GM vans and trucks, as well as pre-Mercedes and pre-Fiat Dodge vans and trucks, are notorious for peeling and flaking white paint.
The Rolling Steel Tent has been plagued with it the past few years. It got especially bad when I was in wet weather. Water seeps into tiny dings and creates water filled bubbles between the paint and primer coat. A chunk a little larger than my hand came off the sliding door a few months ago. There were also areas on the driver side front wheel arch, the driver window opening, and along the underside of the drip rails.
In the Nomadland movie, Swankie talked about bad paint making us van dwellers look like bums. I agree. Gotta make this disrespected lifestyle appear as respectable as possible.
So I got some sandpaper and paint and got to work. Spray cans don’t do the best job — especially outside in a breeze — but the result looks okay from about ten feet and if the light is just right. It looks perfect in the dark. With your eyes closed.
Now I just need to deal with the chips and baked-on bug guts on the bumper.
They make an enzyme cleaner for the bug guts.
ReplyDeleteThey also make sandpaper. :)
DeleteI had an 80's Dodge van that lost paint like that too.
ReplyDeleteI had '81 & '84 Dodge vans, same issues. I went back to the dealer and said Chevrolet is redoing the paint. He said we aren't Chevy. I traded the '84 in on a new Chevy Silverado, the paint stayed on.
ReplyDeleteTake that ! Dodge....