Not Gonna Just Sit on the Sidelines Anymore!

Ziggy Moon · Jun 22, 2013

Watching others share their conversion progress has sort of bummed me out! I've not been able to move forward with my own build because I've been busy with mechanical issues (minor so far, but annoying regardless)....

see this previous thread; https://vanlivingforum.com/post/My-Van-Has-a-Mind-of-its-Own!-Help!!-6343628

My van has needed a paint job for some time now, and since I'm kind of stuck, holding out the funds for an interior build, at least until I'm convinced my mechanical issues have been resolved, well, it just doesn't take much money to break out the sandpaper, jitterbug, and primer to start a 'exterior build' (the painting is a different story, but it'll happen). For the most part, preparing the van for new paint, just gives me something to do. Which also makes me feel like I'm making some sort of progress that I can share with everyone - instead of sitting on the sidelines watching others play with their own builds.  She was originally all white with the typical hard to remove vinyl striping that's applied with seemingly indestructible "steal glue" all around at lower, mid, and top locations of the van. 1993 Dodge B250 Conversion Van (not so converted anymore) ...Ignore The Sand Primer Over-Spray, Seen Everywhere... <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Van011S.jpg" class="bbc_img"> .......The Large Side Windows Are 100% Non-See-Through....... <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Van005S.jpg" class="bbc_img"> .Did I Mention Factory Vinyl Stripes Are A Real Pain To Remove. <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Van006S.jpg" class="bbc_img"> .........Have To Replace Left Bumper Stop........ <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Van007S.jpg" class="bbc_img"> ...Tires Are Over-Sized - 15 Inch - 31 X 10.5... <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Van008S.jpg" class="bbc_img"> .Still Plenty To Do - Climbing On Top To Sand Is One Thing Left. <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Van009S.jpg" class="bbc_img"> .All Dodge Emblems Removed - I Have Two Different Headlights.. <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Van010S.jpg" class="bbc_img"> I'll be painting her all white, someday! Below is sorta similar to what it should look like if/when finished. "Below - This is not my van... it is a pic that was found online" <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Dodge.jpg" class="bbc_img">

DollarJoe67 · Jun 22, 2013

Go Ziggy Go!  I was getting bummed out too.  Every time something haults my progress I get depressed.  One small step at a time to keep up the hype.

coultergeist · Jun 22, 2013

I know how you feel.  Mine is coming along pretty well now, but there were lots of times where progress was much slower than I wanted it to be.  Any little thing actually done makes it feel a whole lot better. You're doing a great job.  I've painted vehicles before and that's no small feat.  A lot of work went into what you've done on the outside so far. Patrick

cleanheart · Jun 22, 2013

I will all come together! looks great so far!

ilovemyvan · Jun 22, 2013

Hi Ziggy, I don't know if you know of Glenn Morrissette's blog tosimplify.net  He is in the process of completely redo a VW. It's very interesting to follow the progress. I'm bringing this up because he used a very interesting product to paint the exterior. I'll paste what he said about it. I hope I'm not doing a big no-no by doing so. You should take a look at his blog to see how great the paint job look. <div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371917306244_1928" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 18pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="yiv4631591707separator" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1371917306244_1927" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">The readership seems to want more details on this tinted bed liner awesomeness, so allow me to elaborate. The stuff is called <a href="http://monstaliner.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Monstaliner</a>, and I think it's ideal for vehicle exteriors because: it's available in a wide range of colors, the texture is nicely rounded and not at all abrasive like other liners, it's totally UV-resistant, won't crack or peel, rolls on very easily, requires only 2 coats, and is reasonably priced (only a little over $400 in materials to paint the entire van).</div><div> Another benefit of Monstaliner over traditional auto paint is that touching up any part of the job down the road is as simple as lightly scuffing up the area and rolling on some more liner. The texture makes it an extremely forgiving material to work with, and the more I think about (and admire) it, I wonder why this is not a popular option outside the hardcore Jeep/4x4 crowd.</div></div>

Ziggy Moon · Jun 22, 2013

@ SoxAndNicole - Yes, I agree, it is an interesting option for painting a vehicle... and I think it's quite cool looking, especially on the V-Dub (love VW's). <img rel="lightbox" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U5G0vWl3-NI/UUAIv44mL-I/AAAAAAAAIpk/ZMWxPy2Ys5M/s400/DSC03200.jpg" class="bbc_img"> However, I'm not sure if 'white' would look all that great!? Hum, I just don't know. It's tempting, maybe another color for my van? But then I'll stand out when trying to go unnoticed. But here is a off whitish/greyish colors they offer; <img rel="lightbox" src="http://www.shop.monstaliner.com/images/13370552886431384284353.jpeg" class="bbc_img"><img rel="lightbox" src="http://www.shop.monstaliner.com/images/1337055463090-1300938031.jpeg" class="bbc_img"> ... Desert Sand................................................... Killer Beej No, the lighter colors are not as impressive in my opinion... what do you think, and what do you think about other colors? Which color/s would serve to keep the heat down and also be fairly unnoticeable ?? Also, I'm not sure how much of this I would need to purchase for my huge van.... just tried calling the company to inquire about amount, etc., but they are closed today (weekend). But located this price quote on their website; <img rel="lightbox" src="http://www.shop.monstaliner.com/images/13069912965001248958543.jpeg" class="bbc_img"> <div class="product-detail-header"><h1>Coating Only *TINTABLE* 1-Gallon (No Rollers)</h1></div><div id="ratingDistribution"> </div><div class="product-share"> </div><div class="price-cont"> Price: $128.60 </div><div class="price-tiers"><div class="price-tier"> 2 or more: $123.46 each </div><div class="price-tier"> 4 or more: $118.52 each Not too bad of a price I guess, especially when you consider the cost of actual auto paint. Although, like I said... I don't know how many gallons I would need to completely cover my van. Another concern would be, how this would work on the fiberglass hightop... maybe it's fine to put on fiberglass, yet, if I ever wanted to remove it, would I damage the fiberglass (you have to be a little more careful when sanding fiberglass). I do like the results on the VW, SoxAndNicole. I will be calling this company to ask a few questions. Thanks for posting the tip!!! . </div></div>

Guest · Jun 23, 2013

Maybe you could try this. <a href="" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>

caseyc · Jun 23, 2013

Wow! That was a VERY detailed video! I'm never going to do such a project myself, but I appreciated the detailed information from that video.

creationode · Jun 23, 2013

I'm sold.  I read everything about monstaliner I could find.  I will put it in the inside, though.  It is alot cheaper for what it comes with, and what it does, than all of the other products.

ilovemyvan · Jun 23, 2013

Hello again Ziggy, I noticed on the website that you can order samples. That might help you. Creationode, let us know how it turns out. Nicole

Fireman428 · Jun 23, 2013

Wow Ziggy!!! Here I was looking to you for inspiration!!!  Snap outta it man !!! Hey I know, I bottomed out last week and just sat in the van wonderin' what the heck??? But now I got some Buffet blaring and going in search of that sunset on that one particular harbor, `cause it's five o'clock somewhere. Just started putting in some temporary power to get ready for maiden voyage to RTR. Come on man, there's "things to go, places to see, people to do". Wait that's not right, aw heck ya know what I mean.   See ya, DanC

wrcsixeight · Jun 24, 2013

My Van likely looked a lot like yours. Grey/silver with the hideous pin striping which is near impossible to remove completely. I despise painting, but I despise the prepwork even more, and my first few attempts to roll/brush on a new layer of paint, the results were not good, but anything is better than flaky paint and rust and original primer. Most recently I repainted the whole van with Rustoleum Yacht enamel, but took my sweet time over 8 months to do so, waiting for the right weather to do so.  I was doing one section at a time, like a back door, and actually following the directions by letting 24 hours pass in between coats, instead of building it thick with one coat which takes months to fully dry, and stinks the whole time. What is nice about this paint is that it seems to have excellent adhesion compared to the standard rustoleum offerings, and dries very hard.  I can wax it, and it repels the dirt to some degree. I would not want the white bedliner just because I imagine it would shred any sponge/ brush used to clean it, and Not like I wash  my Van often, 2 or 3 times a year, but still it is a PITA, and the car wax/marine polish helps to keep it cleaner. My original paint job was badly flaking and I sanded it like you did, but later I found that masking tape would pull off the new paint, as well as the original paint from the original primer, and even more effort was required to try and remove all the paint from the original primer. I wound up using  cheap masking tape to peel up all the poorly adhered original paint, and subsequent layers of paint I had added over the years.  I found that the edges of the paint which did not want to pull up with the tape, would peel up after sitting overnight. It was a huge PITA, which is why I concentrated on just one section at a time so as to not overwhelm myself and just go to town with a large roller on an improperly prepared surface, just to have to repeat the process after a short amount of time. I used oyster white, as the white white was just too bright and noticeable amongst a group of white Vans. or other white cars. <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=rus...&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=681" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/search?q=rus...&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=681 </a>I would have gotten better results if I did not paint in direct sunlight, but I went from a 50 foot paint job, to a 15 foot paint job.

ZOFCHAK · Jun 24, 2013

I've painted about a dozen cars in my life and to be honest I would go the bedliner route.  The way you have it now it's basically already prepped for bedliner. All you would need to do is blow it off, tape it up and wipe it down with some thinner.  I can tell by the paint/primer areas on the van that the edges are not feathered as well as they need to be for paint.  To get a good result you'll end up having to use multiple coats of a high build primer and spend a lot of timing blocking it otherwise all those marks are going to show through the paint as lines and waves.  White is a good choice as it does tend to hide some marks like that, but a lightly textured bed liner spray would hide them all.  As wrcsixeight mentioned above the prep work is a big PITA and you obviously know that by looking at all the work you have already done.   Those two part bedliner sprays are really easy to work with and really hard to screw up.  You don't have to worry about runs, you don't have to worry as much about over spray, dust in the wet paint, orange peel from contaminates, primer or any of that.   Below is a link for a bedliner spray that I have used in the past. I used this on the interior of my van and was very impressed with how easy it was to work with. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPRAY-BEDLI...cessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item232c3cd1db

VanLifeCrisis · Jun 25, 2013

My van needs a lot of body work and new paint, its just flaking off in multiple spots even where it isn't rusted.  I was thinking about redoing the whole paintjob when i fix the rust spots.  Would i just sand away all the paint and primer to bare metal on the whole thing and then primer it?  Im worried if i go over the crummy paint that is there, it will make the new paint eventually flake off too.  I just need things presentable and clean, not really worried about pro results.

Ziggy Moon · Jun 26, 2013

I contacted Monstaliner yesterday to inquire, and was told I would need four gallons to cover my van completely (which I sorta question). At the price quote of $118.52 per gallon, at four gallons, that would come to roughly $475...... not good! <img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> So, I've decided to just try and spray the van, for the moment anyway... I have to find a good compressor first, sigh. However, I had a dim thought, what if I can find a cheaper bedliner paint (at HD, Lowes, or somewhere) and do the bottom portion of the van in black bedliner paint? Similar to this; ignore the roughness - it's just an example of my idea of black bottom paint included. <img rel="lightbox" src="http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd390/hddotson/Dodge-25.jpg" class="bbc_img"> It seems like if the bottom portion is painted black, it gives the van more depth and character than if it was just painted completely white from top to bottom. Well, that's just my thought anyway... does anyone think the same - or any other ideas?

Ziggy Moon · Jun 26, 2013

@ Fireman - No, Not bummed completely... just wish I could get this stuff (everything) done. @ wrcsixeight - Thanks for the tips @ ZOFCHAK - The edges only appear rough in the photos, they're actually feathered pretty well.... and I've been working a little more, daily, on getting it smoooother. Also, I understand what your saying about the bedliner paint - and in the beginning (when it was first mentioned) these were my thoughts... however, I've put lot of work into the prep so far and I think I can get it prepped good enough to attempt spraying her. But, What do you think of the lower portion (pic above) being painted with black bedliner paint? @ Dazar - I'm not a pro painter, but I've done a lot of body work (not pro at that either) I would try to avoid sanding down to bare metal - but it happens (be sure to prime bare spots, and treat rust before repairs and priming)... just get it smooth as possible without high and low spots.

VanLifeCrisis · Jun 26, 2013

What about that plastidip stuff?   its 58 a gallon ($260 for 5 gallons).  There are youtubes of the guy using a cheap wagner sprayer, and it turned out well. https://www.dipyourcar.com/ I plan to liner the bottom of my van either way...too much gravel here.

ZOFCHAK · Jun 27, 2013

The two-tone would probably look pretty good on that van. I would go with a gray as opposed to black, black is going to show every spec of dirt and dirt sticks to these bedliner products like glue!  Other advantages of doing the bottom edge with a textured surface is it's more resistant to stone chips and allows for easier touch ups (You only have to redo the bottom as opposed to entire panels). You can also find specially made "stone guard" or "rocker panel sprays" that can be used to add texture either under or on top of the paint.  Check the seller from the Ebay auction I posted (They have a website as well).  It looks like you can get 4 gallons for a lot less there, and it's a quality product. Don't forget that paint and primer are not cheap either (Prices have gone WAY up in the last 5-10 years).  Even a low end urethane is going to run you $150-$200 when you factor in the hardener and thinner.  Then you have the primer and everything has to be taped off twice (Once for primer and again for paint).

Ziggy Moon · Jun 27, 2013

@ ZOFCHAK - good point on the black bottom portion, I would have never thought of the dirt issue, makes sense. But, would grey go well, especially when considering that the black matches the blacked out windows? I'll have to play with the photo again and try a number of colors, including your suggestion of grey. Yeah, I know the prices of auto paint is high... what do you think of the idea of thinning rustoleum paint and spraying it with a HVLP gun? Any experience with that? I tell ya what... how bout you painting it for me? I'll do all the prep, all you have to do is shoot it! lol.... j/k <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> Thank for the info ZOFCHAK and I'll check that "stone guard" or "rocker panel sprays"

ZOFCHAK · Jun 28, 2013

Don't spend all the time on prep and then cut corners on paint! <img src="/images/boards/smilies/nono.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">  <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">   Rustoleum does not have hardeners like automotive paint and for months (Or longer) it will scratch very easily. Unless you have access to a booth you're also going to have hours of dry time in which every spec of debris and bug will set in the paint. You could be setting yourself up for a nightmare situation where the paint fails to adhere or orange peels and that would be a shame after spending all the time in preparation. If you really want to paint it another option is to do all the prep work and then take it in to a place like Maaco.  I'm not sure what area of the country you are in, but here in Michigan there are places that will scuff, tape and spray for around $350-400.

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