How to Restore Faded Decals on your "classic" RV
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- Опубліковано 5 сер 2024
- Over time the decals (swoops and swirls) on our 2004 Fleetwood Southwind motorhome had become faded and gray, making our otherwise beautiful RV look shabby. Frustrated after trying many restoration tips from the internet with no improvement, I finally found the answer, and it's a product almost everyone already has in their home!
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Products mentioned in this video:
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Hey Jeff , I just got through detailing my entire Travel Trailer. I used Mcguires 67 buffing compound with a wool buffing pad. It took me a couple of weeks to do the entire rig . After buffing with 67 compound I used a fine foam polishing pad, then wiped off the excess with a microfiber towel. The whole rig and decals shined like show room finish. It is a 2015 Jayco Eagle Premier. It had a lot of oxidation from the previous owner. I keep it under a shed now, but it looks great.
That’s awesome! Hard work pays off😊
Thanks for the info! We have an older rig and found this very helpful:)
Great job young man !!!
Great video! Thank you!
Thanks we just tried this and gave our decals two coats, they look so much better, not new but better. Hopefully you are still putting miles and smiles on! Thanks!!
We've got more coming. Thanks for the encouragement.
Trying tomorrow's. I have the same rig in green. Southwind 36E love it.
Great detailing info! Thanks for sharing the magic combo. It’s hard to find straight forward information on what really works. Happy travels!
Gypsy Belle you’re welcome. Hope it works for you!
Great info, thanks 👌
Nice video!! good information looking forward to watching more of your videos.
Thank you. Please let me know if there's any special topic you'd like me to do a video about. Right now I'm working on two: Big Bend National Park, and How We Plan our Travels
Thanks! We got a 2000 southwind storm and it made it look better than ever!
Great! These older rigs can be awesome.
Thanks very much for sharing this...It was very helpful to me...It did exactly as you said
Thanks. So glad it helped.
Excellent
Super informative video definitely appreciated
Thanks!
Well. This comment isn't fake as someone questioned.
I've got an 33ft 06 Terry that I've been trying with different products working my arse off trying to get pretty again.
Just when I started to wonder if I'm going to have to remove these decals from the year mentioned and attempt to remove them entirely, (just imagine the 14 years of sun baking of the decals that wasn't stored in any shade the entire time) I found this with a few more ideas/videos to attempt.
I'll be giving this a shot as soon as this So Cal rain stops. (should be a couple of more minutes now.....)
Thank you for the video and look forward to meeting you out on the road and shaking your hand in person.
Hi Jeff, thanks very much for the advice. Worked a treat on my trailers decals. It was looking a bit unsightly especially where the water runs down either side of the windows. Looks like new again. Thanks again
Thanks Craig. As it happens I’ve just ordered another box of the wipes for another refresher.
Used the same product in liquid form and got great results, thank you!
Great! So glad to hear it. Time for me to reapply!
I was skeptical at the beginning, but now I am a believer. On one of the heavily cracked decals (black color) I used a light coat of Walmart cheap acrylic paint then sealed it with the liquid rejuvenate. It looks a million time better. Time will tell if this work, rained on it one night and so far so good! Thanks again
Sir you have a wonderful RV here. Also great work with the decals. Thank you for the video it was really helpful. Hopefully I can get some results with mine later using your water technique.
Thank you and good luck. It can’t restore cracks but it did a great job of removing old built up wax and grime and give them a new shine.
Hi Jeff, thanks so much for this informative video. We have some oxidized decals on the trailer and are looking forward to trying out this technique! Great video, we are new to the channel and look forward to more of your videos & traveling along with you. Have a great day - Happy travels! -Jody
Thank you! I hope it works as well for you as for me. And welcome to the channel.
Hi, do you have any idea how to get the yellow out of the sidewalls?
With all due respect... We recently took our 2001, 38 ft Cat powered, Freightliner chassis Winnebago, Ultimate Advantage to an RV repair shop in San Bernardino that specializes in restoration to have our faded decals professionally removed, upgraded and replaced... It was not especially cheap but they removed the original decals, completely detailed and polished out the entire coach, redesigned (to some extent) the stripping to our specifications and color scheme and did a completely professional job... The coach looks brand new.... I'm a totally capable and competent do-it-your-selfer but there is absolutely no way I would consider undertaking this task on my own... Just too big a job... Somethings are better left to professionals...
That sounds fantastic! I wish I could see a picture. You're right, what we've done is to a completely different scale and as you can see in the video there are still cracks and uv damage to our decals. But before we found this cleaning method the coach just looked shabby, and now it's so much better than it was -- still is even a year later! Congratulations on your complete restoration. Maybe someday we'll opt to go down that route too.
How did it cost to replaced all the decals? I’m thinking having mine done. Thanks
@@rudeman1914 Well... We had some other work done, etc... But I would say the starting cost to think about was about $4,000... A lot depends on the condition of your coach as far as the siding, gel coat etc... And whether or not you want an elaborate upgrade or to just replace existing... Some people want a completely new look on an older coach... Okay... My thought was to restore my coach to original with a flourish... Did not want to make something out of it that it isn't... I appreciate well cared for older things... If you know what I mean...
P.S. We were quoted $17,000 to remove vinyl and replace with paint by one RV repair company... I'm totally happy with the vinyl and have a shelter to store the coach in to protect it from UV...
Larry Nielsen wow It’s expensive! I have a 2017 class C 22 I got quoted just for one sticker 4’ long for $500
Thank you that was useful! Most just apply product and say it looks great but don't show you it looks terrible a few days later
WOW! I have watched a bunch of these oxidized decal videos. I think you showed the best results. I was going to use 303 (a little different type than you had) . But I think I'll try the scrubby. Then the 303 after, to protect the decals better after cleaning
I hope it works for you. Remember to be gentle with the scrubbing
Thumbs up on the hard work & effort!
But the better and correct way to do it is to get it buffed out with a good compound, polish it then add a good wax & better yet sealant to protect it. I notice that there is no shine after you were done with your work. That's where the Buffing and polishing comes out to have that mirror shine.😎
Wax vinyl decals? Uh how about No!
It just needs a good buffing and it would bring them back to life. There is a lot of oxidation on this rig.
i guess Im asking the wrong place but does anyone know of a tool to get back into an instagram account..?
I was dumb lost the account password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
Tried this and it pretty much ruined my decals. Once they dried they look all scratched and more faded. I am going to give a black restorer a try and hopefully fix the damage that was done.
You may be able to use some 1,000 grit wet sand paper to take out the scratches... they told us to spot test first when doing stuff like this. I sometimes forget lol.
Instead of your scratchy pad I used 240 wet dry sandpaper and a squirt bottle of Dawn soap enough Dawn soap to make it slick that’s all you need squirted the Dawn soap on the decal Gently in a circular motion seem to remove all discoloration better than the scratchy pad for me and then after I’m done to keep the decals in good shape I’m going to use Maguire’s marine vinyl restoration comes in a blue squirt bottle squirt on a shop towel rub in . I have now changed over to 600 grit wet dry sandpaper leaves less scratches on decal and I’m using protect all rv wax gallon size it darkened silver, brown and black decals to a better to a more uniform look very impressed with protect all
Thanks! I may give that a try.
@@hayeswildrick Thanks for your comment and I added to it and discovered 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and protect all seems to work better thought I would just let you know
Stumbled across your video while look for how to do this very thing and what works. I’m going to try your method.
This video is a few years old. So my question is this. How does your method hold up to everyday weather and rv washes.
Great video! Safe travels!
That's a great question. The white streaks and fog on the decals have not returned. I find that I want to renew the decals yearly with the Renew pads to restore a bit of shine. As many comments have mentioned, this does not fix cracks in the decals, but I do believe that it extends their lives. Good luck!
Try Murphy's Oil Soap
What you will find is that the white "paint" or gel coat on the fiberglass panels chalk up and bleed down over the decals. This causes a lot of the fading that's actually the pigment that is running down the side. If you use a scotchbrite pad with a sealer it may help a lot.
Penetrol Flood. I use this on my 76 f350. It makes it shine like fresh clear coat. It will slowly wear off in about 6 months if left in the elements though. Just wash good and wipe on with a nano towel. I put it on metal on paint on rubber tires n rubber trim on vinyl dash n seat on marker lights. Just wipe it all down but glass. I seen videos on UA-cam. Lots of guys use this on rat rods and old petunia vehicles. Hope this helps someone.
We have used Penetrol for years on many projects from show cars to boats … great stuff
In my opinion, this spruce up reminds me of plastic headlight Lens restoring. You remove the outside oxidized layers with successively Finer grit wet /dry sandpaper, Starting at 400 or 600 grit and working up to 2000 grit. Where can you get this product you ask: at an automotive paint supply retailer. The deterioration of the decals in this video don’t seem that severe, Sometimes there’s severe cracking and shrinkage.
You're right. Our decals do have some places with cracking which this won't help. But it sure did/does make the rest look so much better!
The cheap way! Thanks!
We have a 1993 Winnie Warrier. Rustolium clear coat did a great job in very little time. We masked the area above and below about 1/2 inch away so that the glossy area looked right. The clear coat should protect the decals well. We painted one stripe that was peeling badly. We just scraped, masked and dabbed the paint on. My daughter mixed spray paint to match. We then masked the whole thing and cleared it like the decals. This method id amazing. It doesnt wear away the decals, freshens them and should keep them fresh for years.
Wow. That’s awesome. I may try that on some areas that are deteriorated more badly. Thanks.
Wonder if its possible the factory has your original decals in stock. If so, can new decals be placed over the old ones and how cost-effective would it be?
Great question. Having a 2004 I’d be surprised.
Did a small trial run. This will leave faint scratches in your vinyl decals that can't be buffed out. Don't take a scratch pad to vinyl.
Thanks for the video. I just purchased a 1992 Winnebago Minnie Winnie with original paint and decals which are in amazingly great shape except for the hood decals which have oxidized and faded a bit but still have no cracks or other defects.
I think your process is all I need to bring them back to life but have a question. When you talk about a scrubby sponge, is it just a sponge or did you use one with a non-scratch scouring pad on one side. I'm thinking that it's just a sponge but they say that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. Thanks again.
I used a sponge with a green scrubbing pad and it was the pad that scrubbed through the oxidation and built up wax. I didn’t have a blue pad at the time, which is less abrasive, and plan to start with one of these next time I do a similar cleaning.
@@MilesandSmiles4U Thanks again. I'll give it a try.
Mikes never ever spray the surface with your 303 or you will have permanent drip marks. Just spray into your towel
That’s a great tip’
Now get some Brand -
303 protectant and your golden!
Great idea!
Sometimes the white haze is lime scale build up. Using hard water to rinse a washed RV will leave a haze. Try to use a product called Lime Away (off the store shelf) that is home grade product. Just a thought. As always, use any cleaning product in a less conspicuous spot first is case it's not what you like.
That’s a great idea. In my case, I believe that the white was wax buildup from other attempts at polishing up the RV, but lime could certainly be the problem as well.
Deeee-Kal
wax remover
Hair spray
I would take them off all together no decals just paint
Many people do!
scrub is worst idea possible. most decals are vinyl. restore by applying heat. prevent by applying uv protection.
Rap it
It's not a decal It's painted on!
While many higher-end RVs have full body paint, older RVs and most low to mid-cost RVs have decals over a fiberglass surface. These are definitely decals :-)
Just wait it won’t last
Glad to say that one year and one reapplication later they still look good.
Are these comments all fake ?
Thanks for the info! We have an older rig and found this very helpful:)
Thanks for the info! We have an older rig and found this very helpful:)
The Roads We Roam Thanks. Let us know how it turns out!