Painting fiberglass v.s. aluminum

[Scott & Heather]

One last question regarding the exterior siding on our new coach. The previous owner has galvanized steel sheet installed as skin over the sides of the coach post roof raise. He also removed the rinbed stainless panels from the luggage bays and of course installed fiberglass caps front and rear. He then silka'd a fiber glass skin to the lower belt line. That fiberglass will not ever come off. So, before we spend $1,000's on a paint job, I have a question, does pro level automotive paint and clear coat age/fade differently on fiberglass versus aluminum? I've see a ton of chalky old fiberglass motor homes. But I've seen a ton of cars trucks and vans of the same era whose paint looks perfectly fine. Can someone chime in here? If the painted fiberglass is going to look crummy in 10 years, I'll skin over it with aluminum. As for the front and rear caps, nothing I can do about those



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[Jeremy]

Those chalky fibreglass motorhomes will have a gelcoat finish, not paint. Coloured gelcoat that's exposed to the weather does need periodic polishing to maintain the shine - probably one of the reasons why boats (even more subject to weathering) are typically white.

Jeremy

[Scott & Heather]

Ok. So, pro paint done by a pro on fiberglass should, in theory, hold up just as well as aluminum in terms of paint fade? I know fiberglass cracks and can have other issues, but I just wanted to be sure that the paint would hold up on it as well as the aluminum surfaces of our coach. So in your opinion, is there any reason to cover the fiberglass belt line with a skin of aluminum? Or just leave it and paint It?


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[bevans6]

Paint will last better on fiberglass than aluminium, in most cases.  Aluminium will vary in size more with temperature which can cause paint to loosen, it is very hard to get primer to really adhere well, factories can do proper cleaning and acid etching but a guy in a shop can't do as well, and it does corrode and cause bubbles if the paint is not in perfect condition.  Fiberglass that has gelcoat on it (like those panels will have, most probably) can have issues with the gelcoat cracking over time, which can cause the paint surface to crack.   But fiberglass/gelcoat is an excellent substrate for paint, very easy to prep and primer sticks no problem.  I would not change the panels you have if they are in good shape, and if they are in poor shape the last thing I would do is stick aluminium on them.  Paint fade will be completely related to the paint, in terms of shine and all of that, and surface prep getting the panels flat, etc.

I would be pricing out a wrap for your bus.  It looks like a really good candidate for a wrap job instead of paint if you have the cost of a pro paint job in mind.

Brian

[sledhead]

if you are going to replace the fiber glass why not use what mci used ... 18 gage satin coat galvanized . that is what I put on mine , it was easy to prep , paint with reg. old auto paint and a princess auto hvlp spray gun .

dave

[luvrbus]

Just peep at the new buses just about any with metal siding are galvanized siding with fiber glass caps on each end 

[Scott & Heather]

Ok. Sounds great to me. The upper galvanized section is actually paint grip steel so it's ready to go, but we need to move the windows and delete two of them so I am ordering a 1 piece 36'X5' aluminum blankout .125 thick for that section. Bums me out I can just paint the paint grip but it is what it is


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[TomC]

Most of my bus is aluminum skin. Some steel skin in the back and fiberglass in front. I can't tell the difference paint wise. Use base-clear coat polyurethane paint, and you'll be OK. Good Luck, TomC

[jav9956]

At the end of the day does it matter whether you use aluminum or galvanized sheets for the skin on the side?

I am guessing the galvanized sheet would be a whole heck of a lot cheaper than using the aluminum... at the cost of a little bit of weight. Just wondering if it is worth pursuing to save some cash when I go to skin the sides.

[Scott & Heather]

I have a call into Ryerson about galvaneal. Will report back


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[Scott & Heather]

Galvanneal is almost as expensive as aluminum. He quoted $800 for a 5'x36' piece 18 gauge


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[jav9956]

In that case Aluminum would be the better option. You would expect a similar size sheet of aluminum to go for $900-1000 I am assuming?

[Scott & Heather]

Yes, should
Be $1000 plus or minus.


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[LowTide]

Yes, should
Be $1000 plus or minus.


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I would think the price will fall in at around 850.00 bucks.

I talked to my rep today real quick in passing and he said that is what he thinks he gave us on the last batch of aluminum we purchased.

[jav9956]

Do you have any information on your rep and whether they sell in Southern California or not?