Clear coat

Along the roofline on my Tour,it appears the clearcoat is pealing off.  This is above the rain track where it rolls up to the flat roof.  Is this common?  Can I do a light sanding and spray a new coating on?

schoolsout2 said:

Along the roofline on my Tour,it appears the clearcoat is pealing off.  This is above the rain track where it rolls up to the flat roof.  Is this common?  Can I do a light sanding and spray a new coating on?

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Wow, I'm surprised your 2014 is already having clearcoat peeling issues.  My 2003 had peeling issues but it wasn't until around  late 2013 that I noticed a few spots starting to peel.  I repainted those few spots in early 2014 and they held up well until the rest of the driver's side started to go last year and I had the entire coach repainted last summer.

Some areas I was able to lightly sand the clear off and re-clear whereas other areas that were exposed required me to touch up the paint as well as fresh clear.

Not a fun job on these large beasts.

Mike.

It is VERY common to see Class A's peeling clearcoat in that area, and on the upper area of the front cap after only 4-5 years. Mine was repainted at the 5 years point, and again shows some peeling in that area.

What Paul said.

If you can take your coach to Forest City, CDI, Winnebago's paint contractor, will probably re-clear coat the entire radius for free. Call CDI and ask for Dave.

Your clear coat shouldn't be compromised after only three years.

Timing is about right. Mine did the same and I emailed Winnebago and had a response the following morning. They pointed me to their painter who wanted to send me the paint and clear. MY shop said No, if they are going to guarantee the job for as long as I own it, they are using their own materials. It ended up being about $1200 IIRC to completely repaint both sides front to back and the top of the front cap. That was about 2008 and that area still looks better than it did the day I brought it home

SCVJeff said:

Timing is about right. Mine did the same and I emailed Winnebago and had a response the following morning. They pointed me to their painter who wanted to send me the paint and clear. MY shop said No, if they are going to guarantee the job for as long as I own it, they are using their own materials. It ended up being about $1200 IIRC to completely repaint both sides front to back and the top of the front cap. That was about 2008 and that area still looks better than it did the day I brought it home

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I'm surprised they guaranteed it as long as you own it.  Some people hold onto their RV's for a long time, some not so long but that is a risky gamble on the guarantee, especially on a vehicle that it almost guaranteed to be outside 24/7/365 and over fiberglass of all things.  When I was painting I used only PPG products which is about as good as it gets and I would never guarantee a job other than my workmanship and two years on products.  Way too many variables beyond that.

Mike.

Either way, that's why they did, and still do AFAIK. Good for me..

SCVJeff said:

Either way, that's why they did, and still do AFAIK. Good for me..

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Absolutely, take it if you can get it.

Mike

The clear-coat on our 2013 Journey is peeling fairly significantly in the same area. I wet-sanded and applied new clear-coat, but much of the new clear-coat has oxidized and looks worse than the peeling.
I have noticed a few Mohos that have that area painted with a very sparkly type of material, but didn't get the opportunity to speak with the owners.
Does anyone know of a different type of material that would perform better than the traditional paint and clear-coat that Winnebago uses?
Thanks
Brent

The sun is probably the single most factor of how long the clear coat lasts. (and keeping it clean helps)

A dark motorhome baking in the Arizona sun all it's life, will not last nearly as long as one parked in a nice shady spot.

There are various infrared (heat) reflective paints you could use, but I don't know of any clear coating that would help. By definition, anything "clear" will not reflect.

If you are considering DIY, here are a few reflective spray paints:
https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-214944-Reflective-10-Ounce-Spray/dp/B000LNVC1M/ref=sr_1_1
https://www.amazon.com/Reflect-ALL-Reflective-Spray-Paint/dp/B0141DE14C/ref=sr_1_5

A local paint or hardware store can probably suggest some more.

Soaringeagle said:

The clear-coat on our 2013 Journey is peeling fairly significantly in the same area. I wet-sanded and applied new clear-coat, but much of the new clear-coat has oxidized and looks worse than the peeling. ....

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I'm going to guess that was an application, surface prep, and/or incompatible coatings problem on your part. There's no reason why clear coat can't last for years - look at the hundreds of thousands of autos and trucks with color coats and then clear coat finishes. When VOC standards came out many years ago, auto makers failed miserably with the low VOC process (color coat/clear coat) but then they figured it out.

I'm in agreement with John. No reason at all why clear coat should not hold up well if done properly.  Granted, the upper side of a motorhome front cap gets quite hot on a sunny day, but surely no worse than the hood or trunk of a car.  Automakers solved the top coat peeling problem over a dozen years ago, but the RV industry is behind the times.

All I know is clear coat (and paint) always starts pealing on the sunniest spot.

My theory... the sun cooks all the pollution into the clear coat.

  All the oils, the metallic brake particles, the un-burnt gasoline/jet fuel,  add in some morning dew to reactivate the acids...and then ..'here comes the sun' .

No question that my application was not up to snuff for some reason, but obviously neither was Winnebago's as I started to notice the beginning of the problem only 2 years from new. Was hoping that there was another product that had a bit more longevity.

Brent

there is a clear vinyl masking,  most vinyls will last 5+ years

A couple of things I have discovered over the years, firstly most manufacturers seem to skimp on the clear coat on that top rolled ridge cap.  I don't know if they figure that because it is up top you won't see it and done intentionally OR the guys spraying the clear coat onto the top ridge cap aren't overhanding the gun properly and keeping the gun perpendicular with the surface.  I noticed how thin the clear was on several that I have painted when prepping the top rolled ridge cap, the sides took a bit to sand but barely breathing across the top cap with a DA and it was through the clear to the base color in an instant.  I watched a guy at a local paint shop spraying the top area of a Dutch Star while I was dropping off a friend to pick his Diplomat up from being fixed from an insurance claim and I could visually see the clear coming out of his gun and the majority of the clear was making it to the side of the coach but very little over the rolled top ridge.  I mentioned something to the shop manager that he may want to instruct the guy on the scaffolding to use and overgrip on the gun and keep the gun perpendicular to the roof top and it will apply a more even coat of clear and he just looked at me with content and disgust so I shut my mouth and left.  I felt sorry for the owner of the coach because he definitely was NOT getting what he was paying for and will be right back in the same predicament in a few short years.  This was also the most expensive shop I got a quote from when I was looking for quotes for our Dynasty.  After seeing that, there is no way I would trust them with my coach.  Like others have already mentioned, the dark colors and rooftops, windshield eyebrows, etc are all exposed to UV and more subject to having issues but I have painted vehicles that see UV on a daily basis and the hoods, roof and fender tops have looked good for 12+ years easily.  My 1986 Suburban was my daily driver and I stripped it down and repainted it when I first purchased it and drove it daily for 16 years and it looked as good the day I sold it as the day I rolled it out of the paint booth.

The second thing I noticed on DIY projects, is the use of clear coat from an aerosol can to repair peeling clear don't seem to hold out as long.  It will look good for a while (longer if stored indoors) but without catalysts, isocyanates in particular, in the clear coat the durability and UV protection just isn't there.

Mike

zmotorsports said:

...... I could visually see the clear coming out of his gun and the majority of the clear was making it to the side of the coach but very little over the rolled top ridge.  .....

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That's exactly the story I heard about CDI's (Winnie's paint contractor) clear coat - applicator error. When CDI recoated my roof-sidewall radius, I think they did a pretty good job.

zmotorsports said:

The second thing I noticed on DIY projects, is the use of clear coat from an aerosol can to repair peeling clear don't seem to hold out as long.  It will look good for a while (longer if stored indoors) but without catalysts, isocyanates in particular, in the clear coat the durability and UV protection just isn't there.

Mike

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Mike,
Those new new aerosol cans of clear-coat do have a catalyst in them.  You turn them upside down and push this red button it injects the catalyst into the can and you have about 20 minutes to use it.

I've used it before and it can be color sanded and buffed out.

TonyDtorch said:

Mike,
Those new new aerosol cans of clear-coat do have a catalyst in them.  You turn them upside down and push this red button it injects the catalyst into the can and you have about 20 minutes to use it.

I've used it before and it can be color sanded and buffed out.

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Thanks.  Good to know Tony, but I'll continue to use the PPG products and use a spray gun.  Can't seem to bring myself to use an aerosol can for something so critical.

Mike