The exterior was an eyesore, so once the weather improved I turned to that in the cheapest way possible (rattle cans, ha). The van had a two tone color (tan and green), but it had gaps where the running boards previously were and the clear coat was peeling all over. The green on the body was in fairly good shape, but the fiberglass roof had lost its clear many years before and had white spots where the UV had eaten through. I thus taped off the edges and began sanding everything down.
1/2 way on the roof
Didn't bother on the roof rack area, as I will have a vinyl bag strapped here, so it will be covered and protected for its foreseeable life.
The lower body had a few holes which had rusted through, so after breaking all the loose metal off and sanding down/ hitting the remaining rust with phosphoric acid, I patched the holes with mesh, Bondo, and sanded smooth.
After several days of prep work it was finally ready for paint! For the lower portion I put 2 primer coats on and finished with 3 coats of a semi-gloss black. I didn't clear coat the bottom, as I figure it will get dings here and there and by leaving it off I can simply do a touch up when necessary. For the roof I tested 20 different greens and the closest spray paint I found was a Behr Black Evergreen. I used 3 coats on the roof, followed by 2 coats of clear. The green is a little light/ bright in the sun, but in the shade it looks very similar to the green of the van, and markedly nicer than before. Overall I'm happy with it, and the cost of all the materials was only around $150.
The only negative is now the green paint (which initially looked the best) is now the ugliest part of the van. Ha. Still debating what to do with the hood which has lost a lot of its clear coat. May buff the clear coat off the hood entirely and try to put a new layer of clear on top. It won't look identical, but will look better than it currently does anyways.
You'll also notice in the final photos that there is a circular solar panel on the passenger rear side. This is a solar fan I decided to install which automatically turns on when it has enough solar intensity. It basically runs non-stop in the daytime, even in the shade, so it will help keep the interior cool and also remove moisture throughout the day. All I had to do was cut a 3.25" hole, run a bead of silicone, and tighten it down.
