Weird Peeling on RV

[baabs1001]

I have these spots that no one I've talked too has seen before, so I figured I asked the group. They are like a little punch out circles. HELP don't know what to do

 

[Kirk]

You may want to change this thread to the General Forum as this isn't exactly industry news. It looks like the gelcoat is flaking off.

 

[Matt_C]

Baabs,
My bet would be that something spattered on the material while it was in process and no one bothered to clean it before the next step. Or, it is laminated, the operator did not do a good job of mixing the material before spraying it on. Either way, don't rush to repair it because it may get worse. I have seen this happen on boats a lot.
Matt

 

[Ranger smith]

Alfa’s were known for that. Some of them look like they were shot with a shotgun. It is usually caused my moisture in the gelcoat/filon outer skin and it is popping out.

 

[Ksouers]

Is it bumpy? Kinda like poison ivy?
The sailboaters call it "pox", it's moisture in the gel coat. Common treatment was to sand the bumps and fill with gel coat repair and paint.

Kevin

 

[SargeW]

Yes, I was going to guess oil or silicone splatter kept the finish coat from sticking. It can be repaired, but the surface will need to be sanded and refinished.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Not an Alfa, so probably not the material defects that brand suffered. And that looks like a painted filon (laminated) sidewall, so not gel coat flaws either. My best guess is along the lines that SargeW described, something bubbled up through the finish.

Is this a new or nearly new RV?

 

[Old_Crow]

My '00 Bounder has the same thing going on a couple of panels near the front wheels. It's like the top surface of the gel coat is popping off. The panels that I have doing that are not structural, and can be easily replaced. However, they haven't gotten any worse than they were when I bought the coach 5 1/2 years ago, so I'm not in a hurry to spend the money.

 

[Trivet]

Not an Alfa, so probably not the material defects that brand suffered. And that looks like a painted filon (laminated) sidewall, so not gel coat flaws either.

I can't tell if it's an Alfa or not, but those blisters look EXACTLY like what happens to the sidewalls on Alfas. They even have the same pattern.

Alfa sidewalls were made of wood-backed Filon. The most prominent theory is that moisture gets trapped in the wood and when it freezes it expands and creates the blisters on the exterior.

I noticed the OP's location is Michigan. Did these blisters appear when or after the trailer was in cold weather? People with Alfas have reported never having blisters until they were caught in cold weather.

Blisters on Alfas can be filled and the area repainted, but it won't prevent new blisters. The only way to do that is to replace the affected panel with Filon that isn't wood-backed, as the original was. On an Alfa motorhome, that usually adds up to re-siding the whole thing; entire panels have to be replaced, and if an area hasn't blistered yet, that's no guarantee it's not going to blister in the future.