When I purchased my Airstream Bambi fresh off the lot, I was worried that I would have trouble customizing it enough to make it feel like home. I decided to live in it for a while before making any big changes, and after a while of this trial period, one thing became very clear: sitting in an aluminum box can make you feel like, well… you’re sitting in an aluminum box.
In order to brighten up the place and make it feel more like home, I decided to paint the interiors a versatile off-white. I had no idea what I was getting into. Let’s just say that I stumbled through the process and spent the entire time wishing I had planned a little better. Luckily, it came out great!
In an effort to aid anyone else who’s thinking of embarking on this endeavor, here’s a tutorial on how to paint your Airstream’s interior.
These are the general steps:
Prep the interior by clearing out furniture and removing hardware
Sand down the walls with liquid sandpaper
Apply 1–2 coats of primer
Apply 2 coats of paint
Material needed:
Plastic sheeting
Clean rags
Masking tape
Paint brushes (I used 1” and 2”)
Rollers (I used a 3” and 4”. Get a high-quality roller or you’ll be picking out fluff from your walls.)
Paint cups/pans
Paint of your choice in eggshell finish
Razor blade
Step 1: Prep
You want to make sure your Airstream is clear so you can get into all the nooks, crannies, and other wonky spaces. Clear out all furniture including the Airstreams table and remove wall outlet covers. You’ll want to lay down plastic sheeting to protect your floors during the rest of the process as well.
Step 2: Sand down the walls
Airstream interiors are covered in vinyl, though it might look like bare aluminum. You can’t paint directly on vinyl, even if you use primer first, so you’ll have to find a way to “roughen” the vinyl up. I used liquid sandpaper, which is a chemical solution that de-glosses surfaces like vinyl. You can also use traditional sandpaper. If using the liquid sandpaper, use clean rags to apply the solution anywhere you’re going to paint. Use round, sweeping motions, and change the rag frequently to avoid transferring sediment from one section to another.
When the liquid sandpaper dries, you can move onto the next step. The solution will leave a residue, which you can paint over, so don’t worry about wiping down your walls after it dries.
Step 3: Apply primer
I highly recommend using masking tape to tape off the edges before you start applying primer. The Airstream has wonky corners and tight spaces, so even if you don’t care about getting a clean edge, tape helps you avoid getting primer/paint all over adjacent objects/walls/cabinets/handles.
For the primer, I chose Gripper primer after doing extensive research online, and it worked perfectly. I can’t vouch for any other primer, but the key here is to find a heavy duty primer. Use the paint brushes to “cut in”, which means applying paint to the rim of a wall or section before using the roller to fill it in. I recommend using a paint cup for your brush and pan for your roller.
When applying the primer, don’t worry if things look blotchy and uneven—just avoid drips or other textural inconsistencies. Primer helps the paint stick to the wall/surface by giving it something to absorb into. As long as you have a solid coating of primer everywhere you’re going to paint, you should be fine. I did two coats of primer to be safe. Always let the first coat dry completely before moving onto the second.
Step 4: Paint!
Once the primer has dried, now comes the fun (read: tedious) part. Apply two coats of eggshell matte paint, waiting at least 24 hours between each coat. Whereas you had some more leeway with the primer, you’ll want to take the time to make this look nice. Start on the ceiling and work your way down (it’s easier to do it this way so you don’t have to avoid wet wall paint).
One “controversial” thing that I did was I left on the tape between coats and used a razor blade to remove the tape once the paint dried. The reason I did this is because, with all the nooks, crannies, and wonky curves in the the Airstream, it was too risky to remove the tape when the paint was wet. Removing the tape from the dried paint walls was tedious, but I definitely would have messed up the paint if I did it when wet.
After that, you’re done! Enjoy you’re beautiful, brightened walls and decorate to your heart’s content 🤓
