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A friend asked if I could make over her dated Jayco camper trailer, and I couldn’t say no! This project took some time and lots of love and was well worth it. It’s now travelling and making memories.
Before
After
Sandpaper
Renew tile and laminate paint (Black Earth)
Faux leatherette material
Exterior paint
Interior paint (I used the colour Salinger Half)
I started by removing all existing curtains and cushions. The canvas, walls and floors were washed with sugar soap and allowed to dry.
I lightly sanded all surfaces and painted with 2 coats of Dulux primer.
Once the primer was dry, I painted the cupboards with 2 coats of interior paint and one coat of clear varnish in satin finish for extra protection. It was also at this stage that the fridge didn’t work so I removed it and made additional storage space with off cut ply I had.
I added some sheer curtains for privacy, upholstered the original seats and made new curtains to match the new decor.
The seat I painted in the colour monument.
The only thing letting the makeover down was the interior canvas. I watered down exterior paint in white and applied it with this amazing little palm pad painter. Previously I tried with a paint brush and a roller but this pad was a game changer. It allowed me to have even paint and not too thick. If you use undiluted paint, the canvas will crack when folded away.
I sanded down the surface with 200grit after it had dried to remove any imperfections in the paint.
I painted the flooring and bench tops with Laminate and tile paint.
The other issue with the camper was that the fly screens were broken. My friend had purchased a roll of new fly screen which I started to sew by hand. This took so much time to complete one screen so I did some research and saw some people using a soldering iron to fuse the screen on. If you do decide to do this, i recommend a mask as the fumes are toxic.
I did however go back and sewed a running stitch after to fused them as I wasn’t 100% confident that this would be strong enough.
Like new!!
The exterior poles and trailer itself have been sprayed with Dulux metal shield in Monument and lighter colour in surf mist
After
Exterior before
And that is my makeover complete. The camper is now out and about getting dirty and living it’s best new life
Wowza @sandy_d!
You have created such a dreamy camper! I am so impressed with your ingenuity in painting the canvas, one would never guess it was a colour other than white. I hadn't heard of a paint pad before and now I really want to give it a try. I think my favourite transformation is the flooring and that the relief from the original flooring looks so much more glamorous in the Black Earth colour paint.
You'll have to ask your friend to take a snap of them living it up on the road to share with us!
Amazing job.
Katie
Awww thank you so much @KatieC Originally she wanted to cover the flooring with vinyl planks. I suggested to paint them as the pattern was too beautiful to hide, and glad I did.
We actually just returned from camping with them and I didn’t think to take one. But I definitely on the next trip.
Hey Sandy,
The camper looks amazing! Such a good job!
Did you just paint the interior of the canvas? How much did you water the paint down? Do you anticipate this will last? We never thought to paint them! Makes it so much brighter!
Thanks
Laura
Hello @ljp1912
Welcome to the Bunnings workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us.
Let me tag @sandy_d to make them aware of your kind words and questions. It sounds like you're planning your own pop-up camper make over. If you are, please make sure to post an update. I'm sure our members would be keen to follow along.
Eric
Hi @ljp1912 @and thank you. The paint interior is still going strong and so far no cracks. The alternative of replacing the canvas for my friend, was too expensive so I came up with the idea to paint it. The paint ratio was about 40 water to 60 paint, so it’s a very light coat (went over it twice). If the paint is too think, yes it will crack and become too stiff.
i did also add a small amount of fabric softener to the water to soften the canvas. I would recommend you paint the exterior and interior canvas the same colour to avoid colour seeping through.
the exterior paint on the canvas is mould resistant and again there has been no issues in a year. You may also want to sought out a waterproof spray for extra protection.
the exterior body was painted with an exterior metalshield spray paint.
I hope this helps 😊
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
I am just about to attempt a similar job on my Jayco Dove. Just not clear if you used the primer on the canvas too? Or was it just the diluted paint?
Thank you for your time in sharing these steps. It is very helpful:)
Renee
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