What are 'Upgraded Gel-Coat Walls"?

[micd]

I have in front of me a Thor Motor Coach Daybreak Class A Order Form.

On it I can order Upgraded Gel-Coat Walls for $1193. This is listed under the exterior options.

Separately I can order Partial Paint for $2993 or Full Body Paint for $8993. With the Full Body Paint it says "(includes gel-coat sidewalls)".

So this is confusing and I didn't get an answer from the sales person. First what is Upgraded Gel-Coat Walls?

Why is 'gel-coat sidewalls' included on the sidewalls for the full body paint but not the partial paint?

Is this the same as the upgraded gel-coat sidewalls or is paying the extra giving you even more gel-coat?

Thanks!

[powerboatr]

go to the thor website
under contact us. ask them exactly what it is
upgraded gel coat sidewalls?? who knows, maybe they are smoother in the form so the real nice full body paint will look better

i have found dealer sales person usually have no idea...they just read a brochure and sell it blindly like a lemming

my damon looks wet all the time except really up close. its a full body paint

[billyb]

when i bought my unit in 08 they called it "slick finish". and it cost about 1k extra, and it looks wet all the time. i guess it is a clear coat, but i don't understand what the gel coated finish means either.

[DBeauchamp]

Here is a good write up on gel coat/clear coat:
http://www.evercoat.com/imgs/pis/gelcoat.pdf
I think most cars (and full paint RVs) are painted and then receive a coat of this gel coat/clear coat for protection and a nicer, longer lasting finish.

[micd]

Thanks for the link. That was very helpful. From my read it might be worth it for the $1K. Does anyone agree or disagree and why? We would probably not get the full body paint as I like the white for keeping the RV cooler. I'm not sure if the partial paint comes with gel-coat or not. It does not mention it on the order form whereas for the full paint it does.

[Perry White]

Paint it white then. Fiberglass is a pain. It will turn on you.

[DBeauchamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by micd Thanks for the link. That was very helpful. From my read it might be worth it for the $1K. Does anyone agree or disagree and why? We would probably not get the full body paint as I like the white for keeping the RV cooler. I'm not sure if the partial paint comes with gel-coat or not. It does not mention it on the order form whereas for the full paint it does.

Think about resale, get full body paint.

[Pirate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBeauchamp Think about resale, get full body paint.

I'm with him. It cost me 5k just to remove my old peeling low quality graphics and then have them painted on. It still left a whole bunch of RV unpainted. The graphics will not last long. I would spring for the paint and be done with it.

[micd]

In addition to the heat build up my concern with the full body paint would be how it would look after a couple of trips into the national forest where it could get scratched up by branches. I think it might be a pain trying to keep it good looking. We put the Red Max Pro on our current RV and it shined like wet so we'd likely do something like that to keep the fiberglass looking good after it ages.