are breaking where different colors meet I suppose you scuffed exactly to that intersection? Any good tips doing that? Tape it and get right next to it? I am going to be doing this in the near future. I have painted before but never had to seriously blend anything this big or painted anything outside. Any tips for that? I apologize for all the questions but I finally found the RIGHT person to ask. Thank you.

[zmotorsports]

Originally Posted by DDMA

I just saw that. Just wanted to learn your technique. So in general, wherever clear was pulled you got all the way down to fiberglass then sealer, blend base and cleared? And how did you terminate towards where the trims were? I know on mine caulkings are also painted. Or so I think. I noticed you removed the caulking, painted and recaulked? One more question when you are breaking where different colors meet I suppose you scuffed exactly to that intersection? Any good tips doing that? Tape it and get right next to it? I am going to be doing this in the near future. I have painted before but never had to seriously blend anything this big or painted anything outside. Any tips for that? I apologize for all the questions but I finally found the RIGHT person to ask. Thank you.

I don't mind at all. On the majority of the coaches the first color painted is the one that is the least amount. In my case the black was painted first, design masked, then the gray, mask and then the sandstone. Then the entire thing was clear coated. So when sanding you will hit the last color painted first, in my case the sandstone.

I sanded and went though the sandstone which I am painting the majority of. In a few spots I went through the gray and had to paint/blend depending on the area. The black for the most part I didn't even go through so I just used my small detail gun to touch up the couple of those areas.

At all of the edges such as the trim for the bedroom slide and the upper and lower moldings, I peeled the caulking back, sanded right into the void to ensure proper adhesion as well as coverage. Afterwards I will re-caulk with Geocel 2300 which is OEM for Monaco and I am sure many others. It is paintable but I chose to do it the way the factory did.

For the areas where I am painting and clearing up to an existing paint edge but not wanting to disturb it, I tape exactly on the line, then fold a piece of sandpaper and sand right up to the tape. Once I get the entire area sanded I blow it off, grab a gray Scotchbrite pad and scuff over the edge to just give it a last scuff prior to removing the masking tape. I use 3M blue fine line tape for a clean, crisp edge for the painting process though.

Let me reiterate two things. First I am not intentionally getting down to the fiberglass. It is not necessary. What is necessary however, is to get all of the peeling clearcoat off down to the paint. The paint is very thin in comparison to the clearcoat so just breathing over the paint with the DA sander once you get through the clear will go right through the base color and to the black color underneath and then to the OE sealer.

For sanding around the edges I fold some 400 grit paper and use a block out away from the trim or paint edge (whatever I am sanding up to) and then once I get a couple of inches away I switch over to the DA sander using 400 grit paper. Then it goes quite fast.

I hope that helps and when I am painting the next large section I will try to shoot a few more detailed pictures if I remember and think there is something that will help.

Mike.

[DDMA]

Thanks for all the information. Please do take photos. Any tips spraying In open? I suppose find a calm reasonably warm not hot weather?

What is your thought on blender spray in a can?

[zmotorsports]

Originally Posted by DDMA

Thanks for all the information. Please do take photos. Any tips spraying In open? I suppose find a calm reasonably warm not hot weather?

What is your thought on blender spray in a can?

No real tips. You are just at the mercy of the weather.

I have not tried the blender in a can but I have heard good things about it from my paint supplier. They tell me quite a few people use it.

Mike.

[zmotorsports]

Well that is one project that I am glad is DONE!!! Over the Easter weekend I was able to get the remaining two large sections of the coach painted and clear coated.

Here is the large mid section after I sanded, prepped and masked everything. The factory had installed the refrigerator trim ring and painted over it. I didn't like that as it had a paint bridge where the trim ring and the coach side. This paint bridge started to crack a few years ago and had some pieces of paint and clear coat come out and has bugged me ever since. I decided to paint the side of the coach and the trim ring separate and then install the trim ring and caulk afterwards for a cleaner looking job.


This is the only section where I had to blend the clear coat. It was a small, approx. 3" wide, area under the bedroom slide.


Areas where I sanded through sealed with PPG's DP48LF.


Here the gray stripe was painted.


Refrigerator trim ring.


The black and gray were masked off and now the sandstone was applied.


Colors unmasked and clear coat applied.




Clear coat blended in nicely.


Completely unmasked.


The area over the windshield was probably the worst. There was hardly any clear left. Here it is sanded down prior to masking.




Masked and sealed with more of PPG's DP48LF.


Gray and clear coat completed.


Next up is a good detailing.

Mike.

[GlennLever]

I want to hire you, great work

[zmotorsports]

Originally Posted by GlennLever

I want to hire you, great work

Thanks for the offer Glenn, but no thanks.

I hate paint work. I only did this to by me a couple of years before having the entire coach painted. I wish I could keep it indoors but that isn't possible so I just have to accept the fact that mother nature takes its' toll on the old girl.

That said, I would much rather have a wrench in my hand than a paint gun, or even better yet I would much rather be standing at the lathe or mill machining parts if I had my way.

Mike.