As I was watching videos and reading blog posts to learn how to makeover our camper, there was one thing I heard again and again. Almost everyone said, “Painting the camper was a huge, exhausting project. It took forever but it was worth it.” Along with that, a few people added that if they had to do it again they would consider using a paint sprayer. I was intrigued, so I set out to find out how to paint a camper with a sprayer.
*Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more here.*
There are really NOT a lot of tutorials showing people using a sprayer. A lot of it I had to figure out as I went, especially how to approach the cabinetry. I’ve tried to show details here on every aspect of how to paint a camper with a sprayer from taping to prepping walls, painting the cabinet doors and frames, and tips I found handy for removing the tape. At the bottom of this post I’ve listing out exactly which products I used.
It was still a lot of work to paint the camper! The camper makeover took most of my free time and a lot of our weekends for the entire month of July. The priming and painting itself only took a few minutes over the course of a few days. The prep work beforehand took another few days, to remove and tape off everything that we didn’t want tape on. However, here’s why I think it was way better: the tedious, time consuming part is the taping and you get to do that right away in the beginning when you’re excited to start. Right about the time I was getting really tired and wanting to quit, I got to start spraying and see amazingly fast changes! And then it was quickly on to the decorating and finishing, which was mostly fun and somewhat re-energizing. If I had hit the wall when the camper was only half painted by hand, I may have just walked away for awhile.
The sprayer itself was definitely a worthwhile investment for us and I think it would be the same for anyone who does even a few DIY projects a year. We constantly have projects going and, looking back, a sprayer would have saved me so many hours of tedious painting. I wish I had bought one years ago.
I didn’t really go in to detail about how to operate the sprayer model I chose because there are a lot of tutorials already out there on that. If you do want me to show something you’re having a hard time finding just let me know!
Products mentioned in this video:
- Pre-taped Painter’s Plastic: https://amzn.to/3khwK6e
- FrogTape: https://amzn.to/3ko69Ev
- Goo Gone: https://amzn.to/33A9U3V
- TSP Substitute: https://amzn.to/3kkLQYL
- Spackle: https://amzn.to/2DtXjob
- Putty Knife: https://amzn.to/2PzFwys
- Sandpaper: https://amzn.to/3ieOoFZ
- Palm Sander: https://amzn.to/31wAmJ5
- Primer: https://amzn.to/2XSauGH (Note about primer: when I ran out of that initial gallon I switched to another more commonly available primer and it seemed to work just as well!)
- Curtain Rods: https://bit.ly/3fBvYNX
- Red Rosin Paper: https://amzn.to/3a2mSsk
- Border Adhesive: https://amzn.to/3a3tdUeU
- Smoothing Tool: https://amzn.to/33BOZxk
- Chalkboard Paint: https://amzn.to/3idRdac
- Spray Paint for Hardware: https://amzn.to/31xGZuw
- Painter’s Tape: https://amzn.to/3gxsNYO
- Utility Knife: https://amzn.to/2XFhpTr
- Paint Sprayer: https://amzn.to/3ijt5De
This is part of my series on our large family camper makeover. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 or go see the complete playlist on our MarriedtotheFarm YouTube channel. I’m happy to help if you have questions, just ask in the comments!