Interior wall painting

Bobby A

Well-known member
I don't see a direct question unless its buried in another post. My question is, has anyone did an upgrade and paint the walls in there RV ?? We are starting a remodel project and wondered if anyone has done this ?? Just wondering what the process is and what kind/brand of paint and or primer. Thank you. Bobby A
 

F_Goose

Active Member
Copied this from a Togo.com article:

How do you paint the inside of an RV?
When it comes to giving an RV interior new life, there’s probably no better tool than paint. It can make your space look cleaner and brighter, and adds a modern touch to outdated decor. But painting the inside of an RV isn’t as simple as grabbing a can and getting to work.
Painting isn’t difficult, as long as you avoid rookie mistakes. Buy high-quality paint that’s specific to the surface you’re painting. Invest in quality, brand-name brushes and rollers—like Purdy or Wooster—for easy application. Keep in mind that temperature and moisture can impact the way your paint dries, so plan to do your project when there’s less humidity and moisture, or use fans and dehumidifiers.
Can I paint over the wallpaper in my RV?
Painting over wallpaper in an RV is typically a lot easier than trying to remove it. Remove any borders that are stuck to the top of the wallpaper by spraying a mix of water and fabric softener on the area, or by using a heat gun to loosen the adhesive.
No matter what surface you’re painting, it’s important to prep it beforehand. In the case of wallpaper, clean off any grime with an all-purpose cleaner or diluted vinegar and let it dry. Then, lightly sand the walls so the paint has something to grip, and either start with a coat of primer or choose a paint with a primer mixed in.
Can I use wallpaper in my RV?
You can absolutely use wallpaper in your RV; in fact, most RVs come with a specialized vinyl wallpaper bonded to the interior walls. Because it’s not really meant to be easily removed, the easiest way to update it is to put new wallpaper over it. If you are planning on updating it again in the future, consider using peel-and-stick wallpaper. While the adhesive is strong enough to stay put, it’s also designed to be easily removed.

How do you paint an RV cabinet?​

It can be fairly quick to paint RV cabinets with a nice roller and a brush or two, but it’s surprisingly easy to mess up. Most RV cabinets are made of laminate, which means they need to be sanded and primed before painting or the paint won’t dry correctly. Worse, if you use latex paint with no base coat, the color will eventually bubble, crack, and peel right off. You can avoid these mishaps by taking the time to clean, sand, and prime with a high-quality primer (try Kilz or Zinsser) that’s designed to make surfaces paint-friendly.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Bobby, years ago there was a frequent poster by the name of "SouthernNights" on previous versions of this forum that had done just that. Unfortunately, the links to his original posts with photos no longer is available. Never painted our rig, but for the house, I prefer Behr brand paints.
 
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thewanderingeight

Well-known member
My wife has painted both our RV’s. The wallpaper seems to take the paint pretty well, just make sure you clean it first for proper adhesion. It usually takes two coats depending on the color of the paint and the wallpaper it’s going over.

She used the Behr Marquee in a satin finish so we can scrub it after the kids put some kind of dirt on the wall. If your seams are sealed between the walls and ceiling, the paint does not like to stick to the silicone, so it’s best to avoid painting on it otherwise it looks splotchy.

If you plan on painting the wood pieces, good luck! Those were a real pain. She wanted our previous RV to have black cabinets, so we sanded everything down, and then stained it. It worked pretty well and looked great, but took forever and was very tedious. If you try painting directly on the wood pieces without sanding, you may find the paint easily chipping off.


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clark261

Member
If you want a long-lasting finish, General Finishes Milk Paint is the way to go. This paint is scratch-resistant, but it requires a lot of priming and sanding before you can use it.
 

lynndiwagoner

Well-known member
If you're painting or putting up wallpaper on the vinyl covered walls, one piece of advice.

Pre-prime with "Kills Adhesive" primer. This is not the regular Kills, and the big box suppliers don't carry it for some reason. Get it on-line at the big "A" site. This is the only primer I use for everything now...it will stick to anything. Good luck.
 

taskswap

Well-known member
A note on surface prep, if you really want your paint to last don't just paint over the wallpaper. Use a primer. We've had really good luck with Zinsser B-I-N. It's a shellac based primer so it dries fast and it solves some problems like areas where there might have been wood knots or sap (in wood trim/surfaces/cabinet doors) or oil (fingerprints, residue from the construction process, etc.). I'm not shilling for them, there are plenty of other good products, but whatever you use, picking a primer designed to seal sub-surfaces will give you a much better finish no matter what paint you use.

This is just my personal opinion but I'm not a huge fan of water-based latex paint primers. They can help cover dark base colors if you're top-coating with something lighter but I feel like they don't do much for sealing over "problems".
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
O.k. guys and gals, I am picking back up on my original post from a long time ago. My rig has a new face lift on the outside and this summer its time for the interior. To answer your questions, we are just painting the walls, NO WOOD !! We have the beautiful oak cabinets from years past and we love it. So, I appreciate anyone who has done the walls in their unit and let me know what products they used and any do's and don't.
Thanks everyone,
Bobby A
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
Did you you a cleaner something like spic n span or something to clean the walls first ? Also what about sand paper to scratch the surface before the paint/primer ? I know the taping is going to be crucial and time consuming.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Bobby, we never painted our rig, but for the sticks&bricks, I always use Behr paints. Glad you’re not painting the oak. That’s a sacrilege to do that


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david-steph2018

Well-known member
Did you you a cleaner something like spic n span or something to clean the walls first ? Also what about sand paper to scratch the surface before the paint/primer ? I know the taping is going to be crucial and time consuming.
Wife just used a Swifter duster to clean the dust off the wall. Since we do not smoke, we did not need worry about that issue.
No, we did not use sandpaper.
But we did remove the metal window blinds and trashed those. To repair the holes, I used the handle of a screwdriver, and a small hammer to flatten out the material. Then used Minni wax color stick to fill the holes. After that I used sandpaper to smooth the area out.

During this, wife decided to redo the valances on all the windows in the living room as well as the kitchen.
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
Wife just used a Swifter duster to clean the dust off the wall. Since we do not smoke, we did not need worry about that issue.
No, we did not use sandpaper.
But we did remove the metal window blinds and trashed those. To repair the holes, I used the handle of a screwdriver, and a small hammer to flatten out the material. Then used Minni wax color stick to fill the holes. After that I used sandpaper to smooth the area out.

During this, wife decided to redo the valances on all the windows in the living room as well as the kitchen.
O.k. thanks for that information
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
Bobby, we never painted our rig, but for the sticks&bricks, I always use Behr paints. Glad you’re not painting the oak. That’s a sacrilege to do that


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You know it Jon, you will have to take a ride to Haas Lake this year and check out the new paint job on the exterior
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Sounds like a plan! Let me know if you need any maintenance help and I’ll bring tools


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Bobby A

Well-known member
Getting ready to travel back to my home State where my 5th wheel is so I wanted to re visit this thread as I will be starting to look at paint and brands. Has anyone ever used Sherwin Williams paint ?? It seems like all the pro's and contractors use this kind of paint and wondering if this is better than the box store paints ?? Thank you
 
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