Replacing decals

[BB_TX]

Only thing that really matters is that each person like theirs. And I do like mine.

[timandsusan]

Follow up. Took the Monty to a local coach rv repair shop. Got a good quote to remove the decals from both sides and apply 2 new decals I ordered from Amazon. With other repairs--spent about $4000. Looks much better for us. Yes, ghosts are still there but they are not a problem. So, I have completed my decal repairs after 13 years!

[drknapp]

We just received ours back from having the front graphics redone at a local RV Graphics place. They removed the old decals and basically rebuilt the mountains decal from scratch using 3M materials.

[Dave W]

[QUOTE=drknapp;1141483]We just received ours back from having the front graphics redone at a local RV Graphics place. They removed the old decals and basically rebuilt the mountains decal from scratch using 3M materials.




Looks really good.

Almost makes me wish that we had purchased one of the 2011 or 2012 Montanas we 'lusted' after. Replacing decals along with redoing chalky nose caps were deal breakers as our previous SOB 5er had those problems and why we ended up with a new HC instead

[druryg]

We have a 2008 3000RK. Keystone sent us all new graphics back around 2012\2013 when they all started peeling, under warranty.


We had all the same issues and tried several approaches to remove the old graphics. Here is the method we used for the easiest quickest results.


1: Heat gun and remove the old vinyl. Care here will help to get all the vinyl in large pieces. The mountains were hardest.

2: Spray the residue with the linked product and let sit 60 seconds.

3: Buy plenty and a variety of plastic scrappers. Apply more heat and scape off the glue residue in a nice smooth motion. Have plenty of those blue shop towels on a roll. you will need them to wipe the glue off the scraper. Spray a little product on the scraper as well to make it easier to wipe the glue off.

4: Spray again and wipe the fiberglass clean with a shop towel. (Ours was Gloss Gel Coat)


It helps to have two people working together, One with the heat gun and scraper and one with towels and spray. Also have a box or trash can handy to throw the towels and such in.

Rapid Remover from http://rapidtac.com/

The erasers are a waste of time as well as the other mentioned products. 3M was poor.


It took us a long weekend to remove all of them with this method back in 2017.

I am finally putting the new ones on as we are trying to sell the rig. It is no picnic to put the new ones back on either!

[Hblick48]

Originally Posted by druryg

We have a 2008 3000RK. Keystone sent us all new graphics back around 2012\2013 when they all started peeling, under warranty.


We had all the same issues and tried several approaches to remove the old graphics. Here is the method we used for the easiest quickest results.


1: Heat gun and remove the old vinyl. Care here will help to get all the vinyl in large pieces. The mountains were hardest.

2: Spray the residue with the linked product and let sit 60 seconds.

3: Buy plenty and a variety of plastic scrappers. Apply more heat and scape off the glue residue in a nice smooth motion. Have plenty of those blue shop towels on a roll. you will need them to wipe the glue off the scraper. Spray a little product on the scraper as well to make it easier to wipe the glue off.

4: Spray again and wipe the fiberglass clean with a shop towel. (Ours was Gloss Gel Coat)


It helps to have two people working together, One with the heat gun and scraper and one with towels and spray. Also have a box or trash can handy to throw the towels and such in.

Rapid Remover from http://rapidtac.com/

The erasers are a waste of time as well as the other mentioned products. 3M was poor.


It took us a long weekend to remove all of them with this method back in 2017.

I am finally putting the new ones on as we are trying to sell the rig. It is no picnic to put the new ones back on either!

RE: 3M products don't work....I beg to differ...this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Brite-.../dp/B00EW7MUQ4

Absolutely works, I've done 2 RV's with it. Removes decal and most of the glue. Note that it is for "professional use only."

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by druryg

......

The erasers are a waste of time as well as the other mentioned products. 3M was poor.
!

Sounds like you found a technique that worked well for you. But I take issue with your statement about the eraser wheels and 3M Adhesive Remover. Maybe a waste of time for you, but worked very well for me.

My large Montana decals came off with a heat gun and plastic scrapers. But my mountains were so cracked they would only come off in tiny pieces. The eraser wheel quickly took them off with the added benefit that most of the underlying adhesive balled up and came off with the decal. Then the 3M adhesive remover and an old towel and the remaining adhesive basically melted and was soaked up in the towel without having to continually having to wipe it off a scraper.

[druryg]

Originally Posted by Hblick48

RE: 3M products don't work....I beg to differ...this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Brite-.../dp/B00EW7MUQ4

Absolutely works, I've done 2 RV's with it. Removes decal and most of the glue. Note that it is for "professional use only."

In my opinion and the DW they did not work for us. Left a mess of tiny sticky balls very hard to remove and the pricey 3M 38942 adhesive remover did little to help.

I am sorry that my post may have insulted your “Professional use only opinion”!

Originally Posted by BB_TX

Sounds like you found a technique that worked well for you. But I take issue with your statement about the eraser wheels and 3M Adhesive Remover. Maybe a waste of time for you, but worked very well for me.

My large Montana decals came off with a heat gun and plastic scrapers. But my mountains were so cracked they would only come off in tiny pieces. The eraser wheel quickly took them off with the added benefit that most of the underlying adhesive balled up and came off with the decal. Then the 3M adhesive remover and an old towel and the remaining adhesive basically melted and was soaked up in the towel without having to continually having to wipe it off a scraper.

Ours were to, but we sprayed the product and used a hard scraper designed for glass top ranges for those areas. I tried the 3M eraser wheel and was disappointed. Keeping the mess contained was the priority. The method we ended with made it the easiest for us.

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by druryg

.......
Ours were to, but we sprayed the product and used a hard scraper designed for glass top ranges for those areas. I tried the 3M eraser wheel and was disappointed. Keeping the mess contained was the priority. The method we ended with made it the easiest for us.

And the eraser wheel and 3M adhesive remover worked much better for me than the heat gun and scrapers. But I am not going to post on here that your method is a waste of time.

[druryg]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

And the eraser wheel and 3M adhesive remover worked much better for me than the heat gun and scrapers. But I am not going to post on here that your method is a waste of time.

Thank you! Sometimes there “may” be a better mouse trap and if you try, you might be surprised.

One thing for sure is I absolutely do not wish this on anyone and it is not fun! I can assure this is my only, and last!

We have a full paint 2008 Holiday Rambler DP Coach that replaced the Monty. Hopefully we can get a decent price on the freshly re-decaled 3000RK! It has served us well!

[Dave W]

If I may digress a bit, I've found that many 3M products just are not worth their added cost. Others - best on the market. While I haven't had a need for their decal goo remover have tried to use many of their other products in my car hobby. I wont even use their masking tapen or any of their autobody chemicals after trying them, finding the paint supply shop brands often do a better job and at a lower cost in out of pocket money and time. For other folks - they work great

[daveinaz]

I tried a Whizzy wheel this weekend. It works okay on some spots, but there is some technique to it. I learned, the hard way, light pressure and keep it moving. I was working on the lower metal trim and I took a little of the paint off in a couple spots. I doubt that the paint on that lower metal part is more than half a mil. In some spots it worked okay, on others, not so much.

I also discovered that spray silicone remove paint as well, so don't use it to try to remove residue!!

I used a hair dryer (I have a heat gun but was scared to try it on the gel coat) on the higher setting and it worked pretty well for removing the parts of the striping that were not cracked into little pieces.

Then goo gone or cirtisolve, spray it on the residue and LET IT SIT for a while, then as druryg said, scrape off the residue in long smooth motion -- one direction, no back and forth.

There's just no easy way!

I think that once we get the rest of the striping off, we're going to have it cleaned, dehazed, and waxed, and just leave it a blank slate for now. Then again, it may just depend on how bad the ghosting looks after we're all done. If it's pretty noticable, we're more likely to put the decals back on. Since they are the same decals going back on, they would hide the ghosting.

[druryg]

Originally Posted by daveinaz

I tried a Whizzy wheel this weekend. It works okay on some spots, but there is some technique to it. I learned, the hard way, light pressure and keep it moving. I was working on the lower metal trim and I took a little of the paint off in a couple spots. I doubt that the paint on that lower metal part is more than half a mil. In some spots it worked okay, on others, not so much.

I also discovered that spray silicone remove paint as well, so don't use it to try to remove residue!!

I used a hair dryer (I have a heat gun but was scared to try it on the gel coat) on the higher setting and it worked pretty well for removing the parts of the striping that were not cracked into little pieces.

Then goo gone or cirtisolve, spray it on the residue and LET IT SIT for a while, then as druryg said, scrape off the residue in long smooth motion -- one direction, no back and forth.

There's just no easy way!

I think that once we get the rest of the striping off, we're going to have it cleaned, dehazed, and waxed, and just leave it a blank slate for now. Then again, it may just depend on how bad the ghosting looks after we're all done. If it's pretty noticable, we're more likely to put the decals back on. Since they are the same decals going back on, they would hide the ghosting.

That was our plan as well. The door and lower metal do not like the eraser wheel. We believe putting the decals back on will help with selling the rig. front, rear and one side is almost done. Very little ghosting and the rig looks much better. Trying to re-apply the decals in exactly the same location has been very challenging but we are winning.

Controlling the heat applied is key. After a few we got the hang of it quickly. Thank goodness that portion is over for us.

[druryg]

Originally Posted by Dave W

If I may digress a bit, I've found that many 3M products just are not worth their added cost. Others - best on the market. While I haven't had a need for their decal goo remover have tried to use many of their other products in my car hobby. I wont even use their masking tapen or any of their autobody chemicals after trying them, finding the paint supply shop brands often do a better job and at a lower cost in out of pocket money and time. For other folks - they work great

Agree mostly. Well in this case. My car hobby has been a bit better with 3M products.

[GregN]

On my 2006, the original graphic on the front cap, went bad pretty quick. I ordered a new one from Keystone. I had a graphics guy replace it for me. He did an excellent job. Got the new exactly over the old one. The replacement, lasted longer than the original. If I had though they would discontinue making the originals, I would have gotten a whole set.
Time move on and more of the originals are going bad. I was able to acquire a new set of graphics, a newer year than mine from an MOC friend.
I had the same graphics guy to the job. He was able to strip the old ones in two days. The RV was at the dealer getting blown tire damage fix. When the RV was ready, my guy applied the new ones at a local RV park.
It took him two days. He works by himself. His tools, two ladders, a plank of wood, which has been using for years, a small exacto knife, small squeegee, a spray bottle and a towel.
The man is a wizard. There were a couple of graphics missing and he fabricated them right on the spot.
He cleans the area where the graphic will go. He lines it up for placement, then uses the book method for applying. Squeegeeing the bubble as he goes. One of the larger graphics had a good size bubble, he worked his magic, you can’t even tell it was there. So now I have a Model 0612. 2006 Montana with 2012 Graphics.

[klewis6787]

That looks really nice!

[daveinaz]

looks nice!

[Wicked1]

Originally Posted by coachgrowl

I tried removing decals from a 2004 laredo. 3m makes a decal removal tool check utube and they show you how to do it. I finally gave up and just bought a new rig.

So it worked well bc the decal company got you to stop trying to fix them and buy a new rig, amazing how there advertising seems to work....lol

[druryg]

Almost through with our 2008 3000RK. When we got our replacements for free 7 years ago there were about 12 boxes and no way to determine if they were all there being on rolls. Turns out we got shorted the roadside high forward brown stripe and one side MONTANA script. Fortunately they are still sold. They arrived today and hopefully will be on by the end of the weekend. It truly makes a huge difference in visual appearance. The neighbor came over today and said what a great job it looks brand new. Hopefully that will help with the sale. Had we not bought the DP coach already I would keep it!


By the way the missing decals came in a KEYSTONE labeled box today but with a Goshen ship from label? Thought DW said she had to call California for them.

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by druryg

........
Turns out we got shorted the roadside high forward brown stripe and one side MONTANA script. Fortunately they are still sold. They arrived today and hopefully will be on by the end of the weekend.
.......

Where did you get them. After 12 years 2 or 3 swooshes on the road side at the front bedroom slide are starting to shrink, getting ready to peel. Street side still looks good. Would like to get replacements while still available.