Modifying the appearance of your Sportsmobile Sprinter van, both interior and exterior
I thought that I would try to see if some of you could share what many of you have been doing for a while.
I have read little bits and pieces over the forum’s pages but maybe we can make a single thread that can provide helpful ideas and the information used to get them done. Tell us how you did it or where you got it. Tell us why you did it and get some polite feedback (what else would you expect on this forum?).
So to start it out we did a little bit of work specifying the van the way we wanted it to look before purchase. We wanted it to have a rugged look so we selected a basic color that would go well with black, you might want to pick chrome or? We made sure that the wheels were black and dark tinted windows. We chose the black painted wheel. The dual rear wheels helped the appearance and carry the load of the final build (sure added to the appearance though).
After selecting our color for the van itself (“Pebble Grey” – I still see no grey) then everything that went on it was black. The ac cover was black and the awning was black as well as the spare tire carrier and cover. But there was more we needed to do to get it down to basics.
The front of the van comes with the chrome plated plastic license plate holder and the Mercedes three pointed star badge and hood ornament. I did not want chrome.
I took some rough sandpaper (could use the 3M pads like a red one or purple ones I think) and really scuffed up the chromed plastic. I was going to use a heavy textured paint over the surface so did not hit it with a finer grit but you may want to if you are going to a gloss paint finish. I was told to use an “adhesive promoter” so got some “Duplicolor Adhesive Promoter”. I followed the directions on the can and then painted it with a heavy textured black paint. I was not convinced that it would give me long term results so then painted over it with spray on truck bed liner, also from Duplicolor, that gave me a nice texture and looked like it would last. I painted the three pointed star and the license plate holder several thousand miles ago and there is no sign of chipping or flaking and the license plate holder takes a lot of hits from road gravel.
Forum member Spenard got me going on the minimalist approach to badging. I went and removed the front Mercedes cloisonné and then everything else except the black Sportsmobile badging (well, I left on the Mercedes star on the rear doors since there is a little place for it that would be obvious if removed). I think I picked up a couple MPG and people have a hard time guessing what it is now too.
I learned the hard way that you can rip your fingernails off removing the adhesive backed badging around the van. I also learned that you need to make sure the area around the applied badging is very clean otherwise you can get some little scratches if you pry at all, ask me how I know. I have also since learned that you can use dental floss to gut the adhesive foam free and then use some adhesive remover to get the residue off (check to make sure it is safe for your paint – I use 3M adhesive cleaner most of the time).
So that’s what I have done to make the van look a little more personal and unique. It works for us.
What have you done and how did you get it that way?
Thanks.
Chumley