S O M E   I D E A S   O N   P A I N T I N G
A N D   P R E P P I N G   T H E
EXTERIOR  OF  A   VINTAGE  CAMPER
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This page is relevant to prepping and painting any vintage campers with the aluminum skin exteriors.  Normally, you would need to prep the aluminum before painting it.  This is most important if you take all the paint off and have bare aluminum.  This is some good information from:

JIM :  "to be prepped properly, first you must get an acid etch from an auto paint store, this stuff is a two part etch, its very toxic, go get a good respirator $50.00-$100.00 This etch will cause permanent lung damage.  Clean your old paint off and use your sander finish with 400 grit. Spray on the etch and then put on a good quality paint, I used tractor paint with a hardener from tractor supply it a very hard paint and does not run. The etch for a  Scotty will cost under a $100.00 , base white 1 gal & hardener $30.00 , and then use the rustolem for trim.  Remember to use the right thinner each is different. Good luck."

Gator RON :  added the following : " Aluminum can be  prepped with airplane primer. When I drove for a bus company in the early '80's in  Andover Mass, The owner showed me how they prepped  there aluminum  skinned  bus fleet before painting the buses. Airplane primer is a light green - yellow looking  primer. Probably could buy it from an aviation supply house or even a boat repair shop but you would end up paying top dollar. Some auto supply shops have it or can have it ordered.  A friend and I primed and painted an old aluminum canoe the first year I moved here to Florida and the pain still looks very nice. The canoe sees fresh and salt water. "


Below is some information on the aqua color paint used on the Serro Scottys
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The exact color of the aqua paint on the Serro Scottys that have the traditional aqua and white paint on the exterior white may be a problem.  Since these campers are mostly 40+ years old, there may be varying shades of the aqua and white. I have not yet seen any info on the 'true' color that Serro Scotty used.  I would advise you to get a color that is as close to the one on your Scotty, or a shade that you prefer.  This is a source for a shade of the aqua that looks good:


Thank you to "gods1216" who took her Scotty awning to a True Value Hardware
store and had it color matched. The formula for one quart of Scotty Aqua is:
XO - R u s t   G l o s s   P a i n t    O n l y
Colorant Oz.
 48ths
 96ths
D Phthalo Green
 1Y
 3 0
E Phthalo Blue
 43
 0
F Red Oxide
0
 0
KX White
 2Y
 2 1


This is a formula from Douq that was on a quart can of paint that came with his Scotty

Ace Deep Tone Base (Gloss) Rust Stopper Enamel Tough Oil Finish
INGREDIENT
 Y
 1/48
 1/96
AXX
 0
 1
 1
D
 0
 13
 1
E
 0
 17
 1
D E E P   T O N E   330   Q U A R T

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This is an article on prepping and painting the exterior of your Scotty.

Courtesy of "Ace" :

"My Scotty had been painted with a roller, so I sanded the whole thing with a DA air sander starting with 150 grit and then 200 grit sandpaper. (Note: I did not remove all the old paint). I also did not sandblast it. I then wiped it down with paint thinner to clean it. I bought a $50 air paint spray gun at Pep Boys Auto Parts. I used XO white primer first over the whole thing. I let it dry for two days. Then I painted the blue. I waited two more days for it to dry and then taped off the blue. Afterwards I put the final top coat of XO gloss white on it. The mix was one part thinner and four parts paint. I think I could have thinned it a little more because I did get a little orange peal on the blue. A body man told me it should of been a little thinner."

I can say that Ace did a nice job and the colors looked good, as I have seen his Scotty.  This sounds like good information on how to prep the Scotty and then paint it.  You may need to do some body work or other things that Ace didn't mention and you should have the Scotty inside a garage/building, etc. to do the painting. Also, if you don't have a sander or air paint sprayer, you can rent these items at rental places in most towns or cities.  Just check your phone book or yellow pages for a place. As far as an 'original aqua color', since it isn't exactly known - a shade that you like and looks good to you, is the most important.
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The  following is for the newer Scotties (80's) that have the brown and orange stripe.  This is from Bob who has a 1984 Serro Scotty.  Bob stated " Krylon Gloss Ivory matched my 84 perfectly. The brown stripe and windows, Krylon gloss leather for the stripe and flat for the window trim is close. The orange I had custom mixed at Walmart and came pretty close with Orange Alert #113.

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The following is from Gary who has a 1971 Serro Scotty Gaucho :  " I AM RESTORING A 1971 GAUCHO  THE BLUE PAINT IS ALMOST A PERFECT MATCH FOR KRYLON ( BLUE OCEAN BREESE). I HAD TO SPECIAL ORDER  A CASE OF 6 CANS.  KRYLON HAS A FAN TYPE SPRAY NOZZLE AND IT WORKED VERY GOOD.  I HAD TO USE ALMOST 4 CANS WITH 3 COATS. IT COST ME $2.97 PER CAN.


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Web page created by Larry Bush:  Sept.17.2007 --- Edited:  6.28.2009
Serro Scotty ~ Vintage Campers ©
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