Painting your RV

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Painting your RV. It’s one of the things I get asked about most on this ol’ blog and all our social media. I wish I had a simple answer but as with most RV DIY projects… things are a little complicated. So let’s get into the details of what we used, why, and how it held up!

Cabinet Enamel

For the largest portion of our painting we used Valspar Cabinet Enamel. It covers all the cabinets, drawers, trim… basically anything that used to be dark wood! For about 99% of all this we applied it by hand with brushes. This was EXTREMELY tedious! I did a ton of research and everyone has a different idea on what works best and how to do it but one thing everyone mentions: this is time consuming work!

More recently we used the same paint in a sprayer to refinish our doors. This was an absolute game changer! When it comes time to paint our next project on wheels I can guarantee we will be using a sprayer. I don’t care how long the “taping off” process takes. I know it will be less time than I spent with a brush in my hand! It also coats everything super evenly and gets into tricky spaces (like our louvered doors) easily.

The Pros:

• Self leveling so there are zero brush strokes.
• Dries hard so no worries about tacky cabinets.
• Works well in a sprayer.

The Cons:

• It chips if it gets scraped, scratched, crunched, etc… This happened a lot during all the renovating so that was a serious bummer.
• It’s expensive. Depending where you buy it a gallon of this stuff can be almost double the price of a can of latex paint.

*A note about painting RV cabinets: no matter what paint you use or how you apply it you absolutely MUST cut the seams! Simply run a sharp utility knife down the seams were your cabinets are joined after your paint is dry. We didn’t learn this trick until after the first round of painting and we had a good amount of splitting and flaking from all the shifting that happens when you are traveling down the road. Serious bummer but super simple fix!

Chalk Paint & Wax

We used FolkArt Home Decor Chalk Paint on the faux shiplap walls in the slide that houses our dining room and couch. Its actually watered down for that project and I loved the white wash look we got. We have also used this on several smaller projects as well. Things like the dog bowls, plant stands, and our pendant lights. This has become my go-to for smaller quick projects and all things white washed.

The Pros:

• No need for sanding! You can seriously paint right over any surface with the most minimal prep.
• This paint is so flexible and forgiving. You can use it straight out of the can, mix custom colors, and even water down for a color wash.
• The coordinating wax finishes off the painted surface without all the bother of fumes and chemicals found in other sealers.

The Cons:

• Not as many color choices. You may have to mix yourself a custom color.
• Sold in small amounts so not the most cost friendly option for larger projects.

Spray Paint

This one is the biggest surprise of the list! We’ve used spray paint for so many different projects over the years but the payoff on the painted projects in here are surprisingly impressive. The majority of the spray paint we used in this space was for fixtures. Things like the ceiling fan, pendant shades, and door handles were perfect candidates. All the projects we used spray paint on have held up perfectly so far which is a total win as its also saved us some serious bucks!

The Pros:

• Quick and easy to apply (and quick to dry!).
• Can be used on most surfaces.
• Inexpensive.

The Cons:

• Limited color selection and you cant customize by mixing.
• Some surfaces require extra prep to ensure durability.

So, have you used paint on your RV renovations? Do you have a favorite? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!