Hi
It is, for all practical purposes finished. I am satisfied with the results because they did what I wanted. There are several things that might be done differently. When I started this I only wanted to make the damaged places better than they were. I used the Ace hardware paint because they could match the old color and it was cheap. Clear coating was an option only. I just wanted 20" 60mph perfect!
As the job progressed the paint looked nice and I kept going all of the way around. The I decided it really needed a clear coat, partly to help keep it on and partly because it really made the color and shine nicer!
Some of the RV with the color only.
Masked and ready to shoot clear. You can see the foam that I used to repair the rotted out walls.
Here are some finished sections. 3 clear coats min. Nice shine!
Here is an important item for shooting enamel paint in S FL. It is a decent sized water trap and it is located near the business end of the hose. I used to keep one attached to the compressor end and I had a terrible water problem. It has to be far enough so that the air cools before it gets there.
Right on the hose end there is a filter and a pressure adjuster. It has to be right up against the gin connection to be accurate.
Here is the mix I used. The Iced coffee in the back goes into me first. Then I mix 4 parts clear with 2 parts Acetone and a 10th of a cap of Japan Dryer. Folks up north can skip the dryer. Acetone is an odd thinner but Rustoleum specifies it. many people swear by mineral spirits instead. I tried the mineral spirits and I have one hatch that I have to sand and repaint later on in the week.
Here are the bumper and some odds and ends I also cleared. Did not spend much time on the bumper. I have been looking for a used one to replace it so not important.
So there are the results. I think it will be fine. I never asked for perfect and now I am seeing all of the parts that are not perfect! One sick puppy here I will tell you!. Here are the things I will do differently next time.
I used the alkyd enamel (water based) only because it was the only inexpensive paint that could be easily and locally color matched. Then I went and painted the whole bottom anyway. Go figure. I could have chosen a color from the Rustoleum Automobile paint colors in the first place. $25 a can instead of $16 but is sprays better and I could have run 2 coats of that and 3 of clear one after the other and not had to sand between or wait for drying and then re-mask again. The alkyd is hard to sand and can leave visible marks from sanding. It takes a week to dry and is trickier to spray.
If I used the alkyd again I would have done two coats even though one looks fine and seems thick. I always seem to hit the only thin spot when scuffing the paint for clear coating.
There you go! My cheap paint job. Got a nice tan, the RV looks good and I learned a lot.
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