Went to Winne for the tour, and got painted.....

[SargeW]

Actually I went to FC to visit CDI.  CDI is the paint shop that does all of Winne's full body paint.  This place is huge!  I had noticed that the clear coat on the roof radius was flaking on both sides of the rig. The rest of the MH paint looks great (except for my two "oops").  I called and talked to Dave Nagel at CDI.  Even though my rig is 4 years old, he said that if I could make it to FC, he would take care of it, no charge.  Such a deal!

I scheduled him in and headed east.  Aside from breaking down en-route and delaying my arrival 3 days to CDI, everything worked out great.  I had even managed to "collect" two scratches that were bugging me to death every time I had to look at them taken care of.  I just had to be there by 0700 to drop the coach off.  I pointed out the scratches, one about 8" long on the right rear corner that I collected at a Cracker Barrel (I threaded the needle with the rig to fit between two other rigs that didn't park quite straight.  All was fine until trying to exit the space.  The last 8" of the turn I had to crank hard to avoid a tree and just caught the guys mirror next to me

The other one really ticked me off. While leaving my place in Ca, I discovered that someone had hit a roadside metal sign, bending it into the roadway. An attempt to straighten it up was not very successful and I managed to scrape it along the entire length of my propane bay door :'(  I told Dave that I would like to get them both removed and he said no problem. 

I dropped the coach off and left the paint tech a phone #.  He said that it would be ready by 3 PM, or sooner.  A little before 2 PM I got the call that the coach was ready.  I didn't ask how much it would be to paint the scratches, I just knew that I wanted them gone.  I had previously checked with a paint detailer who painted coaches in Ca for a price to get the one 8" scratch fixed.  He quoted me $300 for the repair.  So I was prepared for the worst.  When I picked it up from CDI, they just charged me an hourly rate for the work on the two scratches.  It came to just over $300 for BOTH repairs. And they look perfect.  Not to mention the roof radius panels on both side look like new.  I am truly a happy camper ;D  I highly recommend CDI for your paint needs if you can make it by there.  Great folks, and a real class operation.

Sarge

 

[John Canfield]

That's a good deal Marty!  We have never toured CDI's facility for as many times as we have been up there, but they do have a great reputation.  I'm a little surprised you had the clear-coat flaking on the caps, I didn't think that happened in the 2006 MY.

 

[RedT]

Had the same experience as you Marty (except for the scratches).......problem is that the "repaint" only lasted a year or so before the clear-coat on the roof radius began to flake off again. Paint seems to be OK on sides, but front roof cap and roof radius on both sides are flaking off.

 

[SargeW]

The end caps are fine John, it was just that thin strip of paint above the gutter line on both sides.  Thats disappointing Red, did you call back and tell CDI about your experience?

 

[RedT]

Nope.......figured if they couldn't get it right in two tries, the third probably wouldn't work either. Think I will have it touched up locally.

 

[SargeW]

Too bad Red, if there is a problem with their materials they should be made aware of it.  When did you have the repair done?

 

[RedT]

The rig was initially painted in September '03. I noticed the paint flaking in '05, and it was repainted by CDI at Forest City during GNR in '06. Since the flaking is on the roof radius and the front cap top, it appears to me that the application was too thin near the top. The sides of the coach are OK. Yes, the Arizona sun takes its' toll on everything including motorhomes, but I have faithfully waxed this coach every 4 months using McGuires wax.

 

[SargeW]

So it's been 4 years since the last repair. You are right though, the clear coat should still last longer than that. I would still call up and complain. Heck, it couldn't hurt.......

 

[SCVJeff]

I had the same issue as Marty. I emailed Winne and had a reply from CDI the following morning before I even rolled out of bed. I took mine to Final Touch Coach Works out in Valencia who did the job for what CDI was willing to pay ($1200 I think), even though the quote came in more. CDI also said they would ship the materials out, but Final Touch insisted on using their own materials since they guarantee the work as long as I own it. This was a sand, repaint, and clear-coat of everything above the gutter on both sides, and the whole top of the front cap.

 

[DeanLinAZ]

We are having the front cap, roof radius on both sides, and a roof joint recaulk done on both sides as I write this.  I was told that CDI's equipment doesn't spray directly around the curve on the top of the cap and the radius panel, therefore the clear coat & paint are thinner there than elsewhere.  That may be why we have to get these spots redone every five years or so.  My coach is a 2004 which was early in the full body paint era--they have probably learned a lot since March 2004.  Even though my coach lives in Arizona, it is stored under cover, so the sun and heat has been kind to the paint, except for these curved areas.  The NTE price quote was $1000 for the job.  I took it.