Forum Discussion

haste_maker's avatar
haste_maker
Explorer II
Jan 18, 2022

Removing Old Decal's

Has anyone removed old cracked decals from their RV, and not replaced them with anything. If so what are your thought's about the new look of your RV?
  • JimmuTello wrote:
    I don't plan to remove the stickers, no matter what condition they are in, it gives style to my van

    I liked mine as well so instead of removing them, I refurbished them.
  • OkieGene wrote:
    3M eraser wheel is the best, I think. Doesn't cost much


    The eraser wheel will also remove the adhesive. Win Win situation.
  • My inlaws removed the decals from their 5er. It was only a couple years old when they did it, and it still has the ghosting from the old decals. They are happy with the look. I wouldn't be.
  • We removed decals that were in bad shape. Not that many. It worked out well.
    I have seen MH with the decals removed, Its okay, nothing to write home about. If you like it that way then fine. It would give a clean look, if the next owner really wants decals, they have a clean rig to work on.

    We found that the rubber eraser worked well. Then some 3M Adhesive remover scraped with a plastic gift card, the flexibility of the card works well on fiberglass.

    To clean up the remaining adhesive, discoloration, and general oxidation, compounding with an appropriate liquid cleaner is necessary. I use a number of products, rubbing compound, 3M Perfect-It, and Meguires 67, which I use the most.

    Use a rotary buffing machine on fiberglass, I find that the orbitals do not work nearly as well. Gel Coat on fiberglass is different than paint. Get the speed up and watch the heat carefully, keep the machine moving. Then to clean things up and make the MH look good, I use Meguires 67 which has a wax base as well and it does look good when done. I also use Fast Finish by Meguires, this is an easy to use product that produces a good result. I am experimenting with Meguires Ceramic Hybrid product, but do not feel comfortable using it on the MH with out more experience with it. If you do not have a good buffing machine, it will take a lot longer and be more difficult to finish the removal. Best.
  • I've heard that this works well for removing decals. Our friends found a local company that came out and made all new vinyl decals to match the old ones. They changed the colors to match their truck.

    I know some who have just left their RV white.... personally, I think they look terrible, looks like a bread truck.

    Decal eraser
  • Yes, we did remove all the he old vinyl graphics last fall from our 12 YO 5er. At the same time cleaned and polished the gel coat. Only a very close look sees the 'shadows'

    We have obtained a factory replacement set of graphics for our orphan to apply when the weather allows.
  • BB_TX wrote:
    Not an A, but replaced cracked and peeling decals on the front and rear my 5er. Sides still looked good. Looked great and practically new again. But it was a chore getting the old ones off. Didn’t like all the white with the decals removed.


    Yep, did it on a prior rig.

    A ton of work and didn't care for the blank white. Sold the rig before getting around to new stickers.
  • When you remove your old decals, you will see shadowing where the decals were. Not something you can polish out. You will need to cover those areas where the old decals were. I elected to use paint.

    Richard
  • Not an A, but replaced cracked and peeling decals on the front and rear my 5er. Sides still looked good. Looked great and practically new again. But it was a chore getting the old ones off. Didn’t like all the white with the decals removed.