Paint checking - What years

[LongWeekends]

We have decided that it is time to upgrade. A lot of the coaches that we are looking at are perfect other than the paint checking found on so many older coaches. My question - is there a specific time frame they used the paint that succumbs to checking? We have been mainly looking at Beaver and Monaco products.

Thanks in advance.

[DSDP_Don]

Sure......my comment was primarily regarding the clear coat along the roof, which was NOT a fiberglass issue on the Monaco coaches. Yes, paint is paint, but just like any paint job, it can have one coat of cleat, two coats, even up to ten. The coaches with deeper clear coats held up better.

When you buy a new Newmar, you get their standard paint job up to the Dutch Star line. Once you go above that line, you get what they call their Masterpiece paint job. They paint, sand, clear coat, sand and shoot more layers of clear. It's a much deeper and better quality paint job.

Take a look at older Country Coaches, especially the higher end models. They still look like new because they got a better paint job with a ton more clear.

When we bought our Diplomat years ago, we were told that it took 35 gallons of paint, probably around $35-$45 a gallon back then. You start adding more paint at that price, along with the additional labor, you can see why only the more expensive coaches get better paint jobs.

When it comes to checking, I agree that is a fiberglass issue. We have a local guy who says he can fix it. He actually found a large check on the front cap of Diplomat when I had the clear coat repaired. In the that one area he sanded down to the fiberglass and used a new epoxy base primer in just that small area. I sold the coach two years later and it was still holding up, but it sure wouldn't have been worth the extra cost to sand a coach with substantial checking down to bare fiberglass and use the expensive primer and repaint.

[LongWeekends]

DSDP Don wrote:
Keep in mind, the Dynasty's and above got better paint jobs than the Knights, Diplomats and probably even the Camelots. I wouldn't expect to find many Dynasty's, Windsors, Signatures or Executives with as many issues.

Forgive my ignorance....can you tell me what the difference is in the paint jobs? I would assume that they all use the same paint as they roll down the line. Also, would that even matter if the real issue is the fiberglass?

[ncrowley]

I can tell you what I was told. It is an issue with the walls used on coaches from about 2000 to 2008. The walls used fiberglass bonded to plywood. The bonding is failing and it happens more quickly on dark surfaces because they get hotter. The problem is that it can lift the clear coat off - this is what was happening in the dark paint areas of my coach. If the clear coat was not lifting, it would not be a big deal. I talked to a number of top paint shops. Some have sanded down the areas and repainted and have had mixed results. Sometimes the paint holds and sometimes the checking comes back. Since it is expensive to sand down the walls and repaint, it is not a good solution if there is no guarantee it will work. When I told the paint shops that Newmar will replace the sidewalls at a reduced cost (and repaint the coach) they strongly recommended that I take them up on it. I also talked to other people that have had the sidewalls replaced by Newmar and they were very happy with the work. My coach is currently at Newmar having the work done.

If the coach was kept in covered storage since it was built, the problem may never arise. I purchased the coach 3 years ago and it had been kept outside until I purchased it. I kept it in a garage but the basic damage must have been done and it still got worse when I owned it.

I am happy about having to have this done? Absolutely not. I wish I would have known that the checking would get worse and cause the clear coat to lift. I would have negotiated a cheaper price. However, we cannot replace the coach for the money we are spending to get the sidewalls replaced. We are also having other work done while the walls are off.

[Ivylog]

Fiberglass

[DSDP_Don]

Keep in mind, the Dynasty's and above got better paint jobs than the Knights, Diplomats and probably even the Camelots. I wouldn't expect to find many Dynasty's, Windsors, Signatures or Executives with as many issues.

Most of the issues with crazing or cracking appeared in the dark colors. Mine lasted 9 years before I started to see some crazing in the dark stripe where the sun hit it when the coach was at home.

[LongWeekends]

Thanks for all the feedback. So I guess I am still looking to see when this became an issue and what year it resolved for the various manufacturers. Is this info available?

[rgatijnet1]

Ivylog wrote:
Having owned this MH all but the first six months, it was stored outside for the first four years and inside half the time since. It is mainly gold with a fair amount of black. Having just inspected it fairly closely I do not find any checking and the clear coat at the roof still looks good. It has only been waxed three times and still looks really good although I'll probably wax it in the next year. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones although checking would not be reason enough for me to repaint it. Most think it's almost new and this is the only recent picture I have handy.

Is that one of the early 04's with the aluminum sides or had Monaco already switched to fiberglass by the time yours was built?

[Ivylog]

Having owned this MH all but the first six months, it was stored outside for the first four years and inside half the time since. It is mainly gold with a fair amount of black. Having just inspected it fairly closely I do not find any checking and the clear coat at the roof still looks good. It has only been waxed three times and still looks really good although I'll probably wax it in the next year. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones although checking would not be reason enough for me to repaint it. Most think it's almost new and this is the only recent picture I have handy.

[DSDP_Don]

Just so you know, the Monaco products and a few other brands were prone to have the clear coat go bad around the roof line starting at the top edges of the caps and then down the sides, above the rain rail. The only correct repair is to have the upper edges repainted. The cost is about $3000.00. This happened to most between 5-7 years old.

So, in your search, you may not be able to escape some checking in the dark colors, but make sure you get on a ladder and check the roof edges. Once repaired, the roof will look great. It may be a negotiating factor.

[dons2346]

My observation on the checking problem is that it occurs mostly in the darker color paints on any brand coach. My '02 is beginning to have some checking in the dark stripe but the rest if the coach is fine.

In using a infra red thermometer the difference in temperature between a light color and a dark color can be as much as 100 degrees. just another observation.

[imgoin4it]

Duplicate post

[imgoin4it]

The side wall checking is 100% a fiberglass siding pronlem. The tiny raised areas that can be seen once the problem starts are fibers. This problem has been known about for years. The product was changed once it was thought the problem was corrected only to find that testing did not go on long enough and the problem either continued or came back depending on how one looks at it. The product was changed again and tested again but for a much longer period of time and is now thought to bring "fixed". Repainting is only a temporary fix because checking will return. Coaches constructed with hung walls, like Newmar, can have the fiberglass wall material rrplaced. Vacubonded wall construction would have to have the entire wall replaced so there is no reasonable fix.

[Mr_Mark1]

Our 2008 Monaco Dynasty purchased in April 2007 had just started to check in the black section of the paint on the passenger side (noticed in summer of 2014.... sold in November of 2014). It had just shy of 70,000 miles on the odometer.

The paint felt smooth as glass with no cracks but you could see 'curls' in the paint (don't know how else to describe it). I pointed it out to the consignment dealer. It didn't seem to be an issue with anyone looking as it was never mentioned to me.

We sold the coach for 49% of purchase price after 7.5 yrs. of ownership (45% after fee). And, it was in fantastic shape and serviced regularly. It had new tires from 2013 and 8 new house AGM's (2 yrs. old) and 2 new chassis batteries. So, the coach was ready to roll!

MM.

[Busskipper]

LongWeekends wrote:
We have decided that it is time to upgrade. A lot of the coaches that we are looking at are perfect other than the paint checking found on so many older coaches. My question - is there a specific time frame they used the paint that succumbs to checking? We have been mainly looking at Beaver and Monaco products.

Thanks in advance.

My Coach was Painted in 2004 and the checking started to show up after about 8 years and has become very widespread - IMHO it is a combination of the paint and the skin used, and that it might, MIGHT, be that a 2008 unit is just not old YET.

Not an expert but-a Good friend has a Coach couple years older that has been stored inside for the life of the Coach and still looks NEW.

Lot's of factor's that come into play.

BOL,

[rgatijnet1]

I think it had more to do with the difference in expansion and contraction of the side wall material being painted and the type of paint used.