We left Nac today after spending three days with James, Greg and Rance (et al.) at Xtreme. We had the "protective" plastic removed from the front of our 2003 U295 since it was now cracked and was looking pretty bad. See the before and after shots below. It took one person the greater part of two days to get the plastic off and the adhesive layer below the plastic. I am very glad I didn't try to do this myself! There were just a couple of areas that had to be repainted. It actually looks better than the picture.
We also had some "bubbles" form in the paint on the top of the generator bay door. According to Rance this is from a defect in the fiberglass. He just ground it down and filled it. After repainting it looks great.
Finally, replaced the AC/heat pump shrouds and had Xtreme paint them with the same paint they used on the roof last year.
Great bunch of guys with amazing skills. Can't say too much positive about them and their services. One interesting point is that Rance, James and Greg did the body work and painted our 2003 coach when they were at Foretravel!
Looks 500% better than when I saw the coach at the west Nashville rest stop
Interesting, we have some "bubbles" on the top of the generator door too. Wonder if they had a bad batch of generator doors in 03?
Your filmless front does look great. Our film is still in pretty good shape but may have to do the same someday as it starts to show age and wear.
Dean
George,
I just started taking my film off my coach back end yesterday. Yes I did say back end. PO put it on the back for rock protection. It has been on there for fifteen years.You would not believe how bad our is. Makes yours look nice. Anyhow it is not too hard so far just time consuming. Cant wait till it is done. Yours looks great after the eXtreme work. I really like the coating they are putting on the roofs now too. Thanks for the pictures.
Regards, Mark
Mark.... you might be interested in the Xtreme method. First the guy working on it used steam and plastic single edge razor blades. He heated a patch of plastic and then scraped it off with the plastic blade, but did not worry about the adhesive. Then once the plastic was gone, he used an adhesive solvent. He rubbed it over a small patch of adhesive and then scraped it off with the same single edge plastic blades. It took a day to remove the plastic and another day to get the adhesive off.
George,
I think you must have been watching me today. That is exactly how I do it. Works pretty well. I have found that if you rest the steamer on the razor blade you can just move right along. Also the 3m adhesive remover works good removing the glue. Thanks for letting me know how they did it.
Mark
George,
Here is what I was talking about. It looks horrible but as you can see on the corner the paint is beautiful under the film. Can't wait till it all looks that good.
Mark
OK George you asked for some after pictures. Here they are. It took me approximately twelve hours to strip the film that had been there for fifteen years. I am beyond happy with the results. I never thought I would be able to remove it. After a while it wasn't too hard just time consuming.
Regards, Mark
Very nice job. The coach looks like it was just painted.
Barry & Donna
Thanks Mark. Amazing difference! We continue to marvel at how nice our front end looks after the film was removed. I wish we had done it sooner.
Looks great! Could you share what kind of steam machine you used? And what brand plastic single edged razor blades you used? Also where you purchased both?
Just trying to visualize how you hold the machine and razor blade in close proximity without burning fingers. Additional info would be appreciated.
John and Genni,
Here is the steamer I used. I bought it on ebay for $28. New Hand Held 1050W Portable Steam Cleaner Steamer Pro w Attachments Free SHIP | (http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Hand-Held-1050W-Portable-Steam-Cleaner-Steamer-PRO-w-Attachments-FREE-SHIP-/190827825745?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6e398a51) I bought a razor blade holder for the blades at Lowes. It came with a metal blade. The plastic blades I used were purchased at Napa. I attached a picture of the blades and the scraper handle. I used the long nozzle of the steamer and rested it on the scraper next to the nob and just steamed and scraped the film off. Worked good for me. The solvent I used was 3m adhesive remover in the can. NAPA AUTO PARTS (http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Adhesive-Cleaner-Solvents/_/R-MMM08984_0006436602) Also wanted to mention to soak the adhesive for a few minutes prior to scraping. If you do it will scrape right off. Hope I answered your questions.
Thanks for the kind remarks everyone.
Mark
A MUCH better method than what Jeff and I did ... which was to sit in the parking lot at FOT in July 90+ degree heat and let the sun soften everything up. We scraped and pulled and fiddled with that plastic inch by inch. At the end of the day, his hands were so cramped he couldn't even grasp a fork to eat his dinner! The next day was more of the same. I think it took at least two days for the plastic, and then another for the goo removal. You are MUCH more intelligent than we ... but it did keep Jeff out of trouble for the entire weekend.
Thanks so much, it helps to have instruction from the expert!
Carol, That sounds brutal to say the least. Tell Jeff I understand his pain completely. It was not too fun on my back. :(
John and Genni, You are welcome ;D
Nice work Mark. It looks like new paint!
see ya
ken