Decals

[rwess]

It seems most RV manufacturers tell you not to wax decals. I have seen an apparent new product called Graphix Wax. Has anyone tried this product.
I am on my 7th and hopefully last 5th wheel/trailer and I have had trouble with decals on most of them. I am keeping my current camper covered. I wax the camper, but not the decals. I use aerospace 303 on the decals. I hope I have better luck with my current camper than in the past.
Has anyone ever wondered why you never have trouble with decals on cars and trucks with OEM decals, but RV decals are usually garbage?
I have contacted both decal manufacturer and RV manufacturer and they all say do not put anything on them. Well to me that is not a proper answer. Without anything on them they will still fade, crack and peel also.
What are we to do?

[rbpru]

I think the real reason the manufactures tell you not to put anything on the decals is. if you do and they peel, you can go back on them for bad advice. It is easiest just to say nothing.

If you live in the sun belt you get lots of fading, that is why it is called the sun belt. I would think the local RV stores would have dozens of elixirs to apply to the decals.

[Gdetrailer]

Jayco23FB wrote:
People have been waxing the decals and graphics on vehicles for years. Why would an RV be any different? You can see vehicles that are taken care of and those that are not with cracked and faded decals. I wax mine twice a year, still look like new.

You obviously are not old enough to remember the fake "woodgrain" look decals of the late 1960s-1980s and the revival of said fake woodgrain on the 1980s "mini vans"..

My parents had a 1968 Mercury wagon that for it's first 10 yrs of life spend the majority of it's life garaged, only out long enough to get groceries and was never driven in the winter..

The last 12 yrs of it's life was a lot harder on it as us kids grew up.. The fake wood grain decals were totally shot, faded and cracked..

Dad retired that wagon in 1990 when it was deemed the frame was not salvageable with almost 200,000 miles. Yeah, Dad "waxed" those decals, and every time he did, they looked worse between each waxing.

Start waxing vinyl and you are married to waxing it.

I have delt with cars with vinyl roofs, a sure fire way to destroy a vinyl roof in a hurry is to get wax on it..

One thing you do not seem to get is the fact that most auto waxes have Petroleum distillates as the FIRST or second ingredient. You might as well just smear on a bunch of Vaseline.. Petroleum distillates will attack the vinyl decal since most vinyl products also happen to be made from crude oil fractions..

Some auto waxes sub in Silicone (Turtle wax comes to mind) and that might be a bit less harmful but Silicone comes at a high price if you ever need to repaint.. Silicone embeds into the surface then can make repainting a real bear..

On edit..

HERE is what 3m says about caring for automotive vinyl graphics..

"IMPORTANT NOTE

3M does not recommend using wax or other similar co
atings on vehicle graphics."

"Store Indoors or Under Cover Whenever Possible
Vinyl graphics (just like paint) are degraded by pr
olonged exposure to sun and atmospheric pollutants,
particularly on the horizontal surfaces such
as hood, trunk lid and roof. Whenever possible, sto
re in a garage or at least in a shaded area during
the day. At night protect the car from dew
or rain, which may contain acidic pollutants (a com
mon problem in many large metropolitan areas). When
a garage is not available, consider
using a cloth car cover at night. If your graphics
start to discolor or turn brown, immediately remove
the graphics from the vehicle to avoid staining
the underlying paint."

Not my words, 3Ms words and THEY SHOULD KNOW BEST SINCE THEY MAKE, SELL AND WARRANT THE VINYL USED TO MAKE THE GRAPHICS...

[wrenchbender]

I have waxed the gravics on my 03 Bigfoot each time I wax the rig and those gravics still look like new

[mike-s]

Gdetrailer wrote:
If you don't like them then perhaps you should consider the stark looking ...

I understand what you're saying, those Airstreams are ugly, too. :R

[Gdetrailer]

mike-s wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
No, the problem is the BUYERS of the RVs are too darned CHEAP to be willing to pay for PAINTED "graphics" and the vinyl stick on decals are the cheaper, lower cost way to add a few accents.

No, the problem is both manufacturers and buyers think they need/want gaudy graphics, for unexplained reasons.

If someone doesn't want problems with decals, remove them or special order a unit without them. Really, they're all butt-ugly.

RV manufacturers like pretty much any business use Marketing specialists and marketing groups to determine the design and style that is most often wanted.

You can blame the insanely expensive High end Motor Homes for starting the over sized "swoop" fest graphics that you detest.

Folks like to think they are maintaining some sort of "expensive" image by desiring said graphics.

RV manufacturers would not be spending a penny on those graphics if they thought it would not sell MORE.

Like I mentioned, vinyl graphics DO have a limited life on average of 3-5 yrs then after that they are on "life support".

If you don't like them then perhaps you should consider the stark looking "FEMA" trailer looks with a plain generic white billboard rolling down the road :S

[Jayco23FB]

People have been waxing the decals and graphics on vehicles for years. Why would an RV be any different? You can see vehicles that are taken care of and those that are not with cracked and faded decals. I wax mine twice a year, still look like new.

[mike-s]

Passin Thru wrote:
Mine aren't Butt-Ugly.

TPIWWP.

[Passin_Thru]

Mine aren't Butt-Ugly.

[mike-s]

Gdetrailer wrote:
No, the problem is the BUYERS of the RVs are too darned CHEAP to be willing to pay for PAINTED "graphics" and the vinyl stick on decals are the cheaper, lower cost way to add a few accents.

No, the problem is both manufacturers and buyers think they need/want gaudy graphics, for unexplained reasons.

If someone doesn't want problems with decals, remove them or special order a unit without them. Really, they're all butt-ugly.

[Gdetrailer]

DutchmenSport wrote:

rwess wrote:
...
I have contacted both decal manufacturer and RV manufacturer and they all say do not put anything on them. ... Without anything on them they will still fade, crack and peel also.
...

THAT is exactly what they want to happen to the decals, fade, crack, and peel. Then you, the consumer, has to buy new ones. It guarantees them repeat business and repeat sales for them.

Build a lightbulb that can last for 100 years, and you'll only sell one to each person and then your business is over. Sell a lightbulb that last 100 hours, and you are guaranteed to have a meal ticket tomorrow!

No, the problem is the BUYERS of the RVs are too darned CHEAP to be willing to pay for PAINTED "graphics" and the vinyl stick on decals are the cheaper, lower cost way to add a few accents.

Also does not help that a lot of RVrs seem to "trade up" every few years, bet most only keep their rigs 3-4 yrs then trade up to bigger RVs with more bells and whistles.

Vinyl decals DO have a short life expectancy of 3-5 yrs to which there is NOTHING you can do to make it last longer. They are going to eventually fade, crack or peel.

At the most if you keep the rig out of the sun (IE garage it) for most of the RVs life you might squeak out 10 yrs or so before fading and cracking starts showing badly..

The main reason that decal and RV manufacturers state to do nothing is not for return replacements but because pretty much EVERY auto wax contains PETROLEUM BASED (CRUDE OIL BASES) materials which WILL EVENTUALLY ATTACK the vinyl..

If you really want those "swooshes" then take your rig to a auto paint shop and have them PAINT on replica "swooshes" in automotive paints, it WILL outlast your RV..

Expensive, yep, permanent, absolutely!

As far as 100 yr light bulbs goes, yeah, they could be made but to do so they HAVE to be designed to burn extremely dim..

It is simple and easy to do, take a 100W incadescent bulb, run through a dimmer, set the dimmer down as low as you can get it and just make a slight glow of the filament ( think nightlite bright). It WILL last 100 yrs but at the cost of brightness and efficiency..

Folks WANT bright bulbs and doing so manufacturers HAVE to trade off IN A SHORTER LIFE SPAN to make that happen..

[ScottG]

I waxed all the cheap graphics on our last TT at least twice a year for the 13 years we owned it. The graphics still looked like new.
Unless you bear down in one place and keep rubbing, your not going to hurt them at all.

After 13 years


If you want to keep it nice looking, wax it and keep the sun off it.

[gbopp]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Build a lightbulb that can last for 100 years, and you'll only sell one to each person and then your business is over. Sell a lightbulb that last 100 hours, and you are guaranteed to have a meal ticket tomorrow!

This sounds a lot like the RV industry. 😉

[DutchmenSport]

rwess wrote:
...
I have contacted both decal manufacturer and RV manufacturer and they all say do not put anything on them. ... Without anything on them they will still fade, crack and peel also.
...

THAT is exactly what they want to happen to the decals, fade, crack, and peel. Then you, the consumer, has to buy new ones. It guarantees them repeat business and repeat sales for them.

Build a lightbulb that can last for 100 years, and you'll only sell one to each person and then your business is over. Sell a lightbulb that last 100 hours, and you are guaranteed to have a meal ticket tomorrow!