Sticker Discoloration

[Steve76eb]

Anybody have any idea on what is going on with the stickers on my front cap? It appears they are turning a reddish color around the edges and working its way in towards the middle. I scrubbed and scrubbed and its not dirt or bugs.

[tsetsaf]

fly-boy wrote:
I am in the printing business and I don't understand why anyone buys an RV with decals on it- they are going to fail- period.

Your decals are failing due to weather- mostly sun. Anyone who buys a new RV should order with no decals or immediately remove them upon purchase.

I won't buy from a mfg. who won't accommodate this requirement. Also, paint is not a whole lot better. I often wonder what people think their dark grey, black or worse red painted RV is going to look like down the road.

This is the answer. In ops case best bet is to contact Keystone and get replacements.

[DarrellQ2001]

What is the best way to remove stickers from a 4 year old Trailer?

[HTElectrical]

Well, maybe I'm mistaken, but mine have some kind of metal flake in them, and it appears to be rust????? All I know is that it looks like crap.

[KATOOM]

HTElectrical wrote:
No, there is actually metal flake in the decals, and it is starting to rust.

I always thought they used a non-conductive type material or something like aluminum which doesn't rust. Otherwise any crack in the decal/sticker would create a an exposed corrosive or rust "line". :h

[fly-boy]

CMYK- Google is your friend.

[Steve76eb]

HTElectrical wrote:

No, there is actually metal flake in the decals, and it is starting to rust.

The only drawback to that theory is that these are not metal flake stickers. They have never had any glitter or shine to them when exposed to the sun. I don't know if the bass boat look would go over real well on a trailer, at least not for me..:)

[fly-boy]

HTElectrical wrote:

KATOOM wrote:
They make the decals in laminated layers. It looks like the same thing which is happening to mine whereby the top color layer is wearing away from UV rays and leaving whatever color is underneath exposed.

I agree with fly-boy. All decals will fall apart unless the RV/trailer is stored indoors all the time, and its not cheap or easy to find shelter for RV/trailers. I'd rather the manufactures just leave them off all together and save everyone the grief of fading crappy looking decals. But.....since they are there and removing them if they've been on longer than a month will not only be very difficult but look completely stupid as the ghost haze of what was there stays visable, I when to the paint store and color matched mine. Then I simply paint them with an exterior paint and brush. I've even found spray colors which were so close you couldn't tell and taped and sprayed over decals. They look perfect.

No, there is actually metal flake in the decals, and it is starting to rust.

These decals are failing due to ultraviolet light/rays from the sun. When the decals are printed the inks are hit with an ultra violet light that dries them very quickly. The problem with the inks is that a very light layer of ink is used and they are very prone to fading and degradation with additional ultra violet light- sun light. There are methods available to create long lasting quality graphics- but they are a lot more expensive.

RV manufactures buy decals just like they do tires- if it looks good and works for a year or two- "well, that's all we need". After that it is the owners problem. 🙂

[HTElectrical]

KATOOM wrote:
They make the decals in laminated layers. It looks like the same thing which is happening to mine whereby the top color layer is wearing away from UV rays and leaving whatever color is underneath exposed.

I agree with fly-boy. All decals will fall apart unless the RV/trailer is stored indoors all the time, and its not cheap or easy to find shelter for RV/trailers. I'd rather the manufactures just leave them off all together and save everyone the grief of fading crappy looking decals. But.....since they are there and removing them if they've been on longer than a month will not only be very difficult but look completely stupid as the ghost haze of what was there stays visable, I when to the paint store and color matched mine. Then I simply paint them with an exterior paint and brush. I've even found spray colors which were so close you couldn't tell and taped and sprayed over decals. They look perfect.

No, there is actually metal flake in the decals, and it is starting to rust.

[Strabo]

Time to sell it....Ours look fine "wink"

[WhitehouseLV]

I have a 2009 Raptor that the decals are near gone on one side (gets the most sun) and the other side they are cracked. I'm hoping Keystone will give me a set or at least at a discounted price. Then I'll have a shop remove and install the old ones, buy a cover or store it inside.

[Steve76eb]

KATOOM wrote:


I agree with fly-boy. All decals will fall apart unless the RV/trailer is stored indoors all the time, and its not cheap or easy to find shelter for RV/trailers. I'd rather the manufactures just leave them off all together and save everyone the grief of fading crappy looking decals. But.....since they are there and removing them if they've been on longer than a month will not only be very difficult but look completely stupid as the ghost haze of what was there stays visable, I when to the paint store and color matched mine. Then I simply paint them with an exterior paint and brush. I've even found spray colors which were so close you couldn't tell and taped and sprayed over decals. They look perfect.

The large decal in the front is now starting to do the same thing. Like you said if I remove the stickers I will probably still be able to see the outline of them. The trailer is coming up on 2 years old now. Since the black paint on the cap is also starting to fade like so many others, I might just peel the stickers off and instead of putting the money into a repaint of the cap, I will look into putting a wrap on it.

[KATOOM]

They make the decals in laminated layers. It looks like the same thing which is happening to mine whereby the top color layer is wearing away from UV rays and leaving whatever color is underneath exposed.

I agree with fly-boy. All decals will fall apart unless the RV/trailer is stored indoors all the time, and its not cheap or easy to find shelter for RV/trailers. I'd rather the manufactures just leave them off all together and save everyone the grief of fading crappy looking decals. But.....since they are there and removing them if they've been on longer than a month will not only be very difficult but look completely stupid as the ghost haze of what was there stays visable, I when to the paint store and color matched mine. Then I simply paint them with an exterior paint and brush. I've even found spray colors which were so close you couldn't tell and taped and sprayed over decals. They look perfect.

[Steve76eb]

HTElectrical wrote:
It is rusting, just like mine.

Yep.....I used some steel wool and it got rid of all the rust on the stickers. Shot some Rustoleum over the top and now they look great.

[HTElectrical]

It is rusting, just like mine.