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Old 03-18-2017, 07:08 PM   #1
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Question DIY clear coat

the rounded corners where sides meet the roof always appear to get the worst of the UV damege and peal

any one just sand prep the area with 220, mask it off and spay a few new coats.

sounds simple, is it?
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Old 03-18-2017, 07:22 PM   #2
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Maybe if you send a picture of what you mean because there are many different shapes of motorhomes
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Old 03-18-2017, 08:31 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbo2013 View Post
the rounded corners where sides meet the roof always appear to get the worst of the UV damege and peal

any one just sand prep the area with 220, mask it off and spay a few new coats.

sounds simple, is it?
That should work. I'm going to repair mine in the near future. My coach is painted white on that area so I'm going to sand it smooth, paint then clear coat. I'd use at least 400 grit for final sanding.
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Old 03-18-2017, 08:51 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbo2013 View Post
the rounded corners where sides meet the roof always appear to get the worst of the UV damege and peal

any one just sand prep the area with 220, mask it off and spay a few new coats.

sounds simple, is it?
Well Sir,
It is simple, if, IF you know what you're doing. Just about anyone can go splatter some paint (or in this case "Clear coat") on a surface. But, the true reality is, as always, it's in the prep work. 220's a bit on the rough side for finish work. Many of us with full body painted coaches that are more than a few years old, are seeing more and more of the infamous "peeling" of the clear coat in many areas of the roof radius's. I've spoken with quite a few painters on this and about 98% of them would sand the area in question all the way down to the primer and, re-coat with the proper colored paint, then apply new clear.

It's the only way they'll guaranty that the new coat of clear will stick. Now, the question is, doing it your way, will it work? Probably, for how long will it last? That's the $64K question. If you're going to dive into this project, based on a few years painting and lacquering cabinets, a few painted cars etc. my advice, (for what ever its worth) is, finish sand with no heavier than 320. Your potential for seeing sanding scratches will be a whole lot less. Good luck.
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Old 03-19-2017, 03:16 AM   #5
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yes 220 was not going to work,

I saw several videos using a part spray can

2K clear coat: Spraymax

to use up off the ground 12' should work

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Old 03-19-2017, 06:31 AM   #6
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I did the top radius repair on the front and rear caps of my rig a couple of years ago after the clearcoat began peeling off. I did a search of the forums and found a few threads where others had done the same thing successfully.

I lightly sanded just to remove the loose clear taking care not to go through the color coat. I then masked and sprayed two coats of rattle can clearcoat from one of the big box stores. It lasted a little over a year.

I then did some more investigative work and found that the rattle can clearcoat just won't hold up to the UV beating it takes in that area. When I then went to a local auto parts store with a special custom mix paint section and talked to the expert, he told me about a two part clearcoat product that was supposed to be coming out soon. One of those products is apparently what is shown in the video above.

My suggestion is - yes, you can do it on your own with rattle cans, but if you want it to last use the new two part paint with a hardener.

The other thing I found out about this new product - use a very good respirator! I believe it has isocyanate in it and you definitely want to protect yourself from breathing that.

Also remember - some of this area is not easily seen and the areas that can be seen may pass the 10 foot test easily, so it doesn't have to be done as well as the hood of your car.

Mine has gotten worse than it was before I did the repair and I have resolved to have a professional redo it in the near future. For around $2,000 I can get the entire radius done with several coats of the good stuff that should last the life of the coach.
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Old 03-19-2017, 11:12 AM   #7
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I was thinking about doing the same thing to mine, but after taking it by a local body shop to get a quote on a couple of other paint issues (3x3 ft poor color match on previous side repair and bumper corner), the owner of the body shop suggested a potential cheaper solution to the roof radius. He suggested running a full length vinyl stripe along the radius, in my case it is on an Aluminum roof only above the built in rain gutter (a stripe about 9 inches wide). As chance would have it I found a near perfect color matching vinyl to my base coat (closer than the poor color match repairs mentioned) which should make a good slightly contrasting color stripe along the roof radius. I hope to get it put on in the next few weeks. I will post before and after photos.

p.s. materials cost was about $140, this covered 15 yards of 20 inch wide premium cast vinyl, and application tape.
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Old 03-20-2017, 07:40 AM   #8
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I had not considered the vinyl covering approach, but I think I like it. However, I would want to know how well it is supposed to hold up to the UV beating it will take. How do you prep the surface and apply it? Will it curl up at the edges over time?

Another option is a white or other color truck bedliner application. They are meant to stand up to abuse and the weather.

Would you please share where you found the vinyl you plan to use?
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Old 03-21-2017, 12:10 AM   #9
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The exact vinyl I bought is Oracal Vinyl 951 Metallic Premium Cast 24 in x 10 yds - Light Brown Metallic bought from Sign Warehouse out of Denison TX, they had the lowest price I could find on this specific vinyl and have been in the mail order sign supply business for a LONG time. Note I owned a small vinyl sign and screen printing shop back in the 90's, so have a fair amount of experience working with vinyl, which I hope is a bit like riding a bicycle as I have not touched the stuff in over a decade.

here is a product spec link
ORACAL® 951 Premium Cast - Graphic Products

Without getting into too many details about vinyl lettering material, it comes in 2 basic types, cast and calendared, in general cast vinyl cost more, is much thinner, and lasts longer, and works better on curved surfaces. It is also much less prone to shrinkage as it ages.This specific vinyl (Oracal 951) is rated for up to 10 years of outdoor exposure (cheaper calendared vinyl is rated at 3-5 years), a few cast vinyls are rated at up to 12 years. So overall I would expect it to hold up as well as the original paint has.

As to surface prep, removal of all wax and loose clearcoat is important, due to my peeling clearcoat issue I plan to clean the paint very well to strip off all the wax, then very lightly wet sand to loosen any failing clear coat then apply the vinyl. The wet sanding is probably not needed, but I would at least address any loose clearcoat.

If you want to know some of the esoteric bits I will be using a medium tack paper application tape made by R Tape, I have not decided if I will use application fluid, or apply it dry (I will probably use fluid to avoid static cling with this long of piece of vinyl), I will also be using a gold nylon vinyl squeegee with a teflon sleeve, not one of those cheap free plastic squeegees that are often included for free with a roll of vinyl. Most likely I will tab the vinyl in place with with application tape then use one continuous hinge peel from end to end working left to right vs pre-peeling the application tape and doing a top fold since I am not worried about precision alignment here.
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:18 AM   #10
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The exact vinyl I bought is Oracal Vinyl 951 Metallic Premium Cast 24 in x 10 yds - Light Brown Metallic bought from Sign Warehouse out of Denison TX, they had the lowest price I could find on this specific vinyl and have been in the mail order sign supply business for a LONG time. Note I owned a small vinyl sign and screen printing shop back in the 90's, so have a fair amount of experience working with vinyl, which I hope is a bit like riding a bicycle as I have not touched the stuff in over a decade.

here is a product spec link
ORACAL® 951 Premium Cast - Graphic Products

Without getting into too many details about vinyl lettering material, it comes in 2 basic types, cast and calendared, in general cast vinyl cost more, is much thinner, and lasts longer, and works better on curved surfaces. It is also much less prone to shrinkage as it ages.This specific vinyl (Oracal 951) is rated for up to 10 years of outdoor exposure (cheaper calendared vinyl is rated at 3-5 years), a few cast vinyls are rated at up to 12 years. So overall I would expect it to hold up as well as the original paint has.

As to surface prep, removal of all wax and loose clearcoat is important, due to my peeling clearcoat issue I plan to clean the paint very well to strip off all the wax, then very lightly wet sand to loosen any failing clear coat then apply the vinyl. The wet sanding is probably not needed, but I would at least address any loose clearcoat.

If you want to know some of the esoteric bits I will be using a medium tack paper application tape made by R Tape, I have not decided if I will use application fluid, or apply it dry (I will probably use fluid to avoid static cling with this long of piece of vinyl), I will also be using a gold nylon vinyl squeegee with a teflon sleeve, not one of those cheap free plastic squeegees that are often included for free with a roll of vinyl. Most likely I will tab the vinyl in place with with application tape then use one continuous hinge peel from end to end working left to right vs pre-peeling the application tape and doing a top fold since I am not worried about precision alignment here.
So my question is "Is this just like a Body Wrap?" but for clear coat?

Similar to the clear wrap used on the front of the coach?

Or more like a full body Car/Truck advertising wrap?

Very interesting Idea - if it works might just be the solution we are all seeking to solve so many of the Paint issues on the older coaches.

Keep us posted as to how you do - Take Pictures - maybe a Utube would be nice, Can't wait to hear back on how you do.

Interesting, Very INTERESTING,

............

PS http://www.advantagesgs.com/ORACAL-9...FUpXDQodPNcDNg

PS #2 http://www.orafol.com/gp/europe/en/tips-tricks
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:40 AM   #11
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I just bought the materials last week to fix my peeling clear coat. The paint store recommended nothing coarser than 600 - 800 grit. There are a variety of clearcoats available, they suggested the middle range and that I put on 3 heavy coats. No need to sand down to the primer. The coats need to be sprayed at the same time, waiting until the previous coat is 'stringy' when touched between coats.

The real challenge to me is setting up scaffolding around the whole RV so you can spray continuously. I could spray in the barn where no scaffold would be necessary, but it's a dusty barn with poor light. Outdoors obviously has better light, but lots of stuff potentially blowing around. It is 12 ft. up, so the job doesn't have to be perfect. Spraying from the roof doesn't seem like an option, though I might be able to reach out to get the right angle. I can just see the air hose dragging on the fresh coating...

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Old 03-21-2017, 06:53 AM   #12
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My Front Cap pealed after 12 years a total full body repaint- UV just kills it.
Sanded with 220 down through the color, 600- sprayed fresh primer sealer- 2 coats of color, 3 coats of clear. Still looks good after 5 years.
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:59 AM   #13
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Watched the Videos - this will work - biggest issue will be getting it in a well Lit, climate controlled shop, and having scaffolding so as to be able to work the roof.

The search begins.............

All my old buddies - but clean might be an issue -

Need to really think about this, as while it might not last 20 years it will probably last longer than the clear coat on the original lasted. Really Interesting Idea.
















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Old 03-21-2017, 07:16 AM   #14
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It is the whole getting scaffolding set up that has delayed my project, I bought the vinyl back in January, maybe next week I do plan to take photos. As to the vinyl itself, this is the same type that is used for solid color vinyl vehicle lettering with the color going all the way through the vinyl, not just printed on top like the photo realistic truck signs that are common these days. This same type of vinyl has also been traditionally used for pin stripe work, so you can sort of think of this project as very very very wide pin striping.
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