Exterior Colors

[1000Miles]

Hi everyone!

 

First post...I did a quick peek and didn't see this as a topic as of late...

 

Has anyone had the exterior of their Oliver painted? No, not the swooshy graphics (hate those!): I mean painted. While we've not bought one yet, we were impressed at a recent visit with what we saw. But, I don't really care for the all-white exterior; I may want the lower half done in a different color. Dub Box has some really fun colors but those are toooo small, have no bathrooms, and seem to be geared towards weekending with the dudes. My husband and I like amenities at our age. We like what Oliver offers, except the all-white exterior (aside from the swooshes).

 

I'm not looking for a name of a company per se--I have an old buddy who works at a place in town that does auto body/paints fiberglass bodies, so I have a lead--but let me know what if any experience you or someone you know has had with this. Company names welcome, but not necessary.

 

Thanks in advance!

[ScubaRx]

There were two early Oliver trailers that were painted and completed at the factory.  Don't bother asking, they state they will NEVER do it again.  Not because the trailers didn't look fantastic, but rather the amount of work involved.  The ideal way would be to color the gel-coat during hull production.  They won't do that either due to the amount of work involved in cleaning the equipment between colors.

 

But...Since this is a fiberglass trailer it can easily be painted (think Corvette.)  If you have the equipment and the know-how do it yourself. If not, find yourself a competent body shop and have them do it. I think it is a wonderful idea and, though it might be pricey, easily doable.

 

Let us know if this comes to fruition.

 

[attachment file=Campers Vegas 035.jpg]

[attachment file=Campers Vegas 052.jpg]

[SeaDawg]

I saw bee's red trailer, and the black one  , back in 2008.

 

Very cool. If you decide to paint yours, post photos.  We'd love to see your results...

 

Sherry

[topgun2]

Another way to kind of do what you want is to do a vinyl wrap.  At least one owner has had that done and while I didn't personally care for the theme they picked, the overall result was very nice.  And, a wrap could be changed or modified and be easier than a paint job.

 

Bill

[Bshaffer]

If you decide on painting yours, contact me and I’ll let you know what you shouldn’t probably paint. We have the red JellyBean pictured above. For example, do not paint the rubber window gasket/glazing beads. It fades/cracks and distracts from the look. I’m currently in the process of replacing all of mine with black. :)

[1Lessworker]

Another option would be Coat the unit with Vortex it would give the fiberglass extra durability too... see link below

 

http://www.greatcoatings.com/vortex2a.html

[Landrover]

As bill said a vinyl wrap would be better than paint endless number of options solid colors. Graphics, or murals. The best part it's just as durable as paint and when you get tired of it remove it and start over. Also in another thread about protecting the front corners there is a clear wrap made for areas of abuse. Chips etc. after a time remove and replace it. Good stuff.

[John E Davies]

Unusual permanent colors and coatings should be avoided for several reasons, the main one being that if your trailer hull gets damaged it will be extremely difficult to match a wierd color or coating that has faded over time. Plus it would make the ‘glass repair much more labor intensive. The rougher bedliner coatings cannot be buffed out or protected easily by conventional waxes or magic potions like Rejex. Once you spray a bedliner on you are stuck with its appearance, good or bad. You can regularly apply a UV protectant like 303, but that is about it.

 

I think anyone who has a sprayed in bedliner in their truck will agree with me that it is impossible to keep looking new.

 

I agree that a vinyl wrap makes great sense if you want to add color to an appliance white Ollie....but I like my refrigerator just the way it is, with no side swoosh graphics, just the Oliver logo.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[nrvale0]

So this is a topic I've been investigating lately...

 

Quotes I've had for a wrap have ranged from 3k to 10k for a matte wrap. Varying mostly by geography ( high: CA, low: Ohio ). Universally, I've been told I should only expect 2 to 3 years max out of top sections due to sun/UV.

 

So a wrap seems like a non-viable solution unless you REALLY need a color.

[John E Davies]

[postquote quote=178908][/postquote]

Is that short life expectancy for leaving it outside all year in a sunny climate? If stored in shade the colors should last WAY longer, I would think. But I would carefully choose colors that don't look bad when faded. Don't buy red unless you like pink..... there is a good reason why most boats are white.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Raspy]

Simply look at the marine industry for colors, techniques and products related to painting gel-coat fiberglass.  There are lots of standard colors and they they can be duplicated later if needed.   Fiberglass boats get painted all the time and it's not rocket science.  A trailer would be much easier to paint than a boat and the new urethane paints are extremely UV resistant.

 

Brandi's lovely red Elite really stands out and is beautiful.  It was fun to see it and meet them at the rally in 2018.  The black Elite lives a couple miles from me and was the first Oliver I ever saw.  It was the one that made me want an Oliver.

 

BTW, I would not be surprised to see it put up for sale soon.

[WhatDa]

A large part of vinyl's life expectancy is also the adhesive underneath.  At a certain point you aren't peeling it off, but scraping and sanding it off.  Another alternative is plastidip, it has similar longevity but may be cheaper and easier than vinyl with complex curves.

 

 

 

 

[nrvale0]

 

 

Re the quoted lifespan of a wrap, I've had longer conversations with some folks here in CA. They didn't make a distinction whether it would be the wrap or the adhesive which would age less well but they did say that they estimate on the conservative side assuming folks will be traveling around RV parks in the West where things are not always well shaded and sun can be intense.

 

My take, even if you choose a color which will last 5 years before it needs re-done that's still a lot of money for what it is. I'm with those who say painting is probably the best option. My dad built and raced his own fiberglass racecars for years and he always painted them himself. He was careful with the surface prep, was very particular about the primer, and was cost-for-value minded on the paint and they always looked great. Of course he changed colors every ... maybe 5 years ... and the car wasn't sitting out in the sun unless it was at the track so YMMV.

 

Man, I sure would like a flat dark earth brown TT and TV to blend into chaparral, sand, etc out West but I'll definitely have to save up for the paint job. Not something I care to undertake myself. Nasty stuff.