2001 Roadtrek 170 Exterior Paint Flaking

[ScottyTreks]

Has anyone had issues with the exterior paint just flaking off? Should I explore a complete repaint, and will they be able to match the original striping and decals? Any experiences or suggestions are welcome.

My otherwise well maintained 170 is becoming an "ugly duckling".

Thanks

 

[RT-NY]

This kind of paint flaking happens often to Dodge vans of that era. I do not think that, if you completely repaint, they will be able to match the original striping and decals. It might be better to just get the worst areas (like the hood in your pic) repainted. The Dupont paint codes should be inside the driver's side door -- if you go to a body shop that does Dupont paint specifically, then you should be able to get a good match of the color

 

[booster]

Lots of the while and silver vehicles of that era had peeling issues, other colors not so much.

The ones I have seen in person appeared to be letting go of the, probably, e-coat electronically applied "primer" rustproofing layer.

If cost is not a major issue, stripping it down to the e-layer or bare metal can give the best and longest lasting results is good paint and process is used, but you could easily get to half or more of the value of the camper that way. I think most of the older vans get a much more basic sand the band stuff smooth and put on a topcoat of some sort. Of course you still may get peeling in the other areas as time goes on. Some have had decent luck by sanding the old paint after removing the peeled areas of paint and then epoxy or bonding primer application, followed by either a single stage, catalyzed urethane single coat or urethane catalyzed base and clear two coat. For the non metallic white, I would do that kind of repair with PPG epoxy primer and Omni single state white, doing the whole van. Omni is a mid grade paint so fairly reasonable, but all paints have gotten crazy expensive now and the labor even worse unless you can find a "garage" painter that does it freelance. Some of those are really good painters that do street rods, muscle cars, and classics on the side but don't want to do it for a living.

I think it has been about 5 years now, but I painted my 96 Buick Roadmaster at home. It was white base and clear from the factory but had a bunch of poorly done bodywork the showed up when I removed all the phony wood grain vinyl on it. Lots of sanding and bodywork and welding shut molding holes, then good sanding. Two coats of white epoxy primer, two coats of urethane sandable surfacer so I could smooth it, the two color Omin base and clear in non metallic white and very metallic Kia bright silver. It turned out fine and had no peeling or bubbling (there was no real amount of rust) but does have some dust in the topcoat because of no spraybooth. I used about $2500 in materials like paint and primer, filler, surfacer, sand paper, solvent, etc.

 

[jjrbus]

In hindsight I had the accent paint matched. If doing again I would find a modern popular color for the accent paint. If I need touch up paint it must be mixed $$$$$$$$ A modern popular matching paint can be bought for $$.

 

[DaveBad]

If your main issue is the hood I would consider painting just the hood and paint it a different color instead of trying to match the body color which may be somewhat faded.
You might even consider a bed liner like Raptor liner.

 

[booster]

In hindsight I had the accent paint matched. If doing again I would find a modern popular color for the accent paint. If I need touch up paint it must be mixed $$$$$$$$ A modern popular matching paint can be bought for $$.

Yep, paint matching is very expensive for a small quantity at a body shop. The local paint supplier used to be able to match and put in rattle cans, but I don't know if they still do that, and I don't know how well match would be. Body shop quotes I have seen are often in the $300-500 range

On our 07 Chevy, I had a ladder tip over and gouge the passenger door so I had to tap into shape, fill and paint the door. The paint supplier's PPG literature showed 5 different variants for the sand/gold color and I tried them all. The color was right on one but the "flop" of the metallic was wrong. It looked right staight on, but too light at an angle. Another had the flop right so it didn't change with angle but the color was wrong.

 

[jjrbus]

Yep, paint matching is very expensive for a small quantity at a body shop. The local paint supplier used to be able to match and put in rattle cans, but I don't know if they still do that, and I don't know how well match would be. Body shop quotes I have seen are often in the $300-500 range

On our 07 Chevy, I had a ladder tip over and gouge the passenger door so I had to tap into shape, fill and paint the door. The paint supplier's PPG literature showed 5 different variants for the sand/gold color and I tried them all. The color was right on one but the "flop" of the metallic was wrong. It looked right staight on, but too light at an angle. Another had the flop right so it didn't change with angle but the color was wrong.

Shop told me that a paint salesman comes to their shop a couple times a week to match colors for them.

 

[versatile]

My flaking Versatile is going on 32 years old so not worth spending money on a repaint nor applying new decals. Mechanically, the van and all appliances have been kept up to date and all works well. The paint has flaked down to the primer as has any flaking problems I have seen. To take are of the paint problem on the cheap, I repainted flaked areas using a spray can of Tremcald white. Prior to painting, degrease for wax and silicone, lightly sand the primer and surrounding areas, then spray. Wet sand after painting as necessary. Tremclad white is not a perfect match but if whole panels are painted, the result blends in well with remaining original panels and while not perfect is acceptable.

 

[Gryphon-ClassB]

Paint issues were a problem for the entire 10 years I owned my 2003 Roadtrek. I never did have it professionally repainted, and my attempts to repaint the flaking areas never lasted. The last few years of ownership I was spending one or two days per year painting. The one bright spot was not having to deal with different colors - my van was all white & matching paint was easily available at local auto parts stores.

Honestly, one of the things I'm most looking forward to about the "new" RV I traded it for this summer is not having to deal with that anymore.