Valspar oil based enamel paint

I'm not a big fan of Valspar interior paint. It seems to go on thin.

People here have used Rustoleum, Ace oil enamel or Tractor Supply paint on the cheap end and PPG or Sherwin Williams auto paint at the high end. I haven't heard anybody mention Valspar.

The primer has to be for non ferrous metals (aluminum). Prep is key.

I did a thread on a $200 paint job, which I'm sure you've seen. I was happy with the results.


 

nccamper what sheen do you use on yours? Satin? Semi-gloss? I had read somewhere that high gloss shows imperfections more?

Something I painted yesterday with Ace paint for metal. You can see it has a gloss but not a see-your-face-in-it quality like auto paint.



If you're doing new skin and $800 is in the budget for paint, definitely go with auto paint. If you want brighter colors cheap, I'd consider Rustoleum of Tractor Paint. I haven't used either but others have had good results with them.

 As I see paint, it comes down to how much you want your camper to be worth when you're done. If you're going to spend $2000 on new skin, you may as well spend $800 on auto paint. For that matter, you may as well spend $2000-$3000 for a professional paint job.  But if you go that far you better be sure that your camper is worth $15,000.

 One last thing I'll say about paint, from what I can tell the cheaper options are really a 5 to 10 year paint job.  Auto paint could last for 25 years if it's done right. But at the end of 15 years (Max) you have to replace the putty tape anyway. Which means you'll probably destroy the paint job, especially if you painted the jrail.

Have you tried this brand before?

Yet another crap thing about California... Went into ace last weekend and no enamel paint whatsoever. Thinking about making the drive to tractor supply, but they probably paint farm implements with watercolors here too. My truck was made in California and the paint has rusted through on the roof and can be flicked off with a fingertip in other places.

vikx has had good results with Rustoleum but you don't a lot of color options.