Community Forums

tr21r · 10-06-2013, 12:20 PM

Hey Friends,

I'll appreciate any tips you have...

I'm about to have ALL the decals removed from our 2010 Damon/Thor Outlaw (bought new in 2010). More details below, but the plan is; a) Remove all decals b) see how the unit looks with just the original partial body paint and large stretches of "white, possibly leave it there, or c) have some number of stripes/graphics painted on.

Three and half years after purchase, 30-40% of our decals are beginning to peel. I am partially to blame as I rarely waxed the unit and it has been stored outside full time. Yep, N. California is not a brutal climate, but we get plenty of sun.

I've done a bit of reading and realize this is fairly common across multiple RV brands. I've also consulted with several RV and body shops and have heard/seen the same story - unless the unit is clear coated early in life, and cared for very carefully (stored in doors or covered, waxed regularly, etc.), decals are likely to peel.

Yep, I called Thor and didn't really get much help on this one (FWIW, Thor has covered several key issues for me). I can get a set of OEM decals from Total Value RV. But, the price is stiff (the darn Outlaw has a crazy large number of decals) and I'm certain I'll be back here in a few years.

So, that leaves me with the options 1. Leave it and I don't like how it looks 2. Remove decals and replace them but I think that is a losing battle? 3. Remove some of them in stages and see how that looks 4. Remove all of them in one project and go from there (current plan).

Cheers,

Mike

Scarab0088 · 10-06-2013, 12:47 PM

Mike,
Did you see post #133 here:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f121/outl...ml#post1649909
And post 1346 of this thread:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f120/i-lo...ml#post1648564
BTW, Mike B. is in the San Jose area and did a bunch of calls for estimate up there...might save you some time(?).

I will be addressing this too. I agree that new decals (and a wrap) would just be a mistake, duplicating the original problem.

Mike's strip job was done with heat guns and straight edges by a fleet body shop. I will be doing a DIY job over time and start by trying "eraser wheels."

So, all-white or a paint scheme of you choice...
Best luck

tr21r · 10-06-2013, 01:40 PM

Thanks Steve!

Yep, I now remember seeing the pics of Mike B's rig. So, I've shot him an email and will see what he can teach me.

tr21r · 10-06-2013, 04:18 PM

Here is a shot of how our rig looks and a couple of the peeling decals.

The partial body paint is the very dark brown (almost black) solid color covering the bottom 30% of the rig and similar colored wavy section at the very top. There are 1-2 painted bits in the middle also. Otherwise, everything else, most of the graphics in the middle 50-60% of the scheme are decals and would be gone.

Drew Wolfe · 10-22-2013, 09:14 AM

I ordered my Outlaw without stripes. When I went to pick it up the stripes were on the RV. I was not going to take it. The dealer wrote me a check for $500 to pay me to take them off myself. My two son's and I took 2 days and a few cans of Goof Off glue remover and a heat gun and peeled them all off in two days. The RV was new and they came off pretty easily. I left it totally white and I get compliments all the time. If you want to see pictures of it go to my company website at
www.ActionSportsRacing.com and look at the bottom of my home page. I have it listed for sale but I don't know that I will really sell it; I love it!!

Scarab0088 · 10-22-2013, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew Wolfe

I ordered my Outlaw without stripes. When I went to pick it up the stripes were on the RV. I was not going to take it. The dealer wrote me a check for $500 to pay me to take them off myself. My two son's and I took 2 days and a few cans of Goof Off glue remover and a heat gun and peeled them all off in two days. The RV was new and they came off pretty easily. I left it totally white and I get compliments all the time. If you want to see pictures of it go to my company website at
www.ActionSportsRacing.com and look at the bottom of my home page. I have it listed for sale but I don't know that I will really sell it; I love it!!

Drew,

That's awesome! The pics of your RV are the ones that I found on-line to explain the no-sticker idea to others. I love the all-white look. Looks GREAT!

Thanks

tr21r · 10-23-2013, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew Wolfe

I ordered my Outlaw without stripes. When I went to pick it up the stripes were on the RV. I was not going to take it. The dealer wrote me a check for $500 to pay me to take them off myself. My two son's and I took 2 days and a few cans of Goof Off glue remover and a heat gun and peeled them all off in two days. The RV was new and they came off pretty easily. I left it totally white and I get compliments all the time. If you want to see pictures of it go to my company website at
www.ActionSportsRacing.com and look at the bottom of my home page. I have it listed for sale but I don't know that I will really sell it; I love it!!

Hey Drew,

Thanks for sharing. Yes, Steve sent me links to your site. Our 2010 has partial paint so it'll look a little different when the decals are gone (it's 99% done and I should have pics next week).

FYI, my son and I race Enduro's here in Northern CA in AMA District 36...

Do you run Action Sports full time? Is it primarily a promotions company, or do you operate some tracks also?

Cheers,

Mike

Drew Wolfe · 10-24-2013, 07:24 AM

I own Action Sports Promotions and have been an AMA promoter since 1979. It has been my full time job since 1981. I used to run a 15 round arenacross series but sold to Feld years ago. My sons and I currently run Indoor MX, MX, GP and HS events at our track in Athens, Ohio. We also run vintage AMA and AHRMA national mx events and will run an area qualifier for Loretta Lynn's in 2014 and a regional qualifier in 2015. We race vintage MX nationals, GP's and my sons race mx and my oldest son has recently raced an enduro.

Whatnobeer · 10-24-2013, 07:39 AM

Hi Mike...Have you ever thought of a custom paint job? I know it might be stiff on the checkbook but if you plan on keeping it wouldn't it be cool to have something you designed on your own and then have plastered all over your coach. I honestly don't know how much it would cost but I know if it was me, balls out and see what happens.

tr21r · 11-18-2013, 10:08 PM

Sorry for the long delay. The project got to a 98% done state, then there were a couple small delays. I didn't need the unit for a while, so I didn't push the shop.

In the end, I think the shop did a pretty good job. There are a couple faint ghost images from the decals, but quite faint.

We're not 100% sure we're going to leave it as is - we may still add a painted stripe, or a few, to blend in the loose painted graphic in the middle, and to give the overall look more.... um,? complexity? I don't know...

I do know that I'm real happy to not have shoddy looking peeling graphics!

Whatnobeer, Sorry for the long delay in my answer. Yep, I've now seen a couple rigs with totally custom paint. They look good. But, I think that's 2-4X more dollars and I'm not motivated enough to do that. Well, not at the moment anyway :-)

Mike

Scarab0088 · 11-18-2013, 10:35 PM

Looks much better than peeling decals...is the paint all in 1 color?

Do you know what method the shop used...eraser wheels, heat gun and straight edge, chemical remover...?

Congrats!

Lightning83 · 11-18-2013, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tr21r

Sorry for the long delay. The project got to a 98% done state, then there were a couple small delays. I didn't need the unit for a while, so I didn't push the shop.

In the end, I think the shop did a pretty good job. There are a couple faint ghost images from the decals, but quite faint.

We're not 100% sure we're going to leave it as is - we may still add a painted stripe, or a few, to blend in the loose painted graphic in the middle, and to give the overall look more.... um,? complexity? I don't know...

I do know that I'm real happy to not have shoddy looking peeling graphics!

Whatnobeer, Sorry for the long delay in my answer. Yep, I've now seen a couple rigs with totally custom paint. They look good. But, I think that's 2-4X more dollars and I'm not motivated enough to do that. Well, not at the moment anyway :-)

Mike

Looks Great I think !

tr21r · 11-19-2013, 07:38 AM

Thanks for the nice comments guys!

Yes, the dark color is all one color - a very dark brown.

I know they used heat guys, then from there I'm pretty sure they used a combination of removal tools. They also put quite a few hours into buffing with a fine compound to eliminate most of the shadowing and to bring back the paint.