Community Forums

MSHappyCampers · 03-28-2019, 03:12 PM

I have a friend who will be buying a new rig in CA and needs to have the Diamond Shield removed before taking it home.

Do you know of anyone who does this in the Midwest, west, or Northwest?

chunker · 03-28-2019, 08:55 PM

I just finished removing it from the Itasca and it took several days, 30+- plastic razor blades, and about a pint of 3M adhesive remover. A real pain to remove since it was cracked and came off in tiny pieces. No not interested in the job.

GEM1N1 · 03-28-2019, 09:02 PM

Would one of these work? I’ve used one for taking decals off of cars and they work pretty good. No clue about diamond shield. It would be worth a shot.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Stripe-Off.../dp/B07PBQ42KD

153stars · 03-28-2019, 11:30 PM

I watched a few vids of professional services that do this ...they show DIY of how to ,and have products for purchase.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKIipkzPwpM

Teamfoxy · 03-29-2019, 06:14 AM

Other than looking bad, is there any detriment to leaving Diamond Shield on the coach? The ugly sheild videos seem to indicate that the paint will be intact under the Diamond Sheild, you just need to be careful removing it.
Having had auto paint jobs ruined by love bugs and other insects in FL, I'm inclined to just leave the Diamond Shield alone since it only looks bad at 3 feet or less away.

Spk64 · 03-29-2019, 06:17 AM

If it is a new coach with new DS. I would be inclined to leave it as it does provide protection. Then if it starts looking bad it can be removed.

MCJones · 03-29-2019, 06:40 AM

I took the diamond shield off the front of my 11 year old Newmar this winter. It was hard but the front looked like it had chicken pox. I only took it off the light colored areas as that was most noticeable . I worked on warm days with a heat gun and plastic razor blades. If I was lucky, I could warm an area up and get a piece gripped well enough to pull a sheet 10-20 inches at a time. Some areas came off with most of the glue stuck to the sheet but many areas I had to use goof off with a razor blade to get it all clean. Not easy but it looks so much better now - like starting with a new paint job. I wish the spotty mold that got underneath had not happened because I like the idea of the product. Now I have to clean after every run and keep it well waxed. That is my experience and hope this gives you help. I would say a complete job for getting that stuff off would be worth about 1000.00 if you ask me. -mark

dirt40 · 03-29-2019, 07:02 AM

Ours looks like crap with the bugs on it but I guess I will leave it on. That is a lot of work to get it removed and then I have to hope I can keep the bugs cleaned off.

UTTransplant · 03-29-2019, 07:12 AM

Don’t know of anyone who does it in that part of the country, but there is a guy who has YouTube videos about doing it yourself. He has posted them on some of the Tiffin Facebook pages, and he does have some good hints. I would think a good body shop,could do it, but it is tedious work and likely to be expensive.

chunker · 03-29-2019, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GEM1N1

Would one of these work? I’ve used one for taking decals off of cars and they work pretty good. No clue about diamond shield. It would be worth a shot.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Stripe-Off.../dp/B07PBQ42KD

That doesn't work. I got one to try and it gums up. Then became harder to get the residue of the wheel off.

MSHappyCampers · 03-29-2019, 10:19 AM

Thanks for all your comments! He is a busy guy and would really like to find someone that can do the job for him!

tompn · 03-29-2019, 10:53 AM

Would like to mo be more help but... I've seen utube video of a guy that shows how and states that they do it in their shop. Look around utube and see if you can find it.

Tom

TexasTom · 03-29-2019, 11:47 AM

I spent about $200 on different solvents recommended by everyone. (Did not try uglyjuice...to expensive) And I can say that none of them worked. Goof Off (all variations), Even the expensive Cut Thru EF, etc. were all failures.

Except for Xylene. Pick up a gallon at Home Depot and pour it in to a sprayer bottle. Works wonderfully as it dissolves the glue but doesn't hurt the paint. It will however, damage plastic headlights and lenses, so be sure to tape them off.

Also, I didn't go down the plastic chisel path because I didn't see the sense in spending so much time sharpening it. Use plastic razor blades instead. They work great.

https://www.amazon.com/FOSHIO-Scrape...-2-spons&psc=1

Busskipper · 09-05-2019, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexasTom

I spent about $200 on different solvents recommended by everyone. (Did not try uglyjuice...to expensive) And I can say that none of them worked. Goof Off (all variations), Even the expensive Cut Thru EF, etc. were all failures.

Except for Xylene. Pick up a gallon at Home Depot and pour it in to a sprayer bottle. Works wonderfully as it dissolves the glue but doesn't hurt the paint. It will however, damage plastic headlights and lenses, so be sure to tape them off.

Xylene is the ticket - don't waste your time with a lot of others, I used the orange contractors cleaner, it did little, except as a lubricant to let the blade slide - just makes it easier to strip but does little to remove the glue. I tried the sprayer but it was never really directional - ended up using a brush as a spreader, for both the Orange and the Xylene - - and it also helped with the last little bit of cleaning.

Also, I didn't go down the plastic chisel path because I didn't see the sense in spending so much time sharpening it. Use plastic razor blades instead. They work great.

I tried the chisels and that was a bust - they actually put marks in the paint and did a Crappy job. The razors were the ticket - just remember to change them often - when picking out the holder for the Plastic blades think about having something a little longer and more comfortable to hold - after 10 or 20 hours they will mess up your hands You will be putting a lot of pressure on these blades so a STRONG receiver to hold them is also critical - but a metal head could cause damage if and when a blade breaks off -

https://www.amazon.com/FOSHIO-Scrape...-2-spons&psc=1

Good advice - the longer these masks stay on the more chance they will damage the paint of Clear Coat.

Xylene is the ticket - soak the glue then scrape it off with the Sharp Plastic Razors get a pile, then pick it off with a paper towel piece and put in container. You need to get every bit of it off as Xylene is the only thing that will remove it - I then Buffed it out with a Compound and put Rejexit on last.

I had a few spots where the clear coat came off (Had been penetrated by the mold) and just put new clear coat on and wet sanded and buffed - not perfect but pretty good at 3-4 feet

Am still working on the last little bit - well last 1/4 of the job - think I will have a full week invested in this - but the two things I concluded was Razors and Xylene with Orange Cleaner as a lubricant and using the brush to contain and control the Xylene were critical. (Xylene evaporate so fast the sprayer just made to big a mess in my case, so the brush was my ticket.)

^^^^^^^^^Great Advice ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^