I didn't use primer on the sides, except for a few spots that were bare aluminium. For those few I used Rustolium Spray Primer. The color was applied in 2 coats of Rustolium Bright White, right from the spray can. The same goes for the stripes, which are Rustolium Burgundy spray.

I’m including a close picture of the front, so you can see the finish on the paint.



I hope this answers your questions Kit. If you would like any more information or more detail, please don't hesitate to ask!

Bob

PS: Some of our before and after photos on Picasa

The roof was next. Everything was removed, I scrubbed the aluminium with straight Simple Green and Scotch pads to get through the dirt and oxidized paint. Again came the Rustolium Rusty Metal Primer. This is a fish-oil based product which forms a good air-tight seal on the surface. The top coat included 2 coats of bright, high gloss white. I wanted the paint nice and thick on the roof, so both primer and top coats were applied with a medium-nap roller.

The sides were cleaned the same as the roof with the Simple Green and Scotch pads. The stripes were the challenge here. I pulled off what I could by hand (not much). 3M makes a rubber wheel for the end of a drill that is used to "rub off" auto stickers. This worked on the parts I needed to remove. It leaves just the glue, but this cleans off with acetone. The upper and rear stripes and the rear half of the camp side stripes were faded but intact. I painted right over these. I masked around the Sunline logos. (con't)

Thank you for the kind words Kit! Kathy and I worked very hard to bring our 1985 T-1750 back to life. I'll answer your questions in order, and then give a bit more detail:

1 - All the paint is good old Restolium.
2 - The paint has not faded a bit in the sunlight, nor from the straight Simple Green I use to clean the black streaks.
3 - I did not replace the stripes with tape. What you see is paint.
4 - I painted the entire trailer: black frame, white body and roof and the burgundy stripes.

This unit sat unused for about 15 years before we got it, so the paint felt like dust (not to mention an ugly tan), and the stripes were curled, cracked, faded and pretty much falling off the rig.

I started with the frame, wire-brushing it down to get through any rust and chipping paint. I used Rustolium Rusty Metal Primer, followed by a gloss black top coat. These were applied with a brush. (con't)

Nice job on the exterior paint. What kind of spray paint did you use? How's it holding up to the sunlight? I just bought a T1850 and am very happy with the shape its in except for the stripes on the outside and some exterior lamp covers. Did you replace them too? Did you paint the white of the trailer too?