Community Forums

Bob (WA0MQE) · 09-21-2016, 03:10 AM

Apparently mildew or mold, or some such has invaded beneath the plastic coating. Has anyone ever removed this stuff from their coach? I've peeled a couple of small sections near the side edge and it's definitely on the underside of the plastic. It appears to be a very difficult job, if not impossible one, to remove this stuff. Does anyone have any ideas of the best way to go about removing it. I was thinking hair dryer or something similar. But I'm sure open to suggestions.

Steve N Sal · 09-21-2016, 04:01 AM

You can do a search here on the forum or just google removing diamond shield from front of motor home. There are many articles on the subject and yes you are correct it is a pain to get off. Some have a unique way of doing it that doesn't seem to bad but it is still labor intensive. Good luck and hope it all works out.

**CLIFFTALL** · 09-21-2016, 04:04 AM

Here's a link that may be helpful.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Diam...com&gws_rd=ssl

jacwjames · 09-21-2016, 06:47 AM

I had the same problem on my 2002 Windsor and removed the 3M mask in 2012, took ~40 hours doing it myself.

Used a good size portable steamer to loosen the the 3M mask and heavy plastic scrapers to peel it off in very small pieces.

There was a heavy layer of some sort of glue that was hard to get off, I tried several solvents including one recommended from an auto body shop. I found the best thing was gasoline. My wife has dogs and had some puppy pads in the RV, these worked well as I would put some gas on one of the pads and then hold it on an area for ~minute and then scrapped the glue off and wiping off the remnants with the pad and or cloth.

tom77hmstd · 09-21-2016, 07:05 AM

Google Wizzy wheel I used it with a drill about an hour a day like already stated 40 hours. What a job yuck, but it looks a whole lot better when done.
Seemed to me heat gun only melted the stuff and I tried all the chemical stuff for vinyl removal none of it would touch that clear vinyl.

bruceisla · 09-21-2016, 07:20 AM

There's a guy in Texas that removes it by parking the RV in the sun for a few hours and then starts by getting an edge up and pulls at an angle VERY slowly. You do need high heat and maybe high UV.

JohnBoyToo · 09-21-2016, 07:28 AM

here's some videos...
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...Diamond+shield
My sister said hers took weeks part time to remove... but they did it themselves...

jacwjames · 09-22-2016, 06:43 AM

The 3M mask on my coach had so many hair line cracks I could not get any large pieces to peel off. I could work for an hour to get a decent edge started to try and pull and it would just tear off.

Not a fun job but well worth the effort.

vito.a · 09-22-2016, 02:39 PM

Is it true that Diamond Shield holds up better in the sun than the original 3M mask?

RustyTools · 09-23-2016, 11:47 AM

Sorta off-topic, but I saw a company on eBay selling carbon-fiber look-alike decal material in large 24x60 inch rolls.

I realize it's still more of the dreaded vinyl, but at least it would cover the current ugly cracked stuff and might look cool... if not intimidating.

hackman · 09-23-2016, 02:16 PM

Take your time, you'll need it. GooGone and a scraper. I started using a plastic razor from Ace but a friend lent me a little knife(bone knife?) It worked great and did not scratch my paint. The knife is that little white stick you see sitting on the rag beside the goo gone. In the pic you can see I was about half done
Pick some nice hot days to do the work.
Also helps to have a cooler full of your favorite beverage beside you. This job isn't rocket science, just long and tedious, and definately worth it.

hackman · 09-23-2016, 02:22 PM

hackman · 09-23-2016, 02:27 PM

Lars99 · 09-24-2016, 05:33 PM

As you already know, it will be a tedious task. When I removed mine on my 2003 Camelot, I had my detailers attempt the removal. That was my first mistake. They used a heat gun to remove the plastic and I think by doing that, it made the adhesive harder to remove. I tried everything to remove it to no avail. The manufacturer of the shield said they use xylene for the removal. That did not work for me. In the areas where the Detailer did not remove anything, I used a steamer for the initial removal then used an adhesive remover from a company called auto tech. That worked great. Still a lot of work but did the job. I am left with some scratches in the paint.

Larry