Monocoque affair

Hi, everyone, new to these wee beasties and about to put the money down.  Has anyone any experience of painting/changing the colour of the pale green/ beige body of the van?

Don't do it it will devalue the van
frederic

These monocoques  are the iconic Auto-sleeper,  keeping them original is the best way to keep their value. Agree totally  with frederic.

As has already been said - a definite no,no.. If you wanted to change the colour because the gel coat has gone very dull over the years, your best bet would be to invest in a good polish/restorer.  I cant recommend any particular brands as I haven't explored that avenue myself yet. Thats something on my to-do list.

Katybird666 wrote:Hi, everyone, new to these wee beasties and about to put the money down.  Has anyone any experience of painting/changing the colour of the pale green/ beige body of the van?

Thanks for the advice andd I take your point.  However, I am now 70, this will be my last in a long line of campers from 1972 onwards and it will probably go to the scrap yard at the same time I do.   So it is an option I'm interested in.

Does anyone know if paint will 'take' on top of the gel coat of the monocoque?

If you wanted to get it painted you could use a two part polyurethane on the gel coat.  This is a very hard wearing paint and is the product often used to paint grp yachts.  However you would be best to have it professionally sprayed.  I would imagine that this would be quite expensive.  The gel coat on our Gatcombe is of very good quality and with a little polish come up to a magnificent like new shine despite its age.  
Good luck
Ian

Not sure what kind of paint job or look you want to achieve but getting it vinyl wrapped by a professional company might be an option. They can create some wonderful designs.
I’ve no idea of cost, suitability etc… just throwing out a possible alternative suggestion that could preserve the originality that you might regret getting rid of as mentioned.