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tomgauger's avatar
tomgauger
Explorer
Feb 18, 2014

Diamond Shield Removal

The Diamond Shield on my 2001 Monaco Exec is dismal. Attempts to remove it using a hair dryer have not worked as the shield only comes off in tiny pieces.
I bought the coach three years ago and the front cap looked bad then...and worse now.
Does anyone have a solution for this older coach? Presumably 3M is not going to pay for removal.
Would love to hear from others with older coaches.
Tom Gauger
  • We have a 2004 Country Coach Allure. Our 3M cracked just after their warranty expired. They won't do anything. I would never put that stuff on our RV!! Unfortunately no other way but lots of time and elbow grease!! Better when the outside temperature is in the 80's. Took us 2 full days to remove most of ours. Yes it comes off in tiny pieces. We used a plastic scraper. After you get the film off, use Goo Gone (home stores or Dollar stores) to remove the adhesive. Again, lots of rubbing. We were quoted $1000 to remove it with no guarantee that the shop wouldn't have to repaint the cap when done. Guess they don't want take the time to remove it carefully?? For the last 18" along the bottom, we took it to Mike's Custom Painting in Bremen Indiana and they removed it and repainted the entire cap.
  • We just finished removing the 3M from ours. You need a wall steamer and lots of plastic razor blades. They don't last long and sharp ones make all the difference. Then some good adhesive remover, we used Aero-Tech. Or you can pay someone about $700.
  • I have done it twice. The first time the product was about 5 years old and only had minor discoloration in spots. That one came off in bug chucks with a little heat and pulling. The next time the product was 8 years old and had somewhat heavy discoloration. This time it did not want to come off. I used a good amount of heat to get it melt and then scrapped it off with a plastic putty knife. Then I bought a gallon of Goof Off remover to remove the rest and the glue. This was time consuming but worked well other than some small scratches. I put the goof off in a spray bottle and sprayed a large area to let the glue soak it in. When soaked in the glue would swell and I could scrap it off. Its a nice product but its only a temporary one and its not easy to get off.
  • Diamond Shield is not a 3M product. Mine failed too. Its a DOG to remove. I got my lower off with scrapers I got from a window tint shop.They also have a product called TINT_OFF that cleans up the glue. I did it in summer in Florida. I have read a wallpaper steamer works better than a heat gun. I could get 10" square chunks to come off by getting a corner and slowly peeling out. The area above the windshield must have been a different batch or material as it turned almost black and is/was a nightmare to remove. It is coming off in dime sized pieces. I am still removing it. I need a scaffold. The tint shop quoted $600 to remove. It may be worth it. You are lucky if paint doesn't come off and your decals if any will probably need replaced.

    Very unhappy customer here.
  • You peel it off or get someone to do the job for you. Then get the areas where paint comes off repainted. Finally, decide if you'll put it back on, or use a bra or nothing. Not too many choices, just the facts of life.

    I peeled it on a Tiffin 2008 Allegro Bus, and paid for the necessary areas repainted. When we ordered the 2013, we ordered it WITHOUT THE DS and it came through with it. Tiffin did the removal and repaint on that one. I use bra's from Coast Line RV and Offload