ePlaya

by **BURNING GIRL** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 3:22 pm

I am in need of a wise man/woman. I have recently accuired a 23ft rv, and while I love it, it just doesn't scream Burning Man to me. I was thinking of painting it, but don't know where to begin, what paint to use, ect. If anyone out there has done this before, I would appreciate some words of wisdom. See ya all on the Playa.

by **Dusza Beben** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 5:15 am

Well, if you aren't worried about resale value then painting would be the easiest/ most cost effective way to go. You can even use latex house paint! (exterior of course) The key to painting vehicles with latex paint, and in fact the best part, is that you should NOT wash the vehicle. The paint will stick better with a little grime in place, not huge gobs of mud mind you, but an average dirt layer. I'd stick with lighter colors unless you have a kickass air conditioner that likes to run constantly.
If your having a problem coming up with a paint scheme take a picture or drawing of the RV with the placement of doors and windows on it and make several photocopies to use as a "coloring book" to try different ideas before you commit. Hope this helps!

DB

by **BURNING GIRL** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:18 am

I have no thoughts of selling it. I was wondering, should I sand the area before painting it? Thanks again for the info

by **robotland** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 9:47 am

Be Ye Warned:
Different materials respond differently to paint- what grabs and sticks to aluminum may turn out to be a SOLVENT for fiberglass....make sure that you know what types of surfaces you're covering, and ask at an autobody shop or Auto Zone/Pep Boys type establishment or RV dealership about recommended primers and pigments. If you're ready to just jump in, damn the torpedoes, I will personally vouch for the versatility of good ol' Kryon Gray Primer in a spray can. If you're coating with LIGHT color, use gray or white primer, and likewise dark with dark. (I like the consistency of the GRAY the best overall.)
For adding aftermarket goodies, rubber lizards, blinky lights and stuff, I also sing the praises of GOOP adhesive.
I'm JEALOUS! Wish I had a giant ArtV to play with! Have a BALL trickin' it out!

by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Sat Mar 27, 2004 10:33 pm

My brother used to work at a neon sign shop and we are thinking of decking out Large Marge the Cocktail Barge, the trailer, in scrap neon tubes that still work. We've got a good high amp transformer, but we would still need to make sure the tubes do not bust on the way to the playa and we would need to bring a generator with enough wattage. The mounts should rivett in to the aluminum shell of this 1962 ten footer, I just worry that I would be going to sleep in a high voltage death trap... burn, baby!

by **Bob A** » Sun Mar 28, 2004 8:44 pm

I'm thinking about using cool neon to trip out my old trailer havn't decided on the design yet. Its, all PVC and runs on just a little bit of power and comes in lots of pretty colors.

No glass to break like with regular neon, that could be a real mess to clean up on the playa if any broke.

Bob A

by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Tue May 25, 2004 5:48 am

You're right, Bob. That's the direction I'm going too. I decided to keep my trailer just for camping in and building the art trailer as a part of the Mutant Vehicle. Check it out at http://misterjellyfish.tripod.com/ where we are exploring some other Coolight el wire ideas. Cheers!

by **robotland** » Tue May 25, 2004 7:39 am

I used to make neon tubes for a sign company here in Kazoo....for transport to the install sites they would wire the tubes face-down to a chickenwire rack framed with wood. In a pinch, they'd just tape them to a sheet of cardboard, which works pretty well. You can stack them by slipping scrap styro packing sections in between the cardboard layers. Real neon looks SO GOOD on the playa- just make sure that you're wired and grounded eight ways to tuesday, and that you have a contigency plan for either rerouting the wiring or quickly shutting the whole thing down if a tube breaks. not only would you have NASTY moop but high voltage to boot! It might be wise to install most of your lighting above the reach of a pedestrian at ground level.
...and if you've got a spare transformer, don't forget to make a Jacob's Ladder! Sign transformers are PERFECT for that! There's already a Doctor Megavolt, but why not Professor Milliamp?

by **phyreseed** » Tue May 25, 2004 7:09 pm

as someone who painted aircraft for more than 4 years, I can tell you that leaving dirt on a surface that's to be painted is silly! The paint is FAR more likely to flake and peel than if you were to prepare the surface properly.

my advice, get an air- or electric-powered sander, some 40-grit sandpaper, and go to town.. give everything a nice rough/smooth finish.. by that I mean that if you look at it, it appears rough, but when touching it, you can barely feel the grit.

once you've done that, hit it with a primer that's appropriate for the type of paint that you want to use - use a 'dust coat" as the initial application - like the name implies, you're just putting a dusting of primer on at first. Using the dust coat will ensure that - if you missed anything in sanding - and spots on the surface that aren't adequately prepared will be good to go.

once the dust coat dries, hit the surface at least twice more until you've achieved complete coverage (best bet - choose a primer that doesn't have a similar color to the surface you're painting... once you only see primer color, you're done!).. THEN put the paint you want people to see on.

I don't know if you're looking for an easy fix, but I hope you're not... because easy leads to messy, and that's the last thing we want on the playa.

good luck!

by **Dusza Beben** » Wed May 26, 2004 5:52 pm

phyreseed wrote:as someone who painted aircraft for more than 4 years, I can tell you that leaving dirt on a surface that's to be painted is silly! The paint is FAR more likely to flake and peel than if you were to prepare the surface properly.

No offense phyreseed, but the vehicle being painted here is not an aircraft and I have over 10 years experience with off road vehicles and the various methods of finishing them. Most folks I know that have recieved free vehicles or are working on trail pigs don't want to spend thousands on a paint job. They just want to cover the bare metal in a way pleasing to them. I knew the "leave the dirt on" approach would make pro painters that take pride in a flawless shiny finish cringe in abject horror but the method actually has been proven, in the real world, to improve adhesion of household latex to automotive metals.

Colorfully yours,
DB

P.S. Rollers give the nicest finish for large areas.

by **Captain Goddammit** » Wed May 26, 2004 6:23 pm

2 words: Paint Cannon

by **Bob** » Wed May 26, 2004 7:05 pm

ITYM Ronco GLH Formula Number 9.

by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 6:23 am

I spent way too muck time and money painting "Large Marge the Cocktail Barge", the 10 foot trailer purchased for $400. I admire you guys that work with acrylic paints! That stuff is sticky, unforgiving, and kept gumming up my airless spray rig. I learned that there is no whimsey in heat exhaustion. From now on I'm using latex or I'll just quit at the primer stage and drink beer. Maybe even grow a mullet to match.

Remember the episode of The Partridge Family when they are all painting parts of their tour bus different colors? If you're not having that much fun you're doing it wrong, in my jaded opinion.

Cheers!

by **Captain Goddammit** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 7:36 pm

Like this... that's me on the right...

by **Captain Goddammit** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 7:38 pm

Damn, that didn't work... Picture here

by **unjonharley** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 7:55 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:Damn, that didn't work... Picture here

/
Damn your even ugly from the back

by **Captain Goddammit** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 8:03 pm

Guess that means I'm the only guy you won't blow this year, dirtbag.

by **unjonharley** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:15 am

The Capt. studders when he's horny???

by **Captain Goddammit** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:20 am

The Captain SHUDDERS when he senses you checking him out. Sorry, dude, I'm hetero, go looking at other men.

by **unjonharley** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:34 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:The Captain SHUDDERS. Sorry, dude, I'm hetero, go looking at other men.

/\
ROTFLMAO

by **Captain Goddammit** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 8:59 pm

unjonharley wrote:
/\
ROTFLMAO

Rolling On The Floor Licking My Ass Out??

by **unjonharley** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:14 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:
unjonharley wrote:
/\
ROTFLMAO

Rolling On The Floor Licking My Ass Out??

/\

amen

by **Captain Goddammit** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 2:21 pm

Come to think of it, my friend's cat actually does that... eewww...

by **unjonharley** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 2:47 pm

Bless you, My ugly brother.Just pleae don't die before me.

by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:55 am

After finishing these song lyrics on the playa for Large Marge, I sold her to a guy at a bar in Sparks BEFORE I had to clean her out! Here is her story:

Little White Trailer
Copyright (c) 2004 All rights reserved

Phoned up on an ad for a little white trailer
Haggled the price down and when you came home later
You saw me there with a grin upon my face
How could I bring that kind of junk to our place?

Needed a little paint
And she barely fit inside our gate
I promised I'd get her ready for a holiday

1963 was the year but that's uncertain
Tightening the bolts down while you made up the curtains
Working in the sun got old fast, but that's OK
Propane in the tank and then we were on our way

(chorus)
In a little white trailer you know
With a little white trailer we go

Do your remember when
We took her to Disneyland?
Campin' out at the Anaheim KOA
Baby...

Baby was asleep on the cot in between us
Under a full moon, you could even see Venus
There wasn't room to do it right you did say
Camping is a time when you still find a way

In a little white trailer we go
In a little white trailer you know

Please understand
We'll have to clean out the sand
After we get back from Burning Man

(chorus)

by **shitmouse** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 11:46 am

there's some truth to that man Dusza Beben.

when we were kids my pops painted an old International Travel-all brick red with rollers and latex houspaint. -(no pre prep or sanding - but washed).

it came out so good, an african-american couple down the street asked if we could do their car as well.

the only downer to having an eccentric (painted) vehicle is the magnetic cop syndrom.
-b

ePlaya

Trailer Art?

Trailer Art?

thanks so much

Neon on a trailer

Re: Neon on a trailer

gotta put my two cents in

Re: gotta put my two cents in

Painting Large Marge

Trailer song resurrected on the playa

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