Clear Coat

Peeling clear coat seems to be a real problem with Monaco products. My 2002 Ambassador had peeling cc so bad it would coume off in sheets from the rear cap. I finally had the decals removed, the rear cap repainted and coated. Now I see that my 2007 Scepter has peeling cc along the roof edges. I guess we'll address that later in the year.

timmac wrote:
Well this thread bothers me, I just sold my 02 Flair with vinyl stripes and bought a 08 Bounder full body paint and now complaints about clear coat peeling on some 06 models, I sure hope my 08 holds up longer than this..

A lot depends on how you take care of your paint. If the manufacturer used a good quality polyurethane paint, you do not need any wax, just a regular washing with a water soluble wax product. The more you wax the paint, the more you will rub off some of the clear coat. Just wash it and it will last a long time.

Well this thread bothers me, I just sold my 02 Flair with vinyl stripes and bought a 08 Bounder full body paint and now complaints about clear coat peeling on some 06 models, I sure hope my 08 holds up longer than this..

I have the same problem with my 06 Ambassador, after some research and the fact that I can hardly afford the MH anymore due to not really being out of the recession I'm going to brush on the clear coat, check out KBS coatings online they have clear that can be brushed on...10+ feet above I dare anyone to say they can see brush lines. Lay it on thick and it should last a while...$80 bucks and some sweat equity.

On my 05 Monaco, I first noticed the front cap blistering above the running lights. I bought matching automotive paint, sanded and re-sprayed the area which left a line that wasn't bad. I did the same on the rear. Finally, the sides started to go. I took it to an RV body shop and they painted both caps and both sides all one color. They did this buy using the dark brown paint on my front cap and carrying it all the way back, painting over a couple of areas, above the drip rail that had other colors. They made a paint line just above my rear running lights where the dark brown created a new line on my tan paint at the rear. They gave a lifetime guarantee.

If you let the issue go too long, you'll start to get large cracks (the size of the edge of a business card) that are not repairable by sanding. I had a couple and the had to take the paint down to the fiberglass, use an epoxy premier and then spray. Mine cost $3000.00. My neighbor had his sprayed in the front yard by a mobile guy for $1200.00, but over sprayed the coach. I know several people who have had mobile guys and professional shops do the work. To me, paying the shop to do it is worth the money.

If you want a good professional job, take it to a paint shop. I had the front cap done, it was starting to bubble up and was starting to look ugly. Right around the clearance light area all the way across and about twelve inches to the top of the windshield. The shop done a fantastic job and it matches perfect the rest of the coach. Looks like new. The rear cap is OK.

Since the insurance does not cover for something like that, they charged me six hundred dollars. I thought that was a real good deal and am very happy I had it done.

If clear coat over a color coat, then a pro should do the job. The color coat is very thin and removal of the remaining clear coat would likely damage the color coat.

If clear coat over gel coat, you can remove the old clear coat and spray new clear coat from a can. I have done that to about 40% of the white parts of my rig.

I had the "brow" of my rig done in 2003 and it still looks good. Cost $1,000.

They do make clear coat in a can. I tried to fix the same thing you have. Fortunately it was on the edge of the roof and hardly noticeable from the ground. I said "hardly noticeable", It was a mess, color was changed, sanding took off much of the rest of the thin coat of paint. Just a mess, until I had it fixed by a paint shop. It is not cheap because they do not mask it off at a mid point. They always go to a place it can "break"

They do make clear coat in spray cans but I would suggest that you take it to a body shop. Since the clear coat could be enamel, lacquer, or polyurethane, it is best to know what your original paint is. A body shop can make that determination and then mask off the area, prepare it properly, and apply a new coat of clear. Chance are, if the base coat has deteriorated, and has noticeably changed colors, that the new clear coat will protect it but it still will not match the other areas of the coach that are the same color.