Delamination. What does it look like?

[D.Weber]

I viewed a 97 Executive today. It was apparent in the first couple of minutes that the advertisement had a lot of cut and paste or embellishment going on. The coach I was looking at wasn't the one in the ad.

The clear coat had a lot of peeling at the front and right side. It looks like the paint at the left rear corner in the area between the left rear tire and the window above had bubbling paint. When I pushed on the bubbles, it did depress but not easily.

Is this what delamination looks like? What does it cost to repaint a 40 coach? I'm guessing $10k.

Thanks,
Don

[num1dgh]

I would increase your guess by another $10K. Not to mention that behind delamination about 90% of the time is water damage that caused the delam. Buyer beware! I wouldn't do it!

[ahicks]

Geez, I'm confused. Are you talking about pushing in on the paint, or the siding?

Delams often easy to spot as a bubble or ripple in the coach siding, possibly large in area. Most are apparent below windows and roof line, and sometimes most easily seen while sighting down the side of the coach.

If a coach the age of the ones you're looking at have not been very carefully maintained, there's a good chance some delamination may be present. An experienced tech should be consulted regarding help making any decisions at that point - or just keep looking.

Personally, that's what I would do (keep looking). That's me though. There might be a price point or set of circumstances that might make the coach a good value in spite of the delam.

[D.Weber]

I'm definitely going to keep looking. The bubbles I'm looking at are about fist size and look like bubbles under the paint but when you press on them, they are stiff like the siding has bubbled and not the paint. Besides the paint, this coach has not been well cared for. The owners idea of impeccably maintained has been basically repairing things as they fall off.

[num1dgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.Weber I'm definitely going to keep looking. The bubbles I'm looking at are about fist size and look like bubbles under the paint but when you press on them, they are stiff like the siding has bubbled and not the paint. Besides the paint, this coach has not been well cared for. The owners idea of impeccably maintained has been basically repairing things as they fall off.

Smart. Our coach was the poster child of lot rot delamination. Granted, we got a steal of a price on it, but it was very frustrating to basically build it anew from the ground up. OMC (Oregon Motor Coach) rebuilt much of the coach!!

[ccook129]

Here's a picture I found.

[D.Weber]

Ok, it did not look like that. I'll take a guess and say the paint on the one I saw was bubbling. I'm not going to make it my problem. I haven't figured out yet if this coach search is fun or not. I am putting more mileage on my truck that already has 336,000 miles on it. Off to Oregon on Friday.