We posted a while back about the start of the paint job on Vie (If you missed that, here is the link – Paint The Beast). The second half has been done for a while – I have just been really slow in getting it on here.
If you remember back to “The Plan”, I had drawn up one day in class what I imagined the final project to look like. Here is a picture of the sketch, just in case:
So, with this sketch in mind, I created an Illustrator file with the hopes of finding a place that could print me out a stencil. I thought I might be able to print it in the geology lab on the fancy printer, but turns out they didn’t have the cut-out capability.
Long story short, I found Gary at Custom Auto Decor and Sign. He is a friend of Car Finder and has done decal work for them in the past. This guy is AWESOME. He helped me figure out all of the details and helped me measure things so we would for sure have enough. He also coached me on how to apply it all myself! Such a nice guy.
Anyways, we got the file out to the right length and set the printer up (I say “we” because he let me hang out in his shop and watch how it all worked!) Nothing was “printed” really. It just cut the pattern out of what is essentially a three foot wide piece of masking tape. It was awesome just watching that little razor cut out all the spots that it needed to!
Gary helped me get it all set up just right so I could apply, paint and remove. When it was finally all ready I cruised back to Car Finder to finish the paint job!
Putting the stencil on was quite the process. It was a lot of work making sure that everything was stuck down and that no paint would be able to drip out and ruin the pattern. Once it was all on there, we were able to hit it with the red!
So there it is! The final touches to the paint job!
What kind of paint did you use? I am using rustoleum spray paint but its leaving uneven spots so just wondering what you guys used. Looks awesome. We take off this summer and are in the middle of renovating right now!
Instagram: Travelmissdixie
We got automotive paint mixed up at a place near us. I don’t know if that would make a difference, but it worked pretty well for us. I would just google where you can get automotive paint. We had some of it mixed up in rattle cans as well, which has turned out to be super useful. Good luck!
Hey nice job painting and renovating guys! Heard you on the rv entrepreneur podcast today, very nice coming up with the NP tour plan coinciding with the 100 year NP anniversary. We just went through Idaho a little bit, including Pocatello where your Vie was born to you. Congrats!!
Nice! Pocatello is like a second home to me. I have a lot of family there – we love Idaho! We have loved the RV project. We are totally new to this whole game, like you heard in the podcast, but we have loved every part of it.