Steps - Prepping for Painting the RV Endcap

I am posting this as a reminder of the steps I took to prepare the RV for painting the endcap with primer. If I am successful at doing a good job I wanted to document my process so I can repeat it. The steps are the same for painting a bin door as they are for the endcap. This may also help others who might wish to tackle such a project.

PREP STEPS
  1. Wash area to be painted
        a. wash using dawn
        b. Clean any repair area with glass cleaner (sprayway)
        c. then use 70% isopropyl alcohol or wax and grease remover to remove contaminants that can interfere with paint adhesion  
        d. always use lint free shop towels for wiping
2. Repair any bad spots
        a. strip the current finish for any repair areas down to the bare metal/fiberglass
        b. fill imperfections with body filler - Allow filler to harden per directions
        c. DA sand 80 grit to flatten filler
        d. wipe clean with dawn/water

3. Carefully remove any fixtures that are not to be painted (e.g.. tail lights, RV ladder, license plate)
        a. use envelopes for screws and loose parts, label envelope accordingly
        b. remove any caulk entirely from surface (a flat edged razor blade works best)
        c. use Goo Gone or acetone to get any residual caulk off

4. sanding the old finish off
        a. DA with 180 to smooth chips or filler and to get old clearcoat off
        b. sand with 240 grit to get rid of 180 scratches and last of clearcoat
        c. sand with 320 grit to get rid of 240 scratches and to smooth out old paint
        d. for hard to get spots such as edges, use maroon scuff pad equiv. to 400 grit

The above steps are the most time consuming but how well you prepare the surface for paint will be reflected in the final product. This is not the place to cut corners.Remember any deep scratches from 180 grit or imperfections will be seen in the final paint job.

More Sanding on the Endcap

I have been busy sanding the back of the RV. It has taken countless hours of sanding to remove all the paint but I have made great progress.I began sanding with 80 grit sandpaper to remove the clear coat which was damaged while knowing I had to really get down to the surface of the paint.

As I was sanding through the clear coat I switched over to 180 grit to reduce my aggressiveness and to smooth the 80 grit scratches. Once I got down to the old paint I decided it was probably best to remove the paint as well and sand to the the fiberglass

To do that I continued with the 180 grit until I began to see the primer and then I switched to 240 Grit once again moving to a finer grit to smooth the scratches of the 180 grit sandpaper.

Once the primer was wearing through the last grit I chose to use was 320 grit. Once finished with this paper I will have a very smooth surface for application of the first few layers of epoxy primer.

That is where I'm at at this point in time I sanded for hours and hours resulting in a surface as "smooth as a baby's butt" (well maybe not that smooth).Now I am focusing on caulk removal and finishing sanding all the hard to get to spots.

The next step will be to prepare a paint shelter that will protect me from the elements when I start the painting process of the epoxy primer. I will be using an epoxy primer from southern polyurethanes based upon recommendations from a forum I joined.

My paint shelter will be constructed out of 3/4 in. PVC pipe and thin plastic sheeting that is transparent to let the light in. It will be constructed so that it will cover the entire end cap. This will provide me a protected space from the elements such as dust, debris and bugs thus protecting my fresh paint.

So now it's a waiting game and time to buy my final products to get the job done. My plan is to start painting sometime around the 6 or 7th of October!