Decal Replacement Questions

[traveler of california]

I am thinking of replacing the decals on my '01 Journey. Have any of you done this and if so could you answer the following:

1. Did you buy the new decals from a source like Lichtsinn Motors?
2. What was the approximate cost?
3. Did you have a professional (body shop) do the replacement and at what cost?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Nick

[smlranger]

The original Winne decals are expensive. You can check with Lichtsinn or Mobility RV (Winnebago Parts - Parts for all Winnebago motorhome makes, models, and years, including Itasca, Rialta, Eurovan - Specializing in the Renault based Winnebago LeSharo, Phasar, and Centauri Motorhomes) in Forest City. Mobility claims to have a lot of decals for the older Winne coaches.

Another option is to find a local shop that will replace your decals. The big truck body/paint shop that recently painted my coach (I got rid of the decals) did a full decal replacement on a neighbor's older Foretravel. He took the coach to them, they photographed his rig and had another guy make up decals identical to the originals (except he changed some of the colors). His coach looks great. I believe he paid $3,000 - $4,000 for the decals and to have his entire coach buffed. This price included removal of the old decals which is not easy.

FYI, the shop that painted my coach allowed a full 8 hours just to remove my original decals. They used a heat gun.

[traveler of california]

Wow! I might be better off getting a paint job. Didn't think it would be that expensive.

Nick

[Gary - K7GLD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by traveler of california Wow! I might be better off getting a paint job. Didn't think it would be that expensive. Nick

YEAH? That might be what you think NOW - but wait until you price the PAINT job!

[Clay L]

This guy RV Stripes & Graphics
has instructions and removal tools listed. You might check with him on costs for new decals.
We plan to have him remove and replace ours in the spring on our way north.

The Winnebago factory quoted me about $8,000 to replace mine. The guy above quoted about $1200 - subject to photos and measurements being sent to him.

Full body paint jobs in Forest City seem to run over $12,000 or so.

[adventurous2]

When we got our 2003 Adventurer we immediately took off several of the decals, knowing they would fade! A blowdryer did a great job and on the new rig it did not show up as a "shadow" later. The few that remained are OK.
Just a suggestion for "new rigs". Yes I would love to have had the full body paint (we had it on our Safari Trek) but it was not available on the Adventurer then.
Ellen

[Roadking52]

When I purchased my 02 Horizon, the edges of the tape stripes were flaking in places. I purchased just the horizontal tape stripes from Mobility at a cost of about $250. I changed them myself, using a heat gun, 3M woodgrain remover, razor blades, and a lot of patience. Don't use the 3M on painted surfaces like the door, it softens the paint, although mine hardened back up. I only did one section at a time, which gave me reference points for keeping the new stripes in the original position. Place a piece of blue masking tape along the top of the location the new tape is going to use as a guide for placing the new tape. Wet the location with a spray bottle of water with a drop of detergent, peel off the backing on the new stripe & spray it with the soap solution and place in the desired location. Hold it in place and use a squeegee and the edge of a credit card to get the water out from under the stripe. Make sure you work all the bubbles out. Leave it in place until the next day, then lift the top carrier paper at one end and carefully peel it off, pulling it back toward the other end of the stripe, and not away from the side of the RV. You may have to re-squeegee (gently) to work bubbles out.
After you do this and realize the stripes look nice, but the faded gel coat looks like crap, load up and take the coach to Durham NC and get a full body paint job like SMLRanger and I did. That permanently solves tape and decal problems.

[smlranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadking52 When I purchased my 02 Horizon, the edges of the tape stripes were flaking in places. I purchased just the horizontal tape stripes from Mobility at a cost of about $250. I changed them myself, using a heat gun, 3M woodgrain remover, razor blades, and a lot of patience. Don't use the 3M on painted surfaces like the door, it softens the paint, although mine hardened back up. I only did one section at a time, which gave me reference points for keeping the new stripes in the original position. Place a piece of blue masking tape along the top of the location the new tape is going to use as a guide for placing the new tape. Wet the location with a spray bottle of water with a drop of detergent, peel off the backing on the new stripe & spray it with the soap solution and place in the desired location. Hold it in place and use a squeegee and the edge of a credit card to get the water out from under the stripe. Make sure you work all the bubbles out. Leave it in place until the next day, then lift the top carrier paper at one end and carefully peel it off, pulling it back toward the other end of the stripe, and not away from the side of the RV. You may have to re-squeegee (gently) to work bubbles out. After you do this and realize the stripes look nice, but the faded gel coat looks like crap, load up and take the coach to Durham NC and get a full body paint job like SMLRanger and I did. That permanently solves tape and decal problems.

Dale, you need to post some before and after pics of your coach. That 'Alpine-inspired' color scheme is really nice .

[pattcook]

After fighting fading decals on my 03 suncruiser for years I had them removed and painted over. I just had the decal area painted and not the white gel coat areas on the sides of the coach. I had them done in Mexico. I,m embarrassed at how low the price was. They did a great job. They primed the area before painting and then put clear coat over the paint. In the park I was at there were several high end coaches that were having detail work on ends of the slides. Its sure a shame
winnebago couldn,t have done a better job with these decals that fade and unravel in a few years. The original painted surfaces on my coach still look new.- John

[Roadking52]

Gary, I am embarrassed to admit I can't figure out how to post a picture

[Vegasdan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clay L This guy RV Stripes & Graphics has instructions and removal tools listed. You might check with him on costs for new decals. We plan to have him remove and replace ours in the spring on our way north. The Winnebago factory quoted me about $8,000 to replace mine. The guy above quoted about $1200 - subject to photos and measurements being sent to him. Full body paint jobs in Forest City seem to run over $12,000 or so.

I had this guy do new graphics for me last spring. I removed my old graphics and buffed out the exterior. The graphics package was $2300 installed. Removing the old grahics is do-able with a hair dryer and a plastic pick and fingers. I bought a 7" buffer and used a fiberglass polishing compound to buff out the fiberglass.

[RTegarini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by traveler of california Wow! I might be better off getting a paint job. Didn't think it would be that expensive. Nick

I've been quoted from $10k to $13.5k to remove all the decals and do a full-body paint. Would look great, but for resale value purposes it might be worth $1,000-$1,500, so it's not something I've jumped on.

[Vegasdan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RTegarini I've been quoted from $10k to $13.5k to remove all the decals and do a full-body paint. Would look great, but for resale value purposes it might be worth $1,000-$1,500, so it's not something I've jumped on.

$10K to $13K is cheap compared to the quote I got out of California for my Tradewinds-$26K!! Heres what I got done with a partial paint/vinyl graphics for $5400. I know I'll never get what I invested but we enjoy the improved look. The before and after shots.

[Clay L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegasdan I had this guy do new graphics for me last spring. I removed my old graphics and buffed out the exterior. The graphics package was $2300 installed. Removing the old grahics is do-able with a hair dryer and a plastic pick and fingers. I bought a 7" buffer and used a fiberglass polishing compound to buff out the fiberglass.

Are you happy with the job he did?
If his quote comes in the $2500 range we will probably wait a year to have it done so we can save up a few more pennies.