I talked to an engineer friend of mine that said that
a polished airstream will remain cooler than a painted
white one. The thing is, he never had to polish an
airstream.
If I were going to paint part of an airstream white,
I'd use automotive grade paint. I like House of
Kolor, primarily because it's one of the easiest to
find online, and less expensive than paints like PPG.
you could sand and prime, followed by straight white
and a clear coat, but I'd recommend an adhesion
promoter.
so sand, then adhesion promoter, primer, white (BC26)
and (UC35) clear. you can tell I've thought about
this too - but keep in mind some of these products are
catalyzed paints, so wear the proper breathing
apparatus.
if you were thinking about using a rattle can, don't
do it - you'll be really disappointed when the paint
chalks up and starts to fall off in chips.
Toby
> Saw an airstream with the top half (just beneath the
> windows) up painted an off white color. Looked kind
> of
> like a half Argosy-half Airstream. Reminded me of
> the
> conversation awhile back that the new AS come with
> the
> center top panel painted white for reflection of
> radiant heat.
>
> Since it's hotter than heck here and most places we
> plan to go in the summer, I have been thinking about
> painting the center panel of the roof white on our
> ,69
> Sovereign and wondered what kind of paint and what
> kind of preparation and application would work best.
>
> The silver window film that I ordered for the
> windows
> came in today and I will be putting that on over the
> next week or so. The inside the window reflectors
> that
> I built didn't work out so well. Besides being a
> pain
> to keep in place, they don't seem to offer much
> cooling assist.
>
> I am also considering putting some kind of
> insulation
> blanket material on the walls inside the overhead
> compartments.
>
> I hate the heat! We plan on taking whatever measures
> necessary to keep it cool in the summer. Warm in the
> winter would be nice too, but I can always wear
> heavier clothes or cover up with extra blankets.