Micro Checking - default in exterior paint

[Katie P]

I have micro checking on my Gulf Stream Tourmaster. It appears as fine lines in the painted surface. As I understand it is caused by a defect in the composition of the material, Fillon, exterior walls. I have tried to get the coach painted and have been turned down by two providers as they inform me that repainting will just result in the micro checking reappearing. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do to get this corrected. Also, who to I go against for providing a faulty product? Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

[Charles L]

I would start with the manufacturer depending on how old the unit is. Best of luck to you. RV warranties suck and manufacturer support varies from zero to poor.

[dons2346]

There are two kinds of motorhomes that have dark paint on them;those that have micro checking and those that will get micro checking.

I am beginning to believe that the checking issue is becoming a cash cow for body shops. I have been told the only to get rid of it is to completely grind out the checking and fill it. I have very little dark paint in the accent stripes that have started very slight checking after 14 years. To correct the checking, my first estimate to repair was $20K per side! That didn't include any paint or clear coat either

[FIRE UP]

To the OP,
You don's say what year your coach is. The only way possible for you to be able to "collect" on a situation like this is, if your coach is new enough to still be under the factory warranty. If it's not, you can go after whom ever you please, 'till the cows come home and you won't win, period. There's been hundreds, maybe even thousands who've been there already. Some, have spent rather large bucks to have their coaches repainted and, about 98% of the checking returns. It might take a year or two but, it will. I have read on here that there have been one or two that have had good luck with a re-paint.

But, those by far, are the minority. Our coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon, 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT, does have some ultra minor checking. You have to get real close to see it and, in most cases, you have to be in the right angle of light, to see even those. And, we have ZERO black paint. Ours is color scheme of blends of greys and blues. We've seen the "checking" or, some call it "Crazing" on Country Coaches, Monicos, Winne Vectras, Journeys, Itasca Horizons and Meridians and more.

Our coach, is close to 13 years old and looks brand new and, has spent all of its non-traveling life, UNDER a driver-under cover or, in an RV garage. It sees the sun, ONLY when we're using it. It is my understanding that, some folks were LUCKY enough (if you want to call it lucky) to have this "checking" start while the coach was under factory warranty. When that happened, it was on the manufacturers dime for repairs. And speaking of dimes, it's been reported that the cost of the repairs for those kinds of claims hovered in the $15,000-$20,000 range due to the fact that the entire exterior of the coach had to be stripped of it's walls. And new exterior walls installed.

It would be very interesting if someone were to pursue this issue and actually come out a winner. If that were the case, the some manufacturers, especially ones that are still in business, that had some of their units do this "checking" thing, would be stung pretty bad. But, I suspect that, will never happen.
Scott


The "Checking" is not only for "dark" paint. It appears on white, red, tan, black, brown and just about any other color. We've seen it on many makes, models and years.

[Murf2u]

No matter what anyone tells you, there is only one way to prevent this from happening.

Don't paint Filon!!!

Filon was (and is) used very successfully on OTR highway trailers, so they thought it would be good for RV's, HOWEVER, they then discovered two issues that never arose previously.

First and foremost, water infiltration isn't an issue on a vehicle that moves on a very regular basis.

Secondly, they are rarely painted. Filon is a very flexible and forgiving material, the problem is the paint applied over top isn't. When the unit is exposed to direct sunshine in warm temps the wall expands beyond the limits of the paints flexibility. This causes the paint checking.

[Katie P]

Originally Posted by Katie P

I have micro checking on my Gulf Stream Tourmaster. It appears as fine lines in the painted surface. As I understand it is caused by a defect in the composition of the material, Fillon, exterior walls. I have tried to get the coach painted and have been turned down by two providers as they inform me that repainting will just result in the micro checking reappearing. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do to get this corrected. Also, who to I go against for providing a faulty product? Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

My coach is a 2009. It is a sad situation when so many RV purchasers have a problem that was the fault of the manufacturer and the OEM supplier. I am still pursuing what options are available to those of us who have this unsightly pattern in our exterior paint up to and including the option of pursuing a class action lawsuit. At this point, what do I have to lose??

[Jake21]

These guys claim they have a fix.


https://www.thepaintdepartment.com/r...ecking-repair/

[Dutch Star Don]

My 2005 Diplomat started to check on one side where there was a dark brown section of paint. There is one way to fix it, but is pricey. They make a primer that can be sprayed on before painting that will prevent the checking. The only thing is that the paint has to be sanded down to fiberglass before the primer is applied.....very pricey. I had this repair down on the front cap of my Diplomat. The checking didn't return over the next three years before I sold it.

"Katie P"......I'm guessing you've had the coach almost 9 years, I don't know if there is really anyone to pursue. Some paint jobs on cars don't hold up for 9 years.

[Katie P]

I spoke with The Paint Department today. This was the service provider that was recommended in an earlier post on this thread. The cost to remove the paint and skin (body work) is $24,000. Then, the cost to repaint the coach is $26.000!! In addition, they need to have the coach for 3 months. I am a full timer so that is another cost to add to the $50,000!! He estimated that the micro checking will reduce the value of a resale approximately $45,000. As our coach is almost 9 years old it is hard for me to justify an additional $50,000!! The paint department told me that if it was not corrected, the checking are cracks in the water barrier and water can get in the walls of the coach and rot the wood. I would like to hear if anyone has any opinions on the validity of this.
Thanks,
Kate

[Jake21]

That sounds a bit extreme to me. i have slight cracking and it has not gotten worse in 5 years. I think his estimate of a 45K price reduction is a bit off as well.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Grinding down the fiberglass, filling and re-paintng will indeed cost big bucks, and $45k for a quality job on a 4-color, 40 ft rig is in the ball park. The multi-coat paint job alone on my [former] American Tradition is well over $20k.

The body shops are correct. If they just sand, prime and re-paint, the checking will return. Probably in a few years, but maybe more like 5 or so. It's a crap shoot depending on color, sun exposure, and the exact composite material in your sidewalls. It's not all vanilla "Filon" - Crane Composites made several varieties.

What can you do? Probably "live with it" is the only practical answer. Even $15k-$20k for just a paint job is pretty steep for a cosmetic problem. If you want to try the paint anyway, maybe you could sign a release absolving the paint shop of responsibility for future cracking.

You have no recourse against the RV maker because you are far out of warranty and the problem is only cosmetic anyway. And no recourse against the fiberglass maker (probably Crane) because you are not their customer.

[jimbo2013]

those are crazy and rip off estimates, you can soda blast the entire coach in one day maybe $2500

take to one of those Mexican paint shops have them sand it down, again maybe 2500.

Paint $10-20K in us, or much less in Mexico

[Gary RVRoamer]

those are crazy and rip off estimates, you can soda blast the entire coach in one day maybe $2500
take to one of those Mexican paint shops have them sand it down, again maybe 2500.
Paint $10-20K in us, or much less in Mexico

Even those estimates total 15k-20k, and he has to go to Mexico to do it.