Community Forums

slabman · 12-06-2012, 09:38 AM

It might be time to have a discussion about this subject. My coach is now about 6 years old and two years ago I began to experience clear coat lift-off on the top of the rear cap. Now I see this damage at all the top corners on all 4 sides of the coach...as well as tops of the caps.

I was going to sand and re-spray clear over these locations, but now I find damage so extensive I'd be wasting my time. So I guess it's time to take it into a shop and either address just the top section of the entire coach.

I'm wondering who else may have gone through this process and how did you address it? New clear or.....NEW COACH?

wardy · 12-06-2012, 09:58 AM

I had some on my front cap-top that I caught early enough. Still I have spots the size of my hand in about 5 area's. I used duct along the peeling edges and ripped off all the loose stuff and then sprayed on new clear coat from a can. It has stopped any more peeling now for over a year. If it was in a visible area this would not have been a good solution. Before I did this I read up on fixes and I did not find one that can feather in a repair that looks top-notch. The only answers I found were repaints. Hopefully there are better options for you.

4x4crazy · 12-06-2012, 11:48 PM

I've noticed my clear coat on the roof edge is coming off on my 2006 Select. Need to have some body work done from a poor driving decision. Thought I'd see what they'd charge to do to the gutter lip. Mine has been garaged most of the time so I was surprised this was happening. Doesn't say much for the paint job to only last 6 years.

pcurt23 · 12-07-2012, 07:36 AM

I had some paint issues with my coach -not clear coat. Minor scrapes and a large ding that I got in a rest area from a trailer towing fool. Anyway, I remembered that when turning in my lease car I needed paint repairs. So I took the coach to the same place and they fixed up some minor body work and wheeled the damaged paint for $300. It is not good as new but the local RV repair wanted $2500 for good as new. So ask the local car dealer who does their cosmetic repairs on cars and ask them for an opinion.

LEROY1942 · 12-07-2012, 11:39 AM

I had to have my clear coat replaced on my 2005 TS. After the clear coat has been removed from the paint, the paint oxidizes very quickly and becomes very unsightly. I took my coach to Indiana, Pecision Painting, to have it repaired. My clear coat was damaged on the roof lines, front cap, and rear cap. The shop removed the damaged clear coat, repainted, and reapplied clear coat. The finished work made the coach look like new. It wasn't cheap but well worth it.

wardy · 12-07-2012, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LEROY1942

I had to have my clear coat replaced on my 2005 TS. After the clear coat has been removed from the paint, the paint oxidizes very quickly and becomes very unsightly. I took my coach to Indiana, Pecision Painting, to have it repaired. My clear coat was damaged on the roof lines, front cap, and rear cap. The shop removed the damaged clear coat, repainted, and reapplied clear coat. The finished work made the coach look like new. It wasn't cheap but well worth it.

LEROY1942, Were they able to feather-in the the existing clear coat with the new? Or did you have the whole coach redone?

Mrboo · 12-08-2012, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slabman

It might be time to have a discussion about this subject. My coach is now about 6 years old and two years ago I began to experience clear coat lift-off on the top of the rear cap. Now I see this damage at all the top corners on all 4 sides of the coach...as well as tops of the caps.

I was going to sand and re-spray clear over these locations, but now I find damage so extensive I'd be wasting my time. So I guess it's time to take it into a shop and either address just the top section of the entire coach.

I'm wondering who else may have gone through this process and how did you address it? New clear or.....NEW COACH?

Hi Bob: My TS had some clear coat issues. They turned in to paint issues. I have a friend that restores corvettes. He DA it. It was front cap from windsheild up and two baggage doors. Took a day to DA, prime,paint, sand,and clear 2 coats. $375.00 looks as good as new. Additionaly I plan to put apoxx$15,000.-18,000. in next year.Will give me new tires,referb in side furniture& tv's. and I will have the best coach on the market.With no grief. PS and I will also save at least 200k. Have a good day. Rich

LEROY1942 · 12-08-2012, 01:30 PM

They did an excellent job of feathering in the paint and clear coat. I forget the number of coats of clear coat that is recommended in order to make a longer lasting coating.

sailor_lou · 12-09-2012, 11:42 AM

I guess I got lucky because I have no paint or clear coat issues. Must have been sprayed mid-week...LOL.

Lou
05 TS Envoy

drwyatt · 12-09-2012, 11:36 PM

My caps and edges also have the clear coat peeling, but I have another issue that is of concern. The darker color paint on the sides have crazing and small check marks in the surface. It does not happen on the aluminun doors or the front and rear caps. Only on the side panels and none on the beige and lighter color. I called Precision and they told me it was a panel base issue and not a paint issue??. If it was a panel base issue why is it only happening to the darker colors. They suggest I come in for side panel replacement and re painting. Cost about $45,000!! Has anyone else had this kind of problem.
My son in law paints ariplaned at Boeing in Everett, WA. They have a 10 foot rule, if you cant see it 10 feet away it is not there. I may go by that plan and save the $45,000. Dave W

wardy · 12-10-2012, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwyatt

My caps and edges also have the clear coat peeling, but I have another issue that is of concern. The darker color paint on the sides have crazing and small check marks in the surface. It does not happen on the aluminun doors or the front and rear caps. Only on the side panels and none on the beige and lighter color. I called Precision and they told me it was a panel base issue and not a paint issue??. If it was a panel base issue why is it only happening to the darker colors. They suggest I come in for side panel replacement and re painting. Cost about $45,000!! Has anyone else had this kind of problem.
My son in law paints ariplaned at Boeing in Everett, WA. They have a 10 foot rule, if you cant see it 10 feet away it is not there. I may go by that plan and save the $45,000. Dave W

News like this takes some of the Rv fun away for sure. I'd be OK with the 10 foot rule to a point. The biggest issue for me would be to determine if your problem is only cosmetic or if it's just a downhill spiral. If it is only going to get worse progressively then maybe there are some fixes you can do to prolong/maintain what you have.

drwyatt · 12-11-2012, 01:02 PM

Well the discussion with Speciality was not to helpful with advise, just come in and get out the checkbook. I talked to a guy at Shermin Williams Auto paint store. He said it could be a clear coat problem but would have to look at it. It is kind of hard to drive the 45 foot MH to the shop. I will probably have to find someone knowledgable on fiberglass and painting to look at it . I haven't seen any blogs on TS paint or siding issues, although Speciality said it is not uncommon to need to repanel and repaint many different brands of MH's. I keep trying things and see what I can find out. Dave W

slabman · 12-11-2012, 04:34 PM

Here's an update on what I've done. Got some 2K clear coat from Route 66 Auto (online) and decided to try it myself. First, I scraped off the loose clear, using a razor blade. After roughing the surface with a grey pad and wiping with a wax and grease cleaner, I applied 3 coats of this clear. It's a two-part product, so you have to use it all within 24 hrs. While it hardly passes for a "factory" job, it sure looks like a tough product...good enough for the roof and the curved corners up there. After I finally get around to washing the entire coach, I expect it will be mostly invisible and will keep the lift-off from progressing down the sides.

Boy, it seems like a LOT of the clear has cratered since I was last up there only a few months ago.

Precision quoted me $2700 to re-do the roof and corners with new clear, touching up the paintwork in areas required up there. Gee, there isn't a LOT of paintwork when you consider most of the roof is just a fiberglas panel...only the outside edge and corners would be re-done, so that does seem like a lot of money for such a small area. Hate to think what doing the entire coach might cost!

Ann n Gene · 12-11-2012, 11:04 PM

Bob, when mine was in the hail storm they had to replace the two aluminum, rounded transition pieces from the sidewall to the roof. It cost over $2000 just to paint them besides the cost of the pieces! Good ole insurance company, paid without a whimper and only jumped my cost to renew by about a $1000, another story and now another company!