I receive a lot of questions on the topic of painting the interior of vintage trailers. So I’m going to do my best to answer those questions here. A lot of people ask:
Q: Should they paint the interior and if so, will it de-value the trailer?
A: Painting the interior of your trailer is entirely up to you. Will it de-value the trailer? Yes, likely it will. The reason why is because painting over the original birch or 60’s-70’s style paneling takes away the originality of the trailer. Once you paint the walls there is no going back. So before you paint, think long and hard about it. I know some people feel that these small trailers are too dark and cave-like inside because of the dark paneling or wood. I hear ya! I actually agree and just the other day I saw the most adorable canned ham trailer for sale but the interior totally turned me off because the original wood was so dark. I mean really dark, like a dark roasted coffee type dark. What were the original manufacturer’s thinking?? Tiny places simply look even more tiny when the walls are so dark. The owner tried to brighten it up with cushion fabric, curtains, etc., but you still just couldn’t get away from it being so dark. In cases like that I’d really be highly tempted to paint it.
Another thing to consider is; Do you think you may sell the trailer in the next couple years or so? If the answer is yes, then you may not want to paint it. If you feel like you will have the trailer for the next 10 years and your not concerned with the re-sale value or keeping the trailer original then do what makes you happy even if that means painting the walls. As a side note; paint the interior of a trailer can be a sign to potential buyers that it was painted in order to cover up damage.
Q: What kind of paint would I use?
A: If you have decided you do want to paint the interior of your trailer whether it’s wood or paneling I would recommend using Kilz primer first and then a semi-gloss interior paint {easier to wipe clean}. Muted colors work best but you can get as creative as you wish.
Here is an example of a trailer that I owned that I painted the interior.
Notice how tired looking the interior walls were on the left? This trailer was not originally that beautiful warm birch to begin with so I felt it would actually benefit it to paint it. I also was not painting it to cover any damage. It simply was very tired looking and needed to be brought back to life.
Here is my other trailer and this one I would never consider painting. I absolutely love the warm birch interior on this one. It has that warm, honey color.
It truly is a matter of preference. While I’m not a die-hard, if at all possible (and tolerable to ones own taste) I do prefer the interiors to be left original but I also believe that when you aquire one of these little trailers it should be your own happy place and if painting it makes it more happy…go for it!
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Hello Kelle! My name is Katy and I’m the social media coordinator for KILZ brand products. Great job with all your little trailer restorations! We are happy to hear that our products have helped you paint the interior of vintage trailers. We would LOVE for you to share your experience with our products by writing a review. Visit our review page, select the products you’ve used, rate and write a brief description and hit submit – it’s that simple! We would greatly appreciate the feedback! Thanks so much!
Link to review page: http://www.kilz.com/primer/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=8ad359ff4f72d310VgnVCM100000176310acRCRD
We used KILZ primer for paneling to prep ours for painting inside.
A trick I learned when doing ALOT of boat work, varnish and paint, Is to varnish wood with several coats of good marine varnish before painting. Then if you later decide to go back to the natural wood you can remove paint and you will not have the paint in the grain of the wood because it was sealed with the varnish first. While restripping a painted vintage trailer would make anyone crazy, it might make a good selling point if one is trying to sell their painted trailer.
Great tip!! I’m going to file that one away as that makes great sense. Thank you for sharing.
Boy you hit the nail Kelle. Our 64 oasis cupboards, were darkened it’s fine but I agree small spaces bright colors. We have painted the walls white, and the bathroom door to re freshen it up. I think as long as you do a reasonable job re doing it I too would not worry about de value of the the trailers. I lucked out and found about 10 yards of vintage 60’s fabric that is very heavy and will look smashing recovering our cushions. The people did a nice job recovering them but in the 1980 pink, and gray fabric YUCK!
I was so torn about this topic, kept me up at night. The problem with the 60s-70s trailers is you can’t find that paneling anymore & there’s no way to replicate that washed out pickled white color (we tried). PO had used staples & tacks! We had no choice but to paint. We did use the same color as the original paneling, but I couldn’t replicate the faux wood look. Nor did I want to 🙂
I painted my washed -out white paneling with a semi-stain. You can still see paneling through the stain only with a different tint. I like it and remodeled to suit me …not as resale value. Your choice!
Hi, I am thinking of painting the whitewashed look paneling in my old silver streak. Some of the paneling is looking very tired. I have also tried to find a good product that wood keep it close to the original whitewash look. What semi-stain product did you use?
Personally I would never paint over the wood. I thought about doing so on my camper but decided to put the blood seat and tears into sanding and varnishing. The grain in the wood really stands out.
to me there is nothing like the glow of varnished wood at night.
We just got a 1967 TravLynn 17 ft travel trailer. It had been in a barn for 30 yrs. we got it from a guy who had it registered in 2010 in CA. Had it registered in AZ 2013. DMV couldn’t find anything on it. Anywho…it has light paneling, not any fancy birch “wood” …still torn about painting the inside. Does it devalue it if it’s just paneling? It’s in really great shape, maybe that’s why I’m torn.
Love reading all the comments on their journeys!!
I just bought a really nice Aristocrat Land Commander with two large beds and a nice toilet room. The cabinets look good, but the paneling is scratched and has nail holes in it. Your article about paint or not paint has helped me decide on what to do.
My plan is to live with it during this summer. If after that I will ether sell it or keep it. I will paint the walls only if I keep it.
I’m currently signed up for 9 vintage trailer events for this 2015 summer, starting in 2 weeks
( February 13th) at the KOA in Cloverdale. This should help me decide if I will keep it or not.
Thanks, BIG AL
Hi, Im in the same place you were a year ago wondering if I should paint the interior or not. Ive been considering it for two years. Is that a sign I shouldn’t? 🙂 Let me know what you decided and are you happy with your choice. Thank you. Grama Debbie
Another reason to paint is when damage has been FIXED (not just covered up). Our camper needed restoration when I got her. Since I had to pull the floor and rebuild the rim joists, skirt boards, some wall panels and so on, painting is the best option. My Shasta had the light, pickled paneling, which can’t be found, even if it was my favorite (it’s not). So… I kinda lucked out? That’s how I choose to look at it, anyway. I wouldn’t have had the heart to paint over birch, even though I probably prefer a lighter interior.
I suppose if you’re a flipper, painting can be a red flag, but this will be for us, and isn’t being restored to original. I’m putting a shower in the closet, for example, and beautifying the cabinets. I have a ton of photos showing the rebuild if I ever do decide to sell and get a different camper, though, so any potential buyer will be able to see it wasn’t just a matter of damage having been covered by a coat of paint. So if you’re in a position where you have to repair damage and won’t be able to restore the original paneling, my advice would be to take photos showing what you did.
Do you use interior paint? How does it hold up to cold temps? I’m in North Dakota 🙂
I own a 75 Cardinal, by the mid 70’s the beautiful honey colored birch was long gone, replaced by that ugly dark paneling with the ugly black stripes, remember your mom’s or grandmas house? it was so dark and gloomy with those black inset lines, only choices were to tear it out and put birch inside, I chose the easy quick way and painted navajo white. much brighter inside. we love it although we know purist want birch. either way we dont feel we hurt re-sale since the cruddy paneling was as much or more a liability than just painting it.
I have a 1968 Forester and I just applied Howard’s wood restorer and it looks awesome! My problem is the ceiling which has turned yellow. I would like to paint it white but I am afraid it will take away the texture of the ceiling. Any ideas? Thanks, Patty
I am lightly restoring a 69 Shasta Star Flyte. We tore out the ugly pickled paneling and are installing birch, which we are staining. I try to keep most of the original materials, but I still think the value will remain as long as quality materials are replaced. For me, updating and putting my own touch on my camper is so much fun, and it makes me feel like it my living space, not someone else’s from the past.
I have a 1989 coachmen 18ft and I want to put a electric stove in place of the gas. Is there a place to look for this kind of thing online for for this camper. I am on oxygen for me to cook inside makes sense LOL. I have the heat/cool together which is fairly new. They had some bunks installed that are going all is left is some touch ups. This 69 yr goof ball lady trying to make it work here in South Carolina
I just purchased a 1968 HiLo Voyager (18ft), one owner, all original, in amazingly great shape. I just finished redoing the curtains and and cushions to coordinate with the pristine avocado green stovetop and refrigerator (kind of retro-boho brights) and laying a light wood-look snap together vinyl flooring. The white laminate countertops have some chips that will eventually require replacing/refurbishing, but the walnut walls and cabinetry are in almost immaculate condition. Yes, it is kind of darker than I’d like and initially I toyed with painting it all white gloss (and still may end up doing that) to lighten and brighten things up. We will be making our maiden voyages with “Lola” beginning Aug 2nd and I’ve decided to live with the walnut for a while and see if it grows on me. Will give it a good oiling or a few coats of gloss poly as described above before making a final decision. Thanks so much for all your great information. This little dream project has been in the making for the past 5 years and I totally lucked into “Lola”.
We just bought a summer trailer which is a 1958 Vogabond. It has the original birch throughout the original trailer and then an addition that is just normal painted paneling. I really wanted to paint it all the ceiling, cabinets, walls, etc. After researching it and realizing how rare those type of walls and ceilings are it is giving me some doubts. Even the big round cabinet handles are original even though they are only on some of the cabinets. The kitchen drawers are sagging and need help so really torn on what to do. We only use this cabin Memorial Day to mid – August when school starts. We are redoing the flooring as that is a mess of layers and layers and putting classic furniture back in. Any words of wisdom here? I am not sure if we will have the cabin more than the next 5 to 7 years.
I have a 1956 14 ft Terry in its original condition with no water damage. Original birch ply interior is aged to an amber gold . I refaced the kitchen cabinet doors with 1/8 inch thick birch ply and was able to replicate the aged birch ply using Ipwhich Pine stain by Minwax with 2 coats of satin oil based varnish over the stain. If the interior of your vintage trailer is salvageable ,consider refacing it with new birch veneer ply instead of painting.Painting definitely devalues a vintage trailer.