Any info on sanding and painting alum siding

[Johnnyd111]

So i plan to give her a paint job, the current paint on there now needs to be sanded. I was just going to take a metal brush and my drill to it but then thought that might be too harsh. I have an old electric buffer, do you think if i got some light 3m nylon fiber pads for it, it would do the trick and not be too harsh (or too light) on the aluminum.

Also, i was just going to give it a spray can paint job (as I cant afford anything else). I will prime it, but is there a recommended brand of paint? I have access to a professional sprayer meant for regular use.. can I use that for automotive paint?

[want2camp]

If the paint that's on it is original and NOT peeling or flaking then I would just give it a lite scuff with a scotchbrite or 400 wet/dry paper to remove any oxidation and to provide some "teeth" for your new paint to adhere to. If you remove it all the way down to bare aluminum then you need to start from scratch with metal conditioner for aluminum then primer and paint. Many a car/truck have been painted over the years with a wet sand then spray and looked good and lasted for years. Don't use to coarse a grit, you don't need to leave big sanding scratches for the paint to stick and the thinner the paint, like rattle can paint, the finer the paper. If using rattle cans then 600 grit paper might be better.

[Senior Chief]

You might find that spray cans are actually an expensive way to paint anything; coverage is miserable when you're talking about the square footage of an RV in the outdoors.

Take a look at the $50 Paint Job for an alternative...

[Outlaw45]

do the $50 paint job. that is the way to go.

Outlaw

[SyrenSkywolf]

I concur with painting with spray cans being an expensive way to go. I repainted a small pickup I had as an unemployed teenager, buying a couple cans here and there as I could afford it, and trust me, you use a LOT of cans. Can't even begin to imagine doing it on an rv.

[Johnnyd111]

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. I think I will try that $50 paint job. The paint is flaking a little. I gave it a wash with a nice stiff bristle brush last night, there were cream colored chips all over my driveway.

[want2camp]

While the $50 paint job is an alternative and it has been done successfully on cars a motorhome is an awful lot of vehicle to wet sand between each coat when you have to apply 7 to 10 coats. Then to achieve any kind of shine you need to finnish with a buffer and buffing compound. Using that on a coach with all those raised ridges will cause you to "burn through" your new paint to bare metal in no time. If you can get a spray gun you can spray rustoleum by thinning it a bit and adding some "japan drier". It speeds up the drying process of oil based paints.

If you have a Tractor Supply or a Northern Tool nearby they carry gallons of tractor and implement paints that are less than $40 a gallon which is more like automotive paint and better than rustoleum.

[W4RLR]

I concur with the Rustoleum white. It is a near perfect match for the white paint on the aluminum siding on my Jayco. It's one of the ways I keep it looking good for a sixteen year old trailer.