I am having my vinyl graphics that are deteriorating removed and painted on the same way has anyone have this done before please let me know how the outcome was

I've seen it done and it looks great. I watched a company remove the decals from a 5th wheel and replace the vinyl graphics with new vinyl while in a RV park in Myrtle Beach last fall. It looked really nice when they were done. Painting on the new graphics should outlast vinyl assuming they use the right techniques and good paint.

I plan on doing this at some point. I need to find a paint that will hold up and can be custom matched. I would like to keep the same color. I can do straight lines with masking tape, but i would have to skip the curves or get someone else to paint them. An art student come to mind.

I am paying somebody to have it done tune of $3400 that was the lowest estimate that's removing the decals and painting them on

Removal of decals, especially if they have become hard and brittle, is not easy and time consuming. Without knowing how many decals you have and what type of prep and paint they plan to use, $3,400 doesn't sound too bad for a good job. Are they going to use base coat/clear coat, single stage paint, etc. Dupont Imron is really tough stuff but not sure a lot of shops want to use that nowadays.

Ha, my replacement and paint cost around 6K. Yes, it looks great. Only thing I didn't like was they had to use pinstriping decals over the edge of new paint/old because the new paint was thicker and presented an edge they could not feather in. Good news is after about 6 years, none of that pinstriping has come loose.

Removing vinyl graphics and painting | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

Gjac
Explorer III
Mar 14, 2017
Some of the vinyl stripes peeled right off by putting a putty knife under one corner then slowly peeling it back at 180 degrees. The ones that were badly cracked and dryer I started with a plastic scraper then tried a metal putty knife, I found that a dull razor blade worked the best without digging into the gelcoat. Acetone removed the adhesive reside. If it wasn't for the ghosting underneath I would just leave the upper part white and no stripes or swirls and paint the doors an earth tone color.
Stormy_Eyes
Explorer
Mar 14, 2017
WVbassmistress wrote:
What is the procedure for removing the peeling decals? I guess I'll Google Erase wheel...never heard of it. I'll worry about replacement after I get them off!!

Thanks

You may first wish to try heating the graphic with a hair dryer or heat gun and scraping it off. Warm sun helped the graphics peel maker easily than on shady side of the rv. Many people use a plastic scraper to avoid damage to fiberglass. Most of my vinyl came off pretty darn easily with this method, though one particularly crackled graphic was difficult to scrape, even with heat. I paced myself, doing one graphic at a time, so scraping was no big deal. If heat/scaling does not work well for yours, try the wheel. The adhesive residue came off with acetone or goof-off.
msmith1199
Explorer II
Mar 14, 2017
I always figured when it was time to paint the RV I'd just have them remove the decals and either paint the entire motorhome one solid color, or maybe do a two-tone paint with the floor line down being one color and the top being another.

Would that look too boring? Seems like most every motorhome has the swoosh decals. Can we go without?
Dale_Traveling
Explorer II
Mar 13, 2017
3M Eraser Wheel
Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Mar 13, 2017
jspringator wrote:
How did you mask the curves?

3M Fine Line Tape

Pick your size - I use 1/8" typically. When it comes to tape, spend the $$$ on the good stuff, or you'll wish you had.
WVbassmistress
Explorer
Mar 13, 2017
What is the procedure for removing the peeling decals? I guess I'll Google Erase wheel...never heard of it. I'll worry about replacement after I get them off!!

Thanks
Stormy_Eyes
Explorer
Feb 06, 2017
I have taken the most weathered graphics off my 2005. I am still weighing my options for redoing them...roll-n-tip marine brightside paint...or tipical rattle can paint or maybe plastidip spray. Right now I am leaning toward that last one, as I could remove it if I was not pleased with the look. There are some neat you tube videos of plasti dip on vehicles.
ocean_bound
Explorer II
Feb 05, 2017
Your picture did not post would like to see it
I_rv
Explorer
Feb 05, 2017
I haVE A 2001 TRADEWINDS AND OVER THE WINTER IN FL. i REMOVED ALL THE STRIPES USING A HEAT GUN THEN MASKED OFF AND PAINTED WITH SPRAY CANS.I USED MULTIPLE COLORS AND BLENDED THE COLORS FROM VARIOUS PINKS AND PURPLES INTO DARK BLUE OR BLUE METALIC.I HAVE RECEIVED MANY COMPLIMENTS AND THE COACH LOOKS VERY ORIGINAL FROM FACTORY.
Dale_Traveling
Explorer II
Feb 05, 2017
jspringator wrote:
How did you mask the curves?
Short pieces of 1/8 masking tape. It's not absolute perfect but from a few feet can't tell. Waiting for the perfect weekend took the most time. Low humidity and no wind. Masking took several hours while paint application was maybe an hour for several coats with a short tac time between. The paint chemically hardened so tac time was fairly short.