can you paint the canvas?

[shinobi]

It's been awhile since I've been here but I have been lurking and reading everyone's fix ups and I've been very impressed

I'm now doing cosmetic work on my 79 viking saga. We put up a privacy curtain and have made blue covers for the cushions and will work on the floor eventually but now that everything is pretty, the old style canvas looks old and stained so I was wondering if it's possible to paint the canvas inside and out and thought maybe a white latex exterior paint might work?

I'm not really worried about the paint not letting air circulate because we live in Northern Ontario, Canada where it gets pretty cold and if we get warm we'll open a window

Any thoughts?

[wavemaker]

i dont think it would be a good idea....
i think it will peel right away..

[ScouterMom]

Not unless you plan on NEVER folding it up again!

Paint would make the canvas stiff, and where it MUST bend and move and fold, it will crack. and it probably won't crack just the paint, but also the canvas itself.  Besides, you  don't want to make your canvas 'unbreathable' ESPECIALLY in cold weather / climates.  What will happen is the humidity from your bodies will condense inside the camper if it can't 'breathe' and you will be WET and cold.

My Boy Scout troop does a winter survival campout every year, where the boys are given a simple tarp to make a shelter out of.  We've learned that those who have a PLASTIC, unbreathing tarp, always get wet unless they leave a good sized opening at the TOP of their shelter (heat, along with it's humidity, rises)   Even so, their sleeping bags are often wet on the outside from it literally 'raining' or misting inside the shelter from their combined warm bodies all night.

IF the stains are that bad, I have two suggestions.  

When re-doing my '73 STarcraft, I had to take the canvas off it completely to work on the roof. So I soaked the entire thing, piece by piece, in a plastic kiddie pool with a high concentration of OxyClean and water.  The Oxyclean brightened the whole thing and eliminated or reduced all staines. Some really dark or oily stains I literally scrubbed with a scrub brush and cleaners - I tried dish soap, laundry detergent, RV canvas cleaner, upholstery foam cleaner, and in some spots, a bit of bleach water.
the RV cleaner didn't do a thing. best was good old soap and elbowgrease/ scrubbing. The bleach heled mildew stains, but the oxyclean did, to, and it's gentler on the fabric.

Once you give the canvas a good cleaning inside and out, you will
1. have a brighter, cleaner canvas - which might now be 'good enough'
2. have a clean fabric which can better absorb a stain or dye?

I have not tried this - but if the color looks bad or there are stains, once it's clean, you might try DYEING the canvas.  I would try it on a small area first, or on the canvas awning or a window flap that is also behind vinyl - just to see if it works.  If you want browns, you could try wood stains - most older canvas is cotton, so it should absorb the dye well, as long as there isn't grease or glue on it.  you could either 'paint' it on with a sponge brush, or regular brush, or maybe soak it ( messy)   I'm not sure, I'd have to play with it a bit and see what works best  for even coloring.  

Whether you Dye it or just clean it well, you will have to re- waterproof spray it to make it water repellant again.

If you DO this, please take loads of photos - I'm sure we will all want to see the finished result.

another option is to sew vinyl over the bunkends' canvas - which many campers of that era had anyway (my starcraft does) - to cover the stains.  You will still see them Iinside the camper, but not on the outside.  A cheaper, ;quicker alternative would be to get Pop-p Gizmos to go over the bunkends.
http://www.popupgizmos.com/bunkcoverpage.htm

Laura

[haroldPE]

the canvas may also be replaced, but something tells me you may not be interested in this solution:
http://www.rvworkshop.com/