I bought tack cloths as part of the finishing supplies. My recorded exterior preparation separated sanding, blowing away the dust, and degreasing before the coating went on.
My van with masking around the exterior areas prepared for coating.
The item in my kit
I bought S&F Stead & Fast Tack Cloths as part of my camper van equipment.
I bought tack cloths as part of the finishing supplies. My recorded exterior preparation separated sanding, blowing away the dust, and degreasing before the coating went on.
Where it fits my build
I taped the boundaries and covered the areas that would not be painted with plastic sheeting. I then sanded the exposed areas with an orbital sander and 60-grit abrasive, blew away the dust with a compressor, and cleaned and degreased the surfaces.
I mixed clear bedliner with white tint and sprayed the van. After it dried, I removed the masking. The tape and sheeting stage alone took around eight hours, and the finished edges still needed some touch-up.
The side of the van during the white-bedliner project.
My build notes
The most useful detail in my diary is the result, including the problems. Rust-Oleum pooled and dripped in places, and trying to repair one area with a paintbrush made it worse. I wrote that I would use a foam roller for touch-ups and preferred the more consistent finish I had obtained with RAPTOR.
Masking, preparation and application method each became a substantial part of the exterior-coating job.
Alternative products
Two alternatives to compare
Trimaco is another tack-cloth product for collecting fine dust. Simple Green represents the separate washing and degreasing stage, rather than the same dry-wiping method.
Trimaco SuperTuff Tack Cloths
These treated cloths collect fine dust during surface preparation. The flexible fabric provides a hand-wiping format around flat areas and contours.
