Body mask removal

[steve-n-sueC]

    Ok............  Against my,(and everybody else I talked to,) better judgement, I decided to remove the clear body mask from the front of our 08 Winnie Adventurer 38j. It had a couple of visible impacts from road debris, and several places that the adhesive had mold, behind the film. Everything I have read, on several boards, is NOT TO TRY IT, so naturally I figured that I could find an easier way.....  Not to be.
    The plastic will peel, slowly, until you hit a divot from a stone. If you are pulling the plastic against itself, the way you would remove masking tape, it will "V" out and split away at the divot. I found that if you "stretch" and lift the film, pulling the film in the opposite direction that you are going, and use your other hand to "lift" the film, it will usually work around the divot, without splitting. Each time you have to use a finger nail or plastic scraper, to start an edge, it leaves the adhesive on the bus. The "stretch and lift" technique will leave less of the adhesive behind.
    The remaining adhesive can be removed. The best thing that I found is Goof Off citrus adhesive remover. I had no issues with it harming the clear-coat underneath. Spray, let set for about 10 minutes, depending on the ambient temp, lightly respray and use a plastic scraper to work on the adhesive. Home Depot was my supplier for Goof Off and scrapers too.
    Now for the bad news.  I have about 30 hours into the film removal, adhesive removal, and waxing of the newly uncovered surface.

Am attaching before pics of an area with the mold, and an after pic of the entire nose.
   

 

[regval]

I'm impressed with the results !!

 

[Arch Hoagland]

I'll bring mine over next week. No sense two people learning how to do it when you already know.

What kind of beer do you like....I'll bring a six pack.

 

[Dragginourbedaround]

I'm impressed with the results !!

X2  )

I'll bring mine over next week. No sense two people learning how to do it when you already know.

What kind of beer do you like....I'll bring a six pack.

 

 

[John Canfield]

My mask looks just like yours  - ugly. Thanks for the how-to, I have heard it's a PITA to remove and you validated what I heard! I might try to remove ours when I run out of other projects.

Anyway, good job!  )

I'm going to move this thread - others can benefit from your experiences.

 

[blw2]

Is this stuff anything like those body wraps they're doing these days? (like the adds on city busses)

I ask because I've had in the back of my mind that eventually I may look into that as an alternative to painting the whole coach after the fading progresses a bit more. (if we keep it that long : )

 

[JD Sharp]

Did same process on our 2004 Beaver and it works well. The warmer you can get film the larger the pieces come off. I did mine in Arizona while snowbirding. But even turning coach into sun will help a lot. When all removed and polished it was like original finish.

 

[ArdraF]

We watched a professional remove film from the front of an RV and he used a blow dryer to soften the film.  But it's tricky if you don't know what you're doing!

ArdraF

 

[KandT]

Great results - I have been in projects like that one.  You start and then its grind it out or look like you started and never finished.  You did a great job!

You should feel great about the results and the look of the Winnie.  I am partial to Winnie's though