Marabu Classic Clearshield Gloss decal protectant

[Timeking]

I thought it was worthwhile to start another thread on this topic, so here goes. First off I am a retiree and not affiliated with any company or employer whatsoever.

I am surprised that over the 8 years I've owned this trailer, and have worried all that time over the graphics slowly peeling away, that there was no information anywhere that this stuff even existed. The only advice being to use the Aerospace stuff, which I did, but my experience is that it only slowed down the deterioration. And I say "maybe". I think that what happens to decals is that they get hot from sitting in the sun, and the glue that holds them on gets soft, and they peel. I am hoping that the Clearshield will stop that (so far appears to) since the shield it forms is slightly bigger all around than the graphic, thus the graphic would have to pull the clearshield away from the filon exterior of my trailer. I don't think it can. As far as appearance, other than the decals look much better, you can't really see the clearshield unless you lay your head on the side of the trailer and peer down the side. Then you can see it.

My exterior is "filon" which is supposedly like fiberglass. It's a Kodiak by Skamper. I don't know how long it will last, but looking at the final product it seems the answer is a long, long time. I can't find any reviews of the product, I suspect because us non-pro mere-mortals aren't supposed to be using the stuff, only a shop.

http://www.lexjet.com/ apparently will sell you a quart. Maybe other places. Amazon will sell you a 55 gallon barrel for $4500. The local graphics guy sold me 1/2 of a quart for $25 which did 2 coats on all the decals on my 24 ft trailer with a bit left over.

One last point, get yourself a small roller, small enough to paint the decal with maybe an inch overlap. If you decide to use a brush, like I did, start at one end of the decal and paint across to the other end. The stuff tends to set up faster than you might think, and you don't want to be going back over the areas you've already painted with the brush, as it tends to leave brush marks. However, that said, those places where I did that flattened out, and I can't tell those areas from areas where I was purposefully methodical.

Clean up is a breeze, as the stuff vanishes when you hit it with water. Hint hint! Make sure it doesn't rain for 2 hours following application!!

http://www.marabu-northamerica.com/products/product-overview/liquid-coatings.html

[Timeking]

Well here it is March 2017 ... no yellowing, no change in decal condition although exposed to Florida baking sun.

[D_E_Bishop]

This is very timely for us, we just had a custom decal made for the rear wall of the Adventurer and it was not at all inexpensive. It was **** expensive but the maker threw in ten six inch decals he made out of the selvage.

\So thanks for the info.

[Timeking]

PS: ...for those who may think I am trying to sell Maribu products, there is also this stuff:

Protect the Graphics - Toughguard protects graphics, decals and adhesives from harmful UV rays that deteriorate over time without proper protection. Protect the beauty of your investment for years with one application of Toughguard.

Apparently used by military, Boeing, etc. But good luck on trying to find out where to buy the stuff!!

[Timeking]

OK so it has been a year. There is no yellowing at all anywhere. The new decal of the bear looks great, no peeling, no fading. The older decals that were put on during manufacture 2007 are peeling much less than before application of the protectant; however, they are still slowly peeling.

This leads me to wonder if you'd put this stuff (or other similar decal protectant coatings) on when the trailer is new, that you wouldn't have the peeling problem at all. This is important to me as the new trailer we are looking at has decals.

[Timeking]

Update. Typically by this time I'd have to go out with a razor knife and slice off the edges of the decals that had peeled. We had the hottest FL summer here on record this year which would have made it worse. None of the decals have lifted, no evidence of yellowing. We are leaving soon for a trip to UT and will post again when I get back.

[Timeking]

"to put a layer of clear coat over them at the factory."

That is exactly what this stuff is, clear coat for decals.

Since I played in a band with one of his close friends back in the 90s, and my wife knows his Mom and sister, if there was something "wrong" with the Marabu stuff, why wouldn't he simply sell me the decal for $160? Why would he then sell me "at his cost" $25 worth of the Marabu stuff to protect my decals? I know the guy, I know where he lives, I know where his shop is. Why would he want to generate a bunch of trouble for himself over a $25 sale at zero profit? My older brother is a lawyer, if you get my drift. Since he is NOT going to sell this stuff online or otherwise, what could possibly be his motive to sell me something that had a serious downside? I trust the guy enough to put it over all my decals, since that is what it was manufactured for.

Part of his business is making decals for RVs.

As far as why the decal cost so much, it was because the decal was a bear destroyed by the sun, his head and legs were gone. He had to artistically recreate the original decal from some photos we took back when the trailer was new, and match the colors to fragments of the decal we peeled off and took to him.

[fj12ryder]

You could be correct about why it isn't in common use, or it could be that there are some issues with it when used on RV exteriors. It may yellow over time when exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods, or it may crack or craze under the same circumstances, I dunno. It sure sounds good though.

Keep us updated on how it performs. I would love to find something that will protect the decals from peeling. Seems to me the smartest thing to do would have been to put a layer of clear coat over them at the factory.

[Timeking]

Not very long at all. All I know is that the local graphics business guy said they use this stuff, and its ONLY use is to protect decals. My thinking is that if they used this and it didn't work as claimed, then people would be coming back to him raising h*ll, and he'd be sued, and go out of business. He's been in business for 10 years or so. But from my own personal experience, I can't say, because its only been on for 2 weeks. The REAL QUESTION is why nobody has apparently known (or posted) about this stuff. Why?

Why don't you contact Keystone and ask them about Clearshield, and tell me what you find out? Being paranoid, maybe this isn't common knowledge because they want your decals to rot off. Dunno.

[fj12ryder]

How long has this application been in place? I mean, long enough to tell if it's actually going to work well?

I have new graphics from Keystone for my Fuzion, but I'm afraid if I go through all the work of removing the old and installing the new, they'll just deteriorate like the old ones. If this stuff works it would be worthwhile to put on the new graphics.