Previous Owner Painted the Gelcoat - What to do?

[BigBeam]

First post here. We just purchased a 2008 Winnebago Navion Class C camper from an elderly couple. The vehicle is *very* lightly used with only 30k KM. They kept the rig in the driveway since new with the passenger side facing south. After so many years of just sitting there without getting any wax treatment, somebody made an unfortunate decision to paint this side (after carefully masking around all the graphics). I don't know how many years ago this was done but you can see the paint brush marks.

I would like to remove this paint and see if I can try and restore the original gelcoat - I doubt they removed the oxidation before painting so this could be in my favour. Other than this, the rig is in immaculate condition. In many areas, I can scratch the paint off with my fingernail but there are other areas where there is still strong bond. Either way, this paint layer appears to be very thin.

Looking for opinions on best approach. Wet sand, heavy cutting compound or possibly remove it chemically (ultimate last option)? I haven't tried anything yet. If I am unsuccessful, what will my options be. Get professional gelcoat repaint? Vinyl wrap? Haven't reached out to Winnebago yet but what are the chances that I will be able to replace the graphics with new?

Cheers,
Kevin

[Veebyes]

Somebody has left you with a big job if you want to rectify it properly to last a very long time.

I have not recoated an RV but I have done the hull of a 32' boat.

It is work & the bulk of that work is in the preparation. In my case there was damage to repair first. Then came the sanding. Then came the fairing. Then came the sanding. Then came more fairing. Then came more sanding.

This is where your job comes in, assuming there is no damage to repair. Remove the decals. Underneath will be fresh shiny gelcoat. Wipe the whole rig down with acetone to clean anything off the surface. Sand, sand, & sand some more coming down to a finer grit each time around. Prime coat. Wet sand. Prime coat again. Very fine wet sand.

After all of this preparation it would be criminal to go cheap on the paint. Use a high quality marine epoxy paint such as Aulgrip. At least two coats of that followed by two coats of clearcoat.

The result is going to be a better than new gelcoat finish that will last many years with minimal maintenance.

This is not a job for an amatuer, though if you are somewhat handy with such things you can do some of the time consuming donkey work of the first steps.

Cheap? No way, but well worth the money over the long haul & time saved keeping it looking good retaining the value of your rig.

[valhalla360]

jspringator wrote:
I have often wondered how well the 2 part marine topside paint would work. Supposedly it hides the brush marks. The OP would have to remove the graphics first, then paint. It would be a lot of work, but not $15,000 worth of work.

Marine topside paint is a great option. It's intended to go onto fiberglass.

We did our boat several years ago and loved it.

The 2 part paints are tougher but if you manage to scratch it, touch up is more of an issue. Also, it's pretty much for professional application only.

We did 1 part (interlux brightside enamal). My brother-in-law who used to do car painting sprayed it. It's self leveling, so no paint brush marks. Also, kept a pint and it made for 2 minute touch ups that were almost impossible to see from more than 3 feet away.

When we sold the boat 3 yrs later still shiny and smooth never having buffed or waxed it.

If you take your time you don't have to spray. They call it "roll and tip" and there shouldn't be brush marks.

We used a fiberglass paint remover and it was taking forever. Since we were painting anyway, my BIL pulled out some heavy duty stuff and it went 10 times faster.

PS: Prep is everything with painting.

[LouLawrence]

I can agree the paint jobs are cheap. However, when they are done they look like cheap paint jobs. If you want to go down and strip, clean and paint it white you can return to the US and have a sign company make up some decals to your spec's. That could well be a satisfactory way to get the 'ole girl looking good again.

[BigBeam]

Good point. We were thinking about Baja this next winter...

[Grit_dog]

jjrbus wrote:

BigBeam wrote:
I've been researching some of the marine paint removers that don't damage the gel coat but they all have caveats on what type of paint and I don't think the 89 year old couple who sold would know either...

Although paint remover is my last resort I'm starting to think this is the only direction I can go. Highly doubt 15k to paint one side but it is 2023 lol

I am in FL in the area where hurricanes hit. I took my Roadtrek for a full paint estimate, $12,000-$15,000. I went for a 2nd estimate $8,000. I went inland a bit away from the hurricane damaged areas and high rent districts and revived a quote of $3500! I upgraded from the cheap economy paint to a quality base coat, high solids clear coat for $700 so total of $4200. I did not expect the amount of work this shop is putting into my paint job! So yes $15k for a side might me a tad on the high side LOL

I did read about a Corvette owner stripping his car with a razor blade and claimed it was not that hard. Corvettes are fiberglass so might want to check a corvette forum.

Doesn’t matter what the substrate is, but yes with the right conditions, stripping paint with a razor blade is a viable option.



Stripped this entire truck (well maybe 95% of it) with razor blades and a mapp gas torch.
The big flat areas went fast. Smaller and curved areas MUCH slower.
You can see the ribbons of paint laying on the hood.
Yes blasting the truck or having it blasted would have been much quicker (and more expensive) and come with the downsides of blasting including potential damage to the sheetmetal and the inevitable mess and gift that keeps on giving with any blast method except dry ice, which is very difficult at best, to remove all the leftover media. Since I wasn’t doing a complete tear down of the cab.
Sanding may or may not have been quicker but it would have made a hell of a mess and cost more in materials than the $2 worth of razor blades and $2 worth of torch gas I spent.
This was an old “professional” repaint on top of new (better) primer than the OE paint system. It lasted decades and did not peel. Even when I hit it with a 2500psi pressure washer. But I was able to remove the vast majority of the paint that needed to come off with no dust, no mess and preserved the relatively thick primer underneath as the first filler coat for block sanding.

Now, if the paint is bonded properly, this is not a great option. However it’s a pretty good chance it may work for the OP, given it is/was a half assed attempt at painting. Most folks who don’t know what they’re doing (like painting a car with a paint brush, lol) also aren’t great at prep.

[Ed_Gee]

A thought... if you become a snowbird and travel south, you might inquire about paint job for entire RV just across the Mexican border. I understand you can get excellent paint jobs for just a fraction of the cost in the U.S.

[LouLawrence]

Sorry, I was referring to 15,000 to paint the entire coach. Can't imagine being happy with a shiny new paint job on one side but not the other.

[jjrbus]

BigBeam wrote:
I've been researching some of the marine paint removers that don't damage the gel coat but they all have caveats on what type of paint and I don't think the 89 year old couple who sold would know either...

Although paint remover is my last resort I'm starting to think this is the only direction I can go. Highly doubt 15k to paint one side but it is 2023 lol

I am in FL in the area where hurricanes hit. I took my Roadtrek for a full paint estimate, $12,000-$15,000. I went for a 2nd estimate $8,000. I went inland a bit away from the hurricane damaged areas and high rent districts and revived a quote of $3500! I upgraded from the cheap economy paint to a quality base coat, high solids clear coat for $700 so total of $4200. I did not expect the amount of work this shop is putting into my paint job! So yes $15k for a side might me a tad on the high side LOL

I did read about a Corvette owner stripping his car with a razor blade and claimed it was not that hard. Corvettes are fiberglass so might want to check a corvette forum.

[JimK-NY]

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Possible they used Zep floor wax to make it shine. In time rhat stuff flakes off. Before sanding it try washing with floor wax stripper. Might be all you need.

B.O.

I guess I need to watch my RV finish over the next few decades. I put Zep on my RV in 2013. Every year or so I apply another thin coat. So far, no yellowing, no flaking, no deterioration of any kind.

[Tom_Barb]

I am a painter, normally once painted it must be sanded off. normally the gel-coat get sanded prior to paint is applied. this makes it near impossible to remove.

[BigBeam]

I've been researching some of the marine paint removers that don't damage the gel coat but they all have caveats on what type of paint and I don't think the 89 year old couple who sold would know either...

Although paint remover is my last resort I'm starting to think this is the only direction I can go. Highly doubt 15k to paint one side but it is 2023 lol

[jjrbus]

I tried to strip some paint last year, the new strippers (same old names) do not work. The methylene chloride from the good old days is no longer available to consumers and as near as I can tell only available to licensed people in large drums!

[B_O__Plenty]

Possible they used Zep floor wax to make it shine. In time rhat stuff flakes off. Before sanding it try washing with floor wax stripper. Might be all you need.

B.O.

[jspringator]

I have often wondered how well the 2 part marine topside paint would work. Supposedly it hides the brush marks. The OP would have to remove the graphics first, then paint. It would be a lot of work, but not $15,000 worth of work.