Community Forums

Gocoffeer · 10-07-2013, 08:57 AM

Dear MH Owners: I am thinking about painting my carpet like motorhome ceiling to cover up the spots where water damage has stained the material and the cleanup still left a nasty stain. Has anyone ever gone that direction? I have done my research and have noted that you can successfully paint the carpet material.....my bathroom is first. As nasty as it looks....I think with respect to the area ...I can not do any worse if I hate my job. Will let you know if you are thinking of doing this too....how it came out. Promise to take photos of this job. Am selecting a color close to the egg shell carpet color.

doc · 10-07-2013, 09:12 AM

Hmmmm? Never heard of painting carpet but it might work. Potential problem will be the stains bleeding right through the paint. Wonder if Kilz makes anything that would help.

bertnspike · 10-07-2013, 02:50 PM

I would start with a coat of water-based Kilz. Stain will bleed through otherwise.

Susan

MJFZ · 10-07-2013, 02:56 PM

Google carpet dye, lots of resources and products for dying carpets.

Mike

DAN L · 10-08-2013, 02:07 AM

i bought rattle cans of fabric paint from Joannes fabric store. it worked ok for seat covers.

Ray,IN · 10-08-2013, 07:01 AM

Been there-done that last spring. It does not work as expected, although it does look better. Now that it is painted (the stuff from JoAnn fabric) our choices are very limited. If we could have a do-over we would have a commercial carpet and drapery cleaning service clean the ceiling "carpet". Some folks reported success with using the Bissell "Little Green Machine" spot carpet cleaner; might have to try that first, they are only $100 at WalMart.

Gocoffeer · 10-08-2013, 01:07 PM

Ray... i have a great extractor....went at my stains with that device...in my case the tannin's from the luan wood bled nasty coloring into the affected locations. We bought this rig with the issue knowing we would be tackling the stains. I am not going to use the stuff at JoAnn's... going to use some latex paint right off the mix from Lowes. Doing the bathroom first.... when I post the photos you will agree... paint of any type will be better than what I am working with. I might take the advice and use a KILZ or Zinsser primer on the area first. I will photo the job as promised for everyone to see. We are breaking newer ground here..and I for one have never attempted to paint a carpet material. But i have read many little blurbs on where it is a recognized technique

Chuck13 · 10-08-2013, 01:25 PM

I assume you would spray paint? How do you spray up? My ceiling still looks good, amazing since it's white, but I have been wondering how to keep it that way.

Gocoffeer · 10-08-2013, 01:49 PM

Chuck...I am rolling the paint on....and brushing in the places that I can not get my roller.....lots of taping and papering. This will be just like doing a wall. Stay tuned for the photos and look at the results or smile if this did not turn out well for me.

calhyatt · 10-08-2013, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gocoffeer

Dear MH Owners: I am thinking about painting my carpet like motorhome ceiling to cover up the spots where water damage has stained the material and the cleanup still left a nasty stain. Has anyone ever gone that direction? I have done my research and have noted that you can successfully paint the carpet material.....my bathroom is first. As nasty as it looks....I think with respect to the area ...I can not do any worse if I hate my job. Will let you know if you are thinking of doing this too....how it came out. Promise to take photos of this job. Am selecting a color close to the egg shell carpet color.

Have you tried OXYclean in a spray bottle to see if you can minimize the stains. Maybe a commercial outfit with a steam extraction device. It would work upside down. Cover floors with plastic.... ??? This is a tough job you are tackling....Good luck. Send pictures......processes... I bet there is more than one operator out there that has the same problems....

Gocoffeer · 10-08-2013, 02:49 PM

We did a oxyclean area.... it lightened the stain a bit but not enough.... we did a mild bleach solution.... also did a nice job ...but not enough.... now it is time for a coverage. I have high hope here.... I bought a quart of Zinsser Perma-White anti mold stain blocking paint and had it tinted just a little into the egg shell color area. But really close to the off white that existed on the nice part of the ceiling in the non affected areas. I will go to town on the bathroom Friday.

FIRE UP · 10-08-2013, 09:09 PM

Gocoffeer,
I've been following this thread on and off for a bit now. Now, we purposely did not purchase a coach with "carpeted" ceilings for the very reason you, and what appears, many others, are dealing with. And that is, potential problems with either stains or, just plain dirty ceilings due to normal operating conditions. So, sorry to hear of your situation. I was wondering, is there a possible replacement fabric/carpet that is identical to the fabric/carpet that you have for ceiling material? Has anyone looked for something like that?

My thoughts here are, instead of painting it, would it be possible for knife cut, a section at a time, say, like 12"x12" or whatever would work, and, replace both the foam underlayment and, the carpeted material? Just some thoughts here.
Scott

Ray,IN · 10-08-2013, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Gocoffeer,
I've been following this thread on and off for a bit now. Now, we purposely did not purchase a coach with "carpeted" ceilings for the very reason you, and what appears, many others, are dealing with. And that is, potential problems with either stains or, just plain dirty ceilings due to normal operating conditions. So, sorry to hear of your situation. I was wondering, is there a possible replacement fabric/carpet that is identical to the fabric/carpet that you have for ceiling material? Has anyone looked for something like that?

My thoughts here are, instead of painting it, would it be possible for knife cut, a section at a time, say, like 12"x12" or whatever would work, and, replace both the foam underlayment and, the carpeted material? Just some thoughts here.
Scott

The Winnebago catalog lists ceiling carpet replacement material. The bummer is, the material was installed prior to anything else installed in the bare coach. I suppose a really good upholsterer could cut N fit and make a re-do look right, I couldn't.

Gocoffeer · 10-09-2013, 08:28 AM

Fire-Up/Ray: I looked at the whole picture before deciding upon the paint carpet thing. I have an older model rig...it is being purposed as a cycling platform for my wife and I...we converted the interior to store, service and use to secure our newly found habit of recumbent trike riding. Most of the sweet home like amenities are gone, carpet GONE (hated it)... dinette GONE (hated it even more)..... extra captains chair in living area GONE (liked it but needed the space). The RV was purchased to be this cycling home for our now getting older selves. We do not want to make it fancy....just nicer. So .... where there is water damage...instead of going to a wonderful RV rebuilder like Ernie Elkberg....who could most likely give me back something so beautiful to take my breath away.... I did some research on my options.... I am not going to pull the cabinets off the wall....cut the ceiling away.... strip foam and resurface (but all these are awesome options).... I am going to hide the stains as cheaply as possible. I did a little test area last night and looked at it before heading off this morning...I AM SMILING. This is going to work my readers. I think it will come out better than my expectations. If I am patient and apply the paint properly....my results will leave this Rig looking so much better. Let me finish and post my photos... I think some of you might have questions after you see my results. Others.... not so many questions. But this is a least expensive solution to a unsightly concern that I could just leave alone....and I am not because it bothers me.