Jul 23, 20192 min read

Horse Trailer Renovation - Painting

So we opened up the ceiling, and let it sit and air out. now that we could see if water was coming in we found that there was a small leak in front of the main camper door. So my husband did some research and found this sealant and used it to seal the roof. He sealed it with three layers, and only used 1/4 of the gallon.

After it was good and dry, we let it air out and get extremely dry while I showed off the trailer for a day. it was hot, sunny and breezy so I opened it up!

Horse Show — Showing off the trailer, we had a good day!

We replaced a few boards in the frame work, and added new insulation to the ceiling. Took off the doors and all the wall fixtures. Sanded the walls then cleaned them with a 50/50 mix of water vinegar. (this makes this sound so quick and easy it took a full weekend to prep to paint and prime!

Primed everything with kills primer this kills the mold and mildew that would be left after all the cleaning we have done and prevents more! Each layer sat for 24 hours in between layers we don’t have a super short timeline here so we could wait. With a small hand held paint sprayer this took 2-3 hours, after we spent the whole weekend prepping to paint…

First coat of paint color one, very light gray, I didn’t want bright white, we do have a child that will be in here.

Second coat of paint color one and the last 90% of the paint is done, just the second color and the ceiling to go!

Doors were done at the same time as the inside.

A few painting tips from a paints and coatings chemist:

Prep work, Prep work, prep work, do not skip it! We used the paint and primer in one, but still used a primer since the walls are a vinyl.
Sanding, this helps the primer is made to adhere to the surface.
Clean walls are best since there are no oils and bad interactions that keep the paint from binding to the surface.
Let the paint sit for 24 hours before moving in or putting things back together, this will get the best long lasting performance.
Lastly, check the weather if you are outside and not in a temperature controlled environment, if it is going to be below 50°F in the next 24 hours its best to wait, or move to a temperature controlled area if possible.

While the paint sat for 24 hours, and we were taking a bit of a break, I painted some of the fixtures, Towel rails for the bathroom door, the door handle, the AC unit cover, the bathroom vent cover. Just cleaning them up and adding a coat of paint helped so much! Just make sure you have the right paint for the materials.