The paint wars

The last remaining enormous task to be completed on the RR was to paint the exterior. It is something that I have thought about and been gathering information on since the very beginning. Nothing can ruin a trailer's appearance like a cheap paint job. Ideally, I would pay the $2,000. and have it painted professionally. Seeing as I'm somewhat poor and very determined to do everything myself, that was not an option.

My fellow trailer fanatics really came thru for me with painting advice. Linda, from Oregon, has used a Wagner Airless to paint several trailers and was very pleased with the results. She gave me many tips and ideas for getting the job done. Others warned that the Wagner's output could leave a lot of splatter and can easily lead to runs in the paint. Then there was the trailer that Jerry and Francis painted completely with rattle cans. I saw their '69 Cardinal at the Casini Rally last September and was very impressed with the job they had done. And I knew how to use a spray can! I bought a Wagner and a gallon of aluminum primer and figured I'd give it a try. And if I wasn't happy with the primed areas, I could apply the color with rattle cans.

I spent hours and hours washing and lightly sanding the RR with a Scotch Brite pad. Some of the original paint had oxidized so badly that the wash water looked like chalky milk. I needed to get it down to clean aluminum for the primer to adhere well. In other areas the paint was still in good shape. I would leave that intack and avoid having to prime those areas. Now it was ready for paint.

I had a window of good weather and decided to get 'er done. I spent 7 hours on Saturday just masking the RR. And that is with only the windows and door installed. I had to cover the red stripe and anything else I didn't want the white paint applied to. Including the tires! By some stroke of bad luck, the next morning a wind storm kicked up. So I figured I'd be patient and give it a day ... NOT! I'd do a test spray on some large sheets of cardboard. The Wagner covered an area quickly but it did leave too much splatter. And if just a tad too much primer hit one area, it tended to run. Well, this just won't do. On to plan "B". Over to Home Depot for about 12 cans of Rustoleum bare metal primer and 12 cans of Rustoleum gloss white paint. By late afternoon, the wind had increased. And so had my lack of patience. I figured I'd just hit the back end of the trailer. Wisely, I moved my red truck down the road a ways. I primed and painted the back with a coat of the fresh, white paint. What a difference. The wind made the job a bit tricky, but I got it done in less than an hour. I caught the evening weather report and it seems that high winds were forecast for the entire week. Damn. There was no way I'd let Mother Nature get in the way of my project. So the long story short, I did one section at a time. I was methodical and tried to keep my painting even and consistent. That worked for about the first three cans. Then my achy wrists and hands started to rebel. Take 4 Advil and get back to work! Each day for a week, I painted one section. Allowing 48 hours in between coats, I went back over everything a second time. Home Depot checked my ID and took my fingerprints when I went back for the second dozen cans of paint. What did they think I was doing with 24 cans of paint? Having a "good time"??? The roof was the real test. I'm up there, on my hands and knees, wind whipping like a son-of-a-gun, trying to get the paint onto the surface. I think about 70% of the product blew away. My black lab Nani and the horses have a few white speckles on their coats. Gives them "character"!! I tried using a piece of cardboard to act as a wind shield. All this did was create a back draft of swirling paint for me to breathe. Bottom line, the white sections are all painted. It actually looks OK. Not great. Not bad. But for now, it will have to do. Next part to paint is the red stripe and the frame. I was hoping to start that tomorrow but I see that the wind is up again. Maybe I should be patient and wait ..........