Community Forums

Dudley do-right · 10-08-2019, 04:15 PM

The Diamond shield on my 13 yr. old coach, ('06Apex40MDTS) has become unsightly. It had mildew spots underneath, not removable. So, I took on the project of removing all of it on the front cap, and the strips at the top of all the basement slides, ect. I used my heat gun, and just starting at a corner, began peeling it off. It was a slow process, but I eventually succeeded in removing all of it, along with a fair amount of paint in various spots. I attributed that to faulty paint prep rather than my technique. So rather than just a glue clean-up, wash and wax-buff, I was faced with a front cap repaint. The paint alone, (4 colors) was almost $900. However, I got lucky, and the whole repaint including the rear engine door, (big scratch) was $1750. Oh, and I used MEK as the solvent to remove the glue...a tedious job in itself but it worked great. Spray on a small section and scrape. Spray on and scrape... you get the picture. So now it's all done and it shore is Purdy. What I need to know now is WHERE CAN I GET A BRA FOR AN ALPINE? And don't say Victoria's Secret.
This was a labor intensive job, so getting it done professionally would probably very expensive....comments?

Terry W · 10-09-2019, 08:51 AM

Dudley,

I removed mine about a month ago, same reason as you. I used a hair dryer and plastic razor blades. I felt like my heat gun was to hot and made the job a little tougher having to be constantly concerned about concentrating too much heat in one spot, softening the paint.

All total I figure I had about 7-8 hours in removal of the bra and another 2 or so in glue removal. I used 3M specialty adhesive remover, #38987, in a spray can, it worked like a charm and was well worth the $32 price. I found that Goo Gone and the other household types of glue remover didn't even touch the adhesive they used.

I had a couple of scratches and marks that came off with the film. There is one spot on the front that looks as if a previous owner had hit something so there is a spot in the fiberglass that is actually a gouge. I also had one spot where the paint came off. I will look into a repaint for the front and I also have a couple of spots where the clearcoat is flaking off the silver paint. I have the platinum color scheme and all the dark colors are fine, just flaking on the silver. Most noticeable spot is on the entry door, figures!!

All in all the paint is pretty nice under the film, the film looked like crap but it did it's job.

I too am kicking around the idea of a bra, I don't know for sure that there is one out there anywhere. I know there are a lot of people that hate a regular removeable bra but I've had them on cars over the years and never had an issue. You keep them clean and make sure they are clean before you put them on. When they get wet you take them off and dry them out. I hate to have the clear put back on even though I understand it's a lot better quality than it used to be.

I think that all things considered the removal was well worth the time and effort. I have seen prices of $1200 for a shop to remove the film, I have plenty of time and I've done worse projects.

Terry

Dudley do-right · 10-30-2019, 10:36 AM

Terry, looks like your experience was similar to mine, other than I had more extensive
paint loss, probably due to bad original prep. 90% was in the bottom section, what I might call the "bumper" section. And, yes, I experimented with the heat gun but ended up mostly using the hair dryer. I lost enough paint that just touch-up was a non starter. Anyway, the repaint was complete from the btm. of the windshield down. The paint, (4 colors) cost almost $900.00! Expensive 2-part metalflake stuff.
Dudley do-right, '06Apex40MDTS

Terry W · 10-31-2019, 09:37 AM

I'm thinkin I'll get mine to a shop also, there are a couple of other spots that need to be taken care of. I have some clearcoat flaking off in a couple of areas.

Always something,

Terry

Mule Skinner · 11-03-2019, 12:35 PM

Well I’ve been through this as well.
A young lady scuffed up one front corner, long story short, after a long battle with her insurance company and getting the California state insurance commissioner involved, loss of use etc they paid me 25k.
I had a professional clear bra installer remove the film. He told me a head of time that the material was “first generation” and would pull off paint with it. It did. So I am putting the 25k to use! All of it ��.
Everything on the roof has been removed, sanded and ready for white paint. All vents, air conditioner covers, fridge vent cover and the skylight will be replaced. Air conditioners resealed. Kingdome has a new cover.
The caps all around are being resealed and repainted due to clear coat pealing. The entire front of the coach is being repainted. I had a sine shop make a couple stencils for the front logo so that can be repainted.
Replacing just the base of the mirrors that are pealing.
Replacing the headlights, again! ��
I know this sounds crazy to spend this much �� on a 15 year old coach but as far as I’m concerned it’s still a 265k coach! (I paid 170k for new)
As for the paint pulling off, I don’t think it’s lack of prep, I think it’s the film has better hold on the paint that the paint has on the fiberglass.
The newer film is easier to remove as needed.
Now I have to wait for the work to be finished.

Lv2Roam2 · 11-03-2019, 06:32 PM

Try this vendor:

http://rvandoffroad.com

Have also seen some rigs that are getting the front end and cap covered with a bedliner material - available in many colors - tough as nails ...