Salt Spray is harsh on the RV

I lived in Florida for almost two years and never realized how the salt spray really takes it's toll on metals left outside.


So little to my surprise after a few months “wintering” in Florida, I find myself looking at an RV in which the salt spray is impacting the appearance! In fact, I have noticed a few places where I'm beginning to get some “rust spots” that need to be addressed quickly or I'll find that I'll need to do more extensive work later on.


The first indication of the salt air was on grill of my RV. The grill is made of solid metal with a nice coat of white paint. Now, I did notice that the grill was having a little “surface rust” over the summer and I then made some minor “preventive maintenance” at that time to ensure it would not continue. To my dismay, I find myself redoing some work on the grill.


I have done a little research on the topic and one of the best solutions is to paint the metal with PR15. This paint is made to cover rust and if you have heavy rust...then it needs to be brushed to get rid of any of the loose metal/rust before applying. However, this solution is a little costly AND it requires you to brush on the paint...not what I wanted to do. I would like to find a good solution using some spray paints that I can get directly off the shelf at one of the big box stores.

After a little research, I found a few options, but I'm sure they are not a full proof as the Por15 (Paint over Rust) solution. HOWEVER, I have decided to give them a go...


So this week, I once again pulled off the RV grill and sanded it down where the surface rust was showing. However, this time (unlike last time), I chose to use a Rust Inhibitor Primer before I put on the Rustoleme Paint! With the primer on and one coat of paint, I think I need to add another coat of paint (just to be sure)! But then I think it will be done.

Yes…that is me painting this in my flip flops!!!

Please NOTE...IF this paint solution does not work, I'm looking into replacing the grill with some type of aluminum strewn metal or aluminum mesh! This will upgrade the look of the RV while reducing the weight (since the grill weighs about 30+lbs.



Wish me luck...since I don't like redoing work!

BTW:  I also cleaned up my chrome wheel covers and put a little car wax on them as well!