A New Look!

When you get that wild idea!

I was well aware that the outside of the rig looked it age. While there was nothing horrible, it looked faded and dated. The vinyl decals weren’t peeling but were definitely showing their age and the whole thing just looked tired. Well we can’t have that! As with everything, I dove into researching what to do. As it turns out there are many options to give a facelift to the outside of an RV. You can have a professional paint job $$$$, you can order new replacement decals $$$ or custom decals $$$, you can strip them off all together and have a clean slate to do what you would like $, lastly you can repaint the decals after some prep work $.

I went for painting the existing decals. I watched several other folks and landed on the following process.

*lightly sand all decals to smooth with 400 or 800 grit paper

* wipe down all decals with tsp cleaner – I used a no rinse product, quick and easy

* tape off the decal – I used green 1/2 inch auto body paint tape found at Napa auto parts, it curves nicely and your run of the mill blue painters tape

* paper the entire area – more than you think over spray is a REAL thing!

* get ready, this is the crux of it all – I used spray paint and did 7 coats of primer – thin coats which took a lot of discipline! And lightly sanded the last coat.

*select your color of choice and spray paint 7 thin coats of color – and yes much discipline required here as well! Staying 10-12 inches away and keeping the coats light is key!!!!

* then 7 coats of clear sealer paint and yes discipline again!

I highly recommend removing tape within 24 hours of last applied paint at an 45 degree angle away from the decal so as not to pull the fresh paint, wait too long and it may pull the fresh paint or tear the tape and leave pieces. 

Not paint related, but look related! I also ordered a decal eraser drill attachment to remove a few areas of decals. On both sides it said Mirada, which would have been impossible to tape and paint. Also there were 4 of the Coachman Dalmatian dogs on the coach ?!? I say thats a bit excessive!! I removed the “Mirada and 3 dogs”. Using the eraser wheel!  There is a bit of a knack to that wheel but it did the trick. I really think it helped the overall look!  That being said whenever you remove decals you will have what is called ghost lettering left behind. Bright shiny paint that has been kept pristine from the decals, surrounded by paint that is well, not new or shiny, but faded and weathered! I again did a bunch of research and didn’t really find a great solution to just “unghost” the area as a stand alone. I landed on new decals of my choosing, found on Etsy and I couldn’t be happier!!

There is no sugar coating it, this is a BIG job and it took me 10 solid days of blood sweat and almost tears to complete! A few of those days I, thankfully had a little help from my friends! I am thrilled with the results BUT it was more of a job than I thought!!  All in all I spent just at $375.00 in supplies and hope to have to never do this again!!