I’m really excited to reveal the finished look of my vintage trailer after its paint job. This was an expensive part of the restoration – the paint alone cost $500 – but I now know that it was totally worth it! I haven’t been this excited since we put the siding on my Tiny House.
I hired a friend – Martin Leguizamon – to paint my trailer. Martin has painted cars before, and he’s also a skilled carpenter. He’ll also be helping us rewire the trailer for solar power this weekend. I’m always happy to hire friends for their trade, especially when it’s out of my wheelhouse.
Martin spent hours prepping my trailer for its new paint job. This included removing the red stripe decals, which were put on by a previous owner. He also removed the “Compact Junior” decals. I was sad to see these go, but there was no other way. We’ve since ordered a replacement Compact Junior decal from an Etsy shop. We choose a dark blue for the decal color, to match our custom made awnings (more on that soon).
I also recently ordered a HUGE custom decal for the other side of the trailer, but I don’t want to reveal that just yet!
Martin then sanded down any chips on the trailer body and sealed the seams. He taped off the windows, water/electric inlets, and the canvas that separates the pop top from the roof. The prep work took him a very long time, and when it finally came time to spray the paint, he finished the job in just two hours!
Poor Martin dealt with unpredictable weather and, eventually, he had to move the trailer into his garage to spray. This meant he needed to hang sheets of plastic around his garage to protect his tools. Thankfully, my trailer is small enough to fit! Otherwise, I’m not sure what we would have done. You see… smaller is better!
I fretted about which color to choose for a long time. I wanted something bright and shiny, but I also wanted to honor the original color. After looking through multiple color charts specifically for auto paint, I decided to go with a “school bus yellow,” which is a bright yellow that is pleasing to the eye. I’m very happy with this choice.
Some people see the new paint as orange; others see it as yellow!
I was so ecstatic when I saw the finished job. My trailer now has a warm and bright aesthetic. It’s exactly what I wanted, and I think it looks brand new. Who would guess my trailer is actually pushing 50 years old?!
*Photos courtesy of Martin Leguizamon*
Love your redo on your Compact Jr.!! We own a ‘72 CJ also. We are in the middle of the redo. Just finished the outside paint. And now moving to the inside. I watched your video, and was wondering if you did anything to the inside walls. There is no insulation in our’s, just the bare walls. We’re just trying to find the easiest way to insulate. And, if we really need to even do it. We are going to pull our’s with our street rod to car shows. So maybe mainly we will be using it for show, but would like to stay in it some. Love any advise you could give.
Author
Hi there. We didn’t insulate. There is a thin layer of fleece that was already lining the walls, and we left it there. Otherwise, it’s basically a hard shell tent. We don’t normally camp in the winter, so this isn’t a problem. When we do camp in cold weather, we just use our cold weather sleeping bags. It has never seemed worth it for us to insulate or install a heater, but I know some people do.
I love it! Just bought a 1971 hunter compact. I saw orange in the first photo and then the yellow in the other photos! Did you paint the interior? Any specific types of paint you used for inside? Love your blog and videos! Happy travels
Author
Hi there! Congrats on your new Hunter. We did not paint the interior.
It’s perfect! It looks like a meyer lemon yellow : )
Looks great. 50 years…Wowza, maybe it will do another 50 lets hope.
I love it!! Can’t believe it’s that old. Can’t wait to see it with the curtains I’m making for you.