My Outback started fading near the top of the front cap and a spot right in the middle on the front. We noticed it early Summer this year. The camper is a 2013 model (just 2 years old). We had a beefier air conditioner installed this summer also. When at the dealer, we talked about the problem with the front cap.
Log story short ....
The front cap is a brown color. The factory simply uses a primer type paint and then apply the jell coat. And it fades .... fast! We asked about the price for repaint, and we though it was rather high, so let it pass.
But a few weeks ago we called back and worked out a deal. Turns out Keystone was willing to put up to $1500 toward a repaint under warranty. We had to pay for the graphics and the labor to re-install the graphics, and we had them repack the bearing while it was there.
My dealer does not do the actual paint, but they do the graphics. The shop that does the paint, uses an automotive type paint for fiberglass. We had the job done. It took 2 weeks, only because Keystone sent the wrong graphics and they had to resend them again. We got the camper back last week. Looks real nice. The dealer said that new paint job would last longer than the camper now.
The solution to the fading is .... there is no solution. It will take a repaint. I thought the price of our repaint was rather high, and maybe we got taken advantage of, price wise. But when you invest $35,000 into a recreational toy, if you want to keep it nice, you put the investment in it to keep it nice!
I don't care about resale value. This will probably be the last RV I'll ever own. So I need to make sure it's going to last another 25 years! I don't mind putting the cost in now to keep it nice long term.
