Painting the Interior

If you are a pro, look away now.


This post is about exactly the type of thing that the pro's don't do.  I'm very happy with my work; it looks clean and new and very comfortable. But if you are a professional restorer, you know what's coming and you're shaking your head. I chose to paint the interior, knowingly, brazenly, unapologetically. And I used latex paint. Latex.

So the problem is that the "paint" from 1962 is a vinyl product called Zolotone. It is actually a really great product and is the ideal paint to use even today. It is applied with a commercial sprayer in multiple coats of different shades and colors. From about a foot away it looks like a uniform color, but get in close and it is really lots of tiny dots - kinda like a Seurat painting. You know the famous one at the park?

A Sunday Afternoon, by Seurat

A close-up of a face in A Sunday Afternoon.

My Sunday Afternoons, by Mark

A close-up of the old Zolotone.

Supposedly, one could wash the Zolotone paint and grime came off like eggs on Teflon. In truth, there was some of that effect way back when I first washed the skins before taking them out. I scrubbed pretty hard. But years and years of grime, cigarette smoke, and cooking stained the walls. Some things just can't be undone. 

The professionals have the equipment, time, and money to restore or respray the Zolatone. I refuse. Next, many amateurs (padawans, if you will) choose to paint with an oil-based paint. There is some anecdotal evidence that oil-based sticks better to the Zolatone. Ppphhhfffftt! Oil-based paints are far more brittle over time and sun exposure affects their color more significantly. I can't imagine putting an oil-based paint into a bouncing-down-the-road, sun-drenched travel-trailer.

Instead, I went to my local Ace Hardware and bought the nicest interior satin latex paint I could. (One of these days I need to write a post about Ace Hardware. The store manager once told me, "I feel like I'm part of your project" because of all the help he's give me. It's true.) Anyway, I purposely bought the highest grade of paint (which I wouldn't normally do) and it wasn't cheap. The results are below.

Before.

After.

Lastly, Eisley is missing from her gravel pad. (Don't worry, it's a good thing.) More on that next time.

Some slob left his garbage in my work site. Oh wait, that was me.