Community Forums

talanoa · 03-04-2012, 02:26 AM

Hey all, newbie here from new zealand
I have just sold my motorhome and am poised to buy an older pace arrow here in nz converted to rhd to meet our laws
It has a full fibreglass body and the surface has a "orange peel" type finish which makes me nervous..during my time living stateside i dont recall ever seeing this type of finish..can anyone throw some light on this please?
Kiwi Pete

Steve N Sal · 03-04-2012, 03:36 AM

Howdy and welcome to the forum. Glad you joined us and hope you enjoy the site. I'm sure someone will be along to try and help with your situation. Hope you enjoy your travels.

swampdog2 · 03-04-2012, 05:16 AM

I would bet the SWAMP! that it's de-laminated all over .fleetwoods (pace arrow) were the worst about that!

Gary RVRoamer · 03-04-2012, 07:56 AM

Orange peel? I've heard of paint that looked like an orange peel, but never the fiberglass itself. Sounds like it may have been painted by someone with less than professional grade skills.

It doesn't sound like delamination. Delamination doesn't make an orange peel surface- the entire fiberglass skin lifts off the wood undersheeting.

Any chance you could post a photo of the surface?

bbeane · 03-04-2012, 09:00 AM

1983? Who knows, but like O/P said sounds like it has been repainted.

scenic route · 03-04-2012, 09:29 AM

Could be just the matt of the cloth showing(imprinting) through the gel-coat. As the finish ages, it can appear worse than when the finish was shinny...the lamination process has improved immensely from the '80s, a pic would help. Bob

Note: At any rate, have a pro look at it to make sure what's going on. You definitely do not want to buy into a delamination problem. That's an independent evaluation...not the dealers. He'll only tell you what he wants you to hear.

talanoa · 03-04-2012, 12:38 PM

its not a paint issue but would seem to be in the glass finish...the entire surface isnt smooth but rather like an orange peel.
The guy got it in from the states and says that was the finish when it arrived altho it has been resprayed since then...very odd.
I havnt seen the vehicle in the flesh, only through pics and dont want to travel to view until i have some clarity re this issue.
all the pace arrows of this model seem to have a "ribbed" or corrugated type of side wall

scenic route · 03-04-2012, 03:00 PM

Yep, sounds like it's matte 'blush'...when a very thin gel coat is sprayed into the mold(or onto the hardened matte), followed by too little resin to matte ratio.

A friend of mine did a paint job on a guy's '62 Corvette that he smoothed out the lower panels to a glassy finish. During a show, the judges deducted points for having too 'slick' of a paint job...removal of the original factory matte pattern from the surface. That's the type of 'imprint' I'm talking about...hard to tell without actually seeing the surface.

If I really liked the coach, I'd put a deposit on it contingent on what the problem may or may not be. The only way you're going to know what the problem is, is to go look at it or have an independent pro take a peek for you. Buying sight unseen is a pretty scary way to buy these behemoths...don't ask how I know.

Good luck. Bob

GOLDWINGER2 · 03-04-2012, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talanoa

Hey all, newbie here from new zealand
I have just sold my motorhome and am poised to buy an older pace arrow here in nz converted to rhd to meet our laws
It has a full fibreglass body and the surface has a "orange peel" type finish which makes me nervous..during my time living stateside i dont recall ever seeing this type of finish..can anyone throw some light on this please?
Kiwi Pete

Is it a 27' or 29' Elagante model?
J

7521 · 03-04-2012, 11:14 PM

We had an 83 34' Pace Arrow in the early 90's. The exterior sides weren't smooth. In fact they did have a texture like the gelcoat wasn't thick enough. With ours delamination was never an issue. The odd outside finish aside, it was a great coach with very few problems. I did reseal the roof each year and perform other maintenance as needed so there were no surprises. Our Pace Arrow had a P-30 chassis, 454, and got about 9-10 mpg. Most people got a little less mpg. It was a sad day when we sold that one.

talanoa · 03-06-2012, 12:02 AM

it seems the odd finish i speak of is normal for this model
its a 27ft unit with the 6.2 diesel and TH400 and is kinda funky in a retro kind of way with numerous updates to suit our 240v systems but the thing is currently fugly and will be getting a respray back to original or similar..thankyou all for your help and input

rmmpe · 03-06-2012, 04:47 AM

My 84 Elegante (Goldwinger2 got it right) had the same textured exterior, which held up very well. Does yours have curved sides? If so, it's most likely an Elegante.