After finishing the interior of our Sprinter camper conversion last year, we hit the road and took it cross country. We had a great time visiting national forests and returned home in one piece (well, mostly). The trip took a toll on the Sprinter's paint, and a bunch of it peeled off, with more chipping off by the day.
Materials used
3M respirator, Wagner Flexio 3000 paint sprayer, random orbital sander, 220 grit sanding pads, plastic drop cloths, painter's tape, paint strainer, foam brush, mineral spirits, paint mixing cups, shop towels, paint stirring sticks, tack cloths.
Step 1: Disassemble
Before painting, we removed everything we didn't want painted: headlights, solar panels, emblems. To remove the emblems, we used a heat gun to soften the adhesive, then worked fishing line behind each one to cut through the adhesive, finishing with acetone to remove residue.
Step 2: Sand the surface
We used a random orbital sander with 220 grit pads to scuff the paint and smooth out peeling areas, hand-sanding spots the orbital sander couldn't reach. We ran our hands across each panel to check for bumps or transitions, then gave the van a thorough scrub to remove dust and debris.
Step 3: Prime bare metal
Once dry, we went over each panel with a tack cloth and applied white Rustoleum primer to any areas sanded down to bare metal, so the final coat would lay evenly.
Note: we kept all the dents and dings on the van because we're not good at bodywork, and we think they give it character.
Step 4: Mask off areas
We masked off everything we didn't want painted using plastic tarps and painter's tape. For our two-tone scheme, we exposed the rocker panels and masked off the top portion at the body line.
Step 5: Mix the paint
We used standard Rustoleum oil-based enamel instead of automotive paint, at about a quarter of the cost. We mixed gloss white with hunter green in a 3:1 ratio to create a minty color, then thinned it with mineral spirits and added catalyst hardener for durability and shine closer to automotive single-stage paint:
- 4 parts paint
- 3 parts reducer (mineral spirits, acetone, or paint thinner)
- 1 part hardener
We mixed thoroughly and strained the solution into the paint gun container to prevent clogs.
Step 6: Spray paint
Using a Wagner Flexio 3000 (budget-friendly, no air compressor needed), we tested the spray pattern on cardboard first, aiming for a 6-inch vertical pattern from 6 inches away without paint running. We laid the first coat on the van, waited about two hours, then applied a heavy second coat.
Step 7: Apply the second color
After the minty green dried overnight, we masked it off to paint the rest of the van in gloss white, same 4:3:1 ratio for the first coat, switching to 4:2:1 for the second after noticing slight runniness in some areas.
Step 8: Cure and finish
We let the paint cure completely for a few days before removing the masking. In total we used just over half a gallon of gloss white, a small amount of hunter green, ¾ gallon of mineral spirits, and 3 pints of hardener, then reinstalled everything we'd removed.
Result
The minty green provides the perfect pop of color, giving the van a fresh, updated appearance.