Faux Stainless Steel-Look...Possible?
Hi.
Name's ken.
I have an '81 thomas transitliner which I converted about 2 years ago.(sorry no pics, lost all in a computer switch, and haven't taken new ones, yet)
I lived in the coach for a year, and all interior systems are working well.(yay.)
Now I am finally getting around to exterior finish.(Just nearing the end of about 100 hours of sanding.)
I am having trouble imagining a way to make the thomas' boxy, utilitarian bodywork look not so communist-bloc-buslike.
I am toying with the idea of attempting to paint the bottom half of the sheet metal to mimic stainless steel.
Has anyone attempted this?
Can it be done without ending up looking totally cheesy and lame?
And, if it is possible, it leads to another problem:
What color to paint the top half...
If I could use a dark color, it wouldn't be a problem.
I've seen coaches sporting S.S. under cobalt blue, or root beer brown, deep candy-glosscoat-style, and they look killer.
But I live in phoenix, az....It's gotta be a light, reflective color.(and I don't want a 3-tone, with a white roof.)
But I can't pictur a light color that might look good above a SS bottom.
I've searched all the pictures(i think) in this forum's galleries, and haven't seen a faux S.S. paint job, but maybe someone has done it, or seen it done, and could reccomend paint brand, technique, etc.
BTW, I don't have a million dollars....I can't really afford more than a few hundred for the paint itself, so the 7OZ. spray cans I've seen online for six bucks each won't work for me...I intend to use a wagner spray machine, and any tips on thinning, primer type/color, anything really, would be appreciated.
I do know the wisdom of "A good paint-job is 90% prep-work", and have that sorted, but the other 10%, the painting-experience/knowledge base, necessary to ensure an acceptable finished job is not part of my skill-set.
Thanks in advance.
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