Paint the white plastic vents, cable, power cover?

[Deleted User]

The white plastic covers on the utility outlets always kind of stuck out like a sore thumb against the gray background on my 400. I now see the 2021 comes with them painted black and it looks so good! I'm going to call my dealer next week to see if I can order replacement black vents for my fridge vents.

My question is, has anyone painted any of those plastic components? I thought I would order the  black parts that are a compatible fit, but there are a few things like the sewer storage cover, cable outlet, outside shower that they dont have a black replacement for (since several things have been moved into the side compartment on the 2021)

I know they make spray paint for plastic, but I'm just thinking it might not last in the elements. 

Sharon_is_SAM

Krylon paint has been mentioned in several threads.

[Deleted User]

Thanks I will do a search on that.

B0atguy

Been there , done that . Replaced or painted all of the white bits on our 2019 320s , with black . 
Used Krylon Fusion if I remember .......will check . 
Painted parts were - Fridge Vents, "T@B", and "320" emblems , AC vent cover , Water fill port, alde vent  and outside shower . Everything else was sourced in the color black . 

[Deleted User]

Looks so classy!  Just what I'm going for! So by sourced do you mean from Nucamp? Thanks for the reply and pics!! 

[Deleted User]

Question...after removing the parts to paint, did you just reuse the original holes to screw everything back on? 

B0atguy

TabbyShack said:

Looks so classy!  Just what I'm going for! So by sourced do you mean from Nucamp? Thanks for the reply and pics!! 

TabbyShack said:

Question...after removing the parts to paint, did you just reuse the original holes to screw everything back on? 

The only items sourced from NuCamp were the "T@B" and "320" stick on decals by the door (then painted black). Everything else was sourced online, from Amazon, Ebay, etc . Door entry handle , exterior light, cable tv input, water vent cover, city water hook-up, power port were all sourced black in color . Water tank fill was painted in place, cause it wouldn't come of "easily". The outside shower was available in black , but was $$$, so I just painted it . 

Hindsight ......... thinking I may have been better off painting the Fridge "vents" by the door , grey in color to match the body instead of the black trim . It may have looked better ? Not sure ?

Yes , I used the original holes for reattaching all the painted parts. Used some silicone, and screwed them back on using the original screws. 

Here is a more recent picture, after I installed a pitched axle (Boondock) , and new larger tires . 

[Deleted User]

Great info! Very helpful. I know what you mean about gray or black. I was looking at the LP vent on the other side of mine and realized it would look better in gray than black...but yours for sure looks good as is! I have the 400 so I dont have the water fill flapper thing (I used to have the 320) I was looking today to see if anything looked like it was going to be hard to take off. Everything was in place with screws so should be ok. I'm concerned though about getting the caulk back around some if the items. It's so perfectly on there neat but anytime I've caulked anything, it's a struggle! 

[Deleted User]

P.s.....I think the vents in black look the best! Gray would have been just ok, but the black is better. 

[Deleted User]

Silly question, did you just use a razor blade to detach/cut away the existing caulking from around the ac vent and other items with the gray caulking? 

B0atguy

Yes, I just very carefully cut the silicone with a brand new razor blade . Some things I was able to just pull apart carefully , other things (like the a/c vent, outside shower) I had to scribe/cut a line with a razor blade and gently pull apart from the body of the T@B . 

Thanks for the opinion on the black fridge vents . Think I will leave them black , kind of completes the "look" . 

Also, just noticed (dont know how I didnt notice this before ! ) that the door catch pieces are still white !    
Will have to pull them of and paint them too ! LOL  

[Deleted User]

Haha, I didnt see those either!  Thanks, that's exactly the detail I was looking for on removing the caulk! I only hope I can get it back on as neat as nucamp did it! I'm sure I wont! 

[Deleted User]

Sorry one more question! What did you use to reseal the components? Clear silicone, colored caulk? I see mine has gray caulking, but I'm thinking clear might be best. I have some clear marine grade sealant. 

B0atguy

TabbyShack said:

Sorry one more question! What did you use to reseal the components? Clear silicone, colored caulk? I see mine has gray caulking, but I'm thinking clear might be best. I have some clear marine grade sealant. 

I just used clear marine silicone sealant . 
Also dont forget to squirt a little sealant in the screw holes too . 

If I remember , the only things that had sealant / caulk around the perimeters were the a/c vent and the outside shower . Everything else was just screw holes to seal up ....... Although I did go overboard, and made sure everything was well sealed . 

[Deleted User]

Thanks! Perfect! I found most things online so I'm going to start ordering everything tomorrow.  I'm a bit nervous I have to admit. I'm thinking it might be a bit more of a challenge than it seems. 

[Deleted User]

Project complete! All replacement black plastic parts except the AC grate. I painted that because I couldnt find a black one.  Cost $366 for parts and its only that high because the city/gravity water box (with brass fitting) was $164! Without the brass fitting it's about $45, but the one that came on mine was brass so I figured best to have the strong one.  If you are interested in more details please contact me.  One word of caution, the sewer hose storage cover was a major surprise and not in a good way. The inner threaded ring part was glued inside the pipe. We had to pull the pipe out, cut off the glued ring and then we had to put lots of sealant at the contact points to reattach the pipe.  The end result was perfect looking and functional, but not sure if it will stay in place over time. It wont be hard to fix if it comes loose though. Also for the two fridge vents, we left the white fixed back plate in place and just replaced the vent cover . It wasnt possible to get the mounted back plate off without damaging the black decals on the lower vent (you have to do alot of work to get existing sealant off)  You cant see the white part unless you get down low and look for it and even then it's barely visible.  

RedRaider

Has anybody tried Plasti Dip?  It's a amazing product.  I painted the chrome grill on my Armada 4-5 years ago and it still looks good.  Watch a few videos about the product on YouTube.  All the plastic pieces on my Tab were white so I painted them with black Plasti Dip.  It comes in different colors.  I still need to paint the A/C vent.   A few years ago I painted silver alloy wheels on another trailer of mine black   A couple years later I peeled it off and went back to silver.


  

lkc001

@B0atguy 1.  I don't suppose you have some links for the items you sourced from Amazon or ebay?  I'm not having any luck with sourcing some of the pieces in black--maybe I'm not using the exact correct term to search  2.  For the pieces that you painted black, did you use Krylon Fusion in matte black or glossy black?  3.  When you talk about the "sewer cover" and ring glued to the pipe, are you referring to the sewer vent cover that is just below the cable connection cover on the non-door side?  Did you end up just painting anything in place and just masking off a large area around that particular part?  Thanks for any info!

[Deleted User]

Hi ick001, which pieces are you looking for in black.  Do you have the 400 or the 320? The sewer cover is only on the 400. Boat guy has a 320. In my pic if the 400, I'm referring to the black round cover at the bottom right of my photo.  I think you might have a 320 based on how you describe the location.  

lkc001

@TabbyShack I have a 320S.  For example--I could not find a cable port cover in black except for the one that is a double cable port cover at Camping World for $30, which is ridiculous.  Did you paint any of yours in place?

[Deleted User]

I only painted the air conditioner grate and I removed it to paint it. Everything else is a replacement black plastic component. I got the cable cover at rvlocksandmore.com.  It cost $10.86.  I got several of the parts from this site. You will definitely need Goo Gone to get the existing sealant off for any if the components that have visible caulk around the outer edge if the item. The cable cover doesnt though. 

Compact Enclosure, Cable, Black

http://www.rvlocksandmore.com/s.nl/it.A/id.9153/.f