Painting Decals

[pipepro]

I read somewhere a guy painted his cracking and fading decals, is this a possibility or no?

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Anything's possible. When you consider that the reason a decal has failed is because of decomposition and adhesive failure, then to expect a layer of paint on top of that to have any durability is I think an unrealistic expectation. Mask and prep is 90% of the work, you might as well peel the crappy decals off if you're going to go through all of that. Mine are soundly in that category and the longer I think about it the most cost effective and time efficient solution is to peel the old ones off, then find a set of decals I like and paste them on. Doesn't have to be the originals, it's not like this thing is going to a museum or a collector when I'm done with it.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[donn]

The big problem with your idea is ghosting.
IMHO peal the old decals off, throughly clean the glue residue off. Mask the old decal outlines. Fo buy several cans of spray paint in your favorite colors and paint away. If you use good quality rattle can paint it will last for years.

 

[pipepro]

That is why I read that this guy said the time taking them off and the amount they would cost, plus the time to put them on doesn't equal the sanding and paint over. Afterall I only have to make myself happy. Just as long as it works and looks fairly good. I was going to sand and do a test area.
This is the paint I thought would work best
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016H2KJA/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_glt_fabc_BT5J9WGKVQVE6K4FK3VY

 

[pipepro]

The big problem with your idea is ghosting.
IMHO peal the old decals off, throughly clean the glue residue off. Mask the old decal outlines. Fo buy several cans of spray paint in your favorite colors and paint away. If you use good quality rattle can paint it will last for years.

That's alot of work for an old man lol

 

[BoiseRules]

Decals fail due to UV exposure...

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

When I researched decals, even "premium" ones are only rated for 7 years of outdoor exposure. They're destined to failure unless you're lucky enough to store the RV under cover.

I removed the decals off my rear cap as a trial. If you look right you can see the "ghost". I don't care. Any appearance of "ghost" under a set of new decals is far better than the appearance of crapped out decals. One can pay a sign shop to custom cut a new set of decals that will overlay what was there but that exceeds my dedication and attention span. I will use the opportunity to "refresh" the style of my RV and use a contemporary decal set and being off the shelf, won't be inordinately expensive. Clean, peel, stick, done. This isn't a full body paint prevost I care about carefully restoring, there's no residual value I need to preserve. As long as it's neat and clean, that's good enough.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[pipepro]

Well as always I love the information here and I researched this a little more, it may not be that hard to take the decals off. I bought a rubber wheel the last time I did this on my older Rig. I hope the razor blade method works. The only decals that are cracked and faded are the black ones. I have light gray with a accent and light blue with an accent on the borders. I also have a couple dark gray. I'll post back when I figure this out but I also researched Decals and they are only a couple hundred, I think that is doable.

 

[Rene T]

Don’t use metal razor blades. Use plastic

 

[steveblonde]

Replacing the original decals is easy . Tape around the old decals and just peal them off . Go to a good decal,sign,graphics shop snd get new decals made just slightly larger than the old ones , get them printed on quality 3m material with UV RESISTANT INKS then get them laminated using 3M UV RESISTANT laminate they will last 10 yrs plus. Install over old decal space and because they are slightly larger there will be no ghosting. Solid colour grahics are even easier

 

[JayArr]

Removing decals can be achieved by gently warming them, Not so hot that the surrounding paint bubbles but a bit more than a hair dryer. Once warmed up they will easily peel off but they will leave 1/2 of the adhesive behind. The leftover adhesive will come off with WD-40. Spray it on, allow it to penetrate the adhesive and it will swell up a little and get moist and pliable, then just wipe it off. Depending on the adhesive you may need to do this two or three times to get it clean. WD-40 can be cleaned off with isopropyl alcohol. No razor required and no damage to the surface.

 

[gwinger]

Decals fail due to UV exposure...

And cheap decals and poor prep used by the manufacturer. I used to do custom vinyl signage at the hosptial where I worked. There are different thicknesses and qualities of vinyl used.

 

[pipepro]

Don’t use metal razor blades. Use plastic

Plastic blades ????? wow I never knew

 

[BoiseRules]

And cheap decals and poor prep used by the manufacturer. I used to do custom vinyl signage at the hospital where I worked. There are different thicknesses and qualities of vinyl used.

Agreed... I own a sign & graphics company that specializes in vehicle wraps & graphics...

 

[Old_Crow]

My vinyl is actually in good shape, no cracking or peeling, just fading and oxidation. I was going to clean them good, tape 'em off and use that Krylon Fusion that's supposed to be for painting plastic.

 

[pipepro]

My vinyl is actually in good shape, no cracking or peeling, just fading and oxidation. I was going to clean them good, tape 'em off and use that Krylon Fusion that's supposed to be for painting plastic.

I used the Krylon Fusion paint on one section of my black decal, if you look closely the decal on the left is just a little dull and cracked. I'm going to give it some time to see how this plays out.

 

[Chucksands77]

Another idea is to sand them off and find a "full wrap" company that can custom anything that you can imagine. We just did that with a 2006 Hurricane SunDeck boat that had decals that were completely oxidized ans so using a heat gun and plastic blades, we got most off and lightly sanded smooth with 800 grit and the Wrap Company took it form there.....much faster and cheaper than trying to get new decals or painting.....PLUS you get a new 3M skin !

 

[BoiseRules]

It's not inexpensive to wrap motorhomes...