[VAC] Painting an Airstream

[Jim Bounds <jimbounds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry, I don't get the chance to get over to this list very often and I may 
have come in on this thread somewhere in between but I thought I could add 
something here.

I the shop, we keep an open mind on many things and always look for better 
ways and more efficient systems.  Since I have posted here, we stripped and 
cleared a 35' Airstream motorhome.  We did not use the usual clear that has 
been used in the past, we shot a "high solids clear" product, used 9 
gallons before mixing.  We lost count of the # of coats, the finish would 
blind you.  The customer (what a sport for letting us try this process) was 
overwhelmed with the outcome.

I will tell you though in prepping the aluminum and spraying all of that 
clear we lost our tail in the labor to come up with the finish we 
wanted.  We vowed to try to paint the aluminum next time.

Next time came soon but in an unusual way.  We ran a 75 Argosy 26' coach 
through paint.  It had been stripped to the aluminum so we shot etching 
primer on it and based the coach silver with a black center band and rocker 
panel.  Again we used the high solids clear and the finish came out very 
nice without all of the prep time.  Take a look at the coaches on my web 
site (www.gmccoop.com).

I realize painting the Airstream may be tough to swallow for some and I am 
not saying they are wrong but that Argosy looked bad in its "Hush Puppy" 
brown and in that it had the same recognizable shape as an Airstream, the 
finished coach really looks sharp.  I found it easier to fix problems, 
prep, base and clear to get a nice finish than going through the re clear 
process without paint.

An opinion from someone new to the Airstream family.  Call me crazy, did I 
do something wrong?

Jim Bounds