Camper Remodel: Part 2

First step for our Camper remodel was to remove all the musty, ugly valences and draperies. Aaaaaah. Better already! We have also discovered that several of the blinds will need to be replaced.

Also, new mattress. No way I'm gonna sleep on an old nasty mattress with an old nasty bedspread. This camper had a SHORT queen mattress (did you know there was such a thing?), so that's the size we bought for the replacement. And, I happened to have an unreturnable teal bedspread from IKEA that fit perfectly. Done and done.

Next step: Remove that odd trim under the cabinets. It was another instant improvement. Fortunately it was easy to just pull it down and rip it off without much damage left behind.

But now to really dig in. I decided to start in the smallest area first. The bathroom. I went to Sherwin Williams to seek expert advice about the best primer and paint for our situation. They recommended their Extreme Bond Primer (they nearly scoffed at Kilz) saying it could paint over wood, plastic, metals, etc., and it does have good reviews, so I went for it. Costs more, but I really want to do this right. I don't want to sell a camper to someone that is going to scratch off and look cheap after a couple of years. I like to do things right.

Here's the bathroom after some priming (taping off always takes the longest and is the least gratifying:

I wasn't sure what to do about the rubbery trim on the counter and cabinet edges. I tried to find replacement options at an RV shop with no luck. So then I figured I'd try painting it, because if it didn't work I wouldn't be out anything anyway. To my surprise, it worked! I actually sprayed it with a spray paint primer (that stuff seems pretty hardy, doesn't it?) and then painted on top, and so far so good. We'll see if it lasts. If it doesn't, then I have other ideas.

Now for paint! I've seen a lot of camper remodels with white cabinets. It just seems too impractical (and frankly stupid) to me. Our camper goes on dirt roads, to campgrounds, with dusty people coming and going. All of that would show up on the white cabinets in about 2 minutes. I wanted style plus practicality. So I went with a medium gray. Sherwin Williams recommended a Pro Industrial paint with a velour roller for doing cabinets. It's the most expensive paint I've ever bought (I'm usually a Home Depot kinda girl), but also it's the best I've ever used. It filled in so well, smoothed out so nicely. Where I used a high quality brush, there are no brush strokes (my pet peeve of DIY projects). Where it pooled a little in cracks, it smoothed out beautifully. I'm kind of meticulous about paint, so this makes me happy.

Progress shots:

I didn't paint the shelves where it could be avoided, because I think it's too likely to get scratched off with use. Most of the shelves are in fine condition anyway. I did paint the shelves inside the mirror cabinet because they seemed to need it. 

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