Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 15, 2025 ...

Touch up paint for exterior white

August 29, 2013, 11:07:38 am

I tried to locate some touch up paint from FT parts, but all I could get was a #42892AH which he thought was Dupont.  His records are some 25 yrs old and couldn't really say for sure.  Has anyone located the white paint for a 91 GV?  Thanks and have a great day  ----  Fritz

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #1 – August 29, 2013, 01:11:09 pm

Try James at Xtreme Graphics.  He is the expert on all things paint.

Keith

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #2 – August 29, 2013, 01:43:17 pm

Fritz, Call Justin at Foretravel paint shop (936-559-3466). We had Justin do a original colors full body paint to our 1995 U240 in 2011. Back this May for some chip repair. He mix a couple touch up bottles for me. My white # BC - 194 -

Rick

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #3 – August 29, 2013, 02:22:32 pm

Send a sample to automotivetouchup.com & they most likely will have something close to what's needed and if not, they will make it up.

pc

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #4 – August 29, 2013, 05:41:23 pm

Hi Fritz,

You might try Xtreme Paint and Graphics.

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #5 – August 29, 2013, 07:40:45 pm

Thank you all for the great tips  ----  Have a great day  ----  Fritz

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #6 – August 29, 2013, 09:09:52 pm

Fritz... a lot of places have a computer that will color match. Take the door from the water heater in and let them match that. You might even be able to find a match on a spray can. Sue just used a can of off-white Rustoleum spray enamel and that actually worked pretty well. She tested it on a piece of cardboard first.

Craig

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #7 – August 29, 2013, 11:45:17 pm

Fritz,
Unless your coach was painted, I assume you know gel coat is the OEM finish (with vinyl striping over the gel coat).  I've done some repairs on mine and used white gel coat and added a brown pigment to match the shade.  It takes patience to get it close to the same color since the color seems to shifts a little after cure.  Proper cure requires application of mold release to block oxygen and overall is a PITA to do.
An easier option is a gel coat repair kit with color pigment tubes: Evercoat 108000 Gel Coat Repair Kit.  Usually found at marine supply stores and doesn't need the mold release for cure.
I'm not saying paint won't work.  I believe after 22 years the color of each of our gel coats is a little different reflecting the conditions each has endured.

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #8 – August 30, 2013, 01:21:36 am

I thought Fritz was talking about the metal covers (refrigerator, water heater, furnaces, etc) which are not gel-coat. We've had some rust on ours and just touched them up. Otherwise, yes, use gel-coat to repair the actual coach sides.

Craig

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #9 – August 30, 2013, 10:03:19 am

Thanks a bunch  ----  I did not know that it is gel coat on the body.  And it is in fact the metal trim pieces around the access lids to hot water heater, etc. that are showing rust spots.  I'll use some auto touch up paint for those.  I have also been considering painting the rear engine access (louvered) cover.  Is that gel coat?  Thanks again and have a great day  ----  Fritz

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #10 – August 30, 2013, 10:05:11 am

I've never had the talent for matching gelcoat and have the mistints to prove it.  Ended up going to Foretravel and buying a gallon of gelcoat.  The parts guy said he couldn't remember anyone doing this before but called the lamination dept and they bottled some up for me.  After I took it home I spread some on uncatalyzed and had the impression the color was way off and set it aside. 

A couple months later I shot some into a female mold and laid a part up.  The  cured color was, to me, a perfect match for the existing gelcoat (once I had wet sanded and buffed the oxidized gel.)  In addition, the gelcoat I got from FT was some primo stuff compared to the generic from a major supplier.  It's going to be difficult to work with applying it on the outside, recommend a spray gun and Duratec to have a chance of success, almost guaranteed to give you a good understanding of why most places switch to paint for major work.

I see the topic has changed a bit but what the heck...maybe somebody is interested in gelcoat.

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #11 – August 30, 2013, 10:39:40 am

The fiberglass is gelcoat, but, I would have thought that the metal covers for the hot water tank and the furnaces were painted, and not gel coated.  I would think the rear engine grill door is paint also, but I am far from being knowledgeable of these things.  My front furnace cover is also rusted.  I was going to have my neighbor prep and paint it at his body shop.  Would be better yet to have someone powder coat it.  Powder coating might handle the heat better.

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #12 – August 30, 2013, 10:52:41 am

From my experience with my 1996 Foretravel.

Metal parts are not painted with gelcoat.  Gelcoat and metal are not compatible due to differences in thermal expansion coefficient.  While gelcoat will stick to metal for a an undefined time, it will eventually crack and peel off.  As I said above, this is from my dumb experience.

Xtreme used BASF Glasurit paint on metal parts of my '96 and it exactly matched the white gelcoat.  The paint code is SA038.50.  I've had some mixed by these people:

The Painters Edge - The Premier Online Source for Auto Body Paint and Supplies

I bought BASF Diamont instead of Glasurit because of cost.  Glasurit is about $100 per pint, whereas the Diamont is about $70.  I found the Diamont color to be exactly the same as the Galsurit.

Note that this is a basecoat automotive paint.  It requires a clearcoat to protect it and give it a gloss finish.

Also, there are slight differences in the white gelcoat used over the years.  Your coach's white may not be my coach's white. 

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #13 – August 30, 2013, 12:11:42 pm

For all the metal louvered grills I used biscuit  rust-oleum applian epoxy. Looks good. Gam

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #14 – August 30, 2013, 05:16:15 pm

A good choice other than BASF is any AkzoNobel product. Most high end shops shoot with Sikkens, their premium paint, but Lesonal like Diamont, is also an excellent choice and quite a bit cheaper.  With a HVLP gun, more paint on the vehicle, less overspray, less cost.

For solid or metallic colors for a big rig without breaking the bank, there are several mail order companies on ebay that sell acrylic urethane paints, clearcoats and primers. The Euro paints above will do a great job but are part of the reason a good paint job costs over $20K. A DIYer with a domestic product and an inexpensive (but excellent) Harbor Freight HVLP gun can do a really nice job for a fraction of the price. A lot of car club guys use it on their restorations. A specialty filter along with good ventilation is mandatory when shooting any urethane.

HVLP Spray Gun Kit  , urethane paint | eBay

Pierce

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Re: Touch up paint for exterior white

Reply #15 – August 31, 2013, 10:42:09 pm

Nooo...not implying the metal parts are gelcoated, they are, of course, painted.  Pierce has it down if you want first class, suspect that original finish on most of the metal parts is whatever the parts vendor applied, on the level of Rustoleum.  +

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