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Topic: Redooing old decals by spray painting (Read 877 times) previous topic - next topic

Redooing old decals by spray painting

I have been wrestling with what to do with some decals that are in bad shape.  I thought of trying to have decals made but hard to find a place in the area to do this.  Considered taking them off and making a ghost but decided against that as well.  That left the option of paying someone big bucks to paint it or doing it myself.  I have done some auto body work before and know it can be a very tedious and decided to give it a try.

 Following is an outline with some pictures of how I did it:
 
1.    Removed the decal to be replaced.  I used the hair dryer and eraser method and it went well.  Once the decal was removed and any excess glue  removed a high gloss ghost still remains where the decal once was.
2.   I outlined the ghost with a fine point marker and then used tracing paper to make an exact pattern of the old decal.  I removed the tracing paper and cut out the exact pattern of the decal.  If I were to do it again I might try trace the pattern before removing the decal.
3.   I prepared the surface to be painted by washing and rinsing with detergent, blew dry and wiped down with 99.9% alcohol , sanded the gloss area left by the decal with 800 grit wet paper to remove the gloss ,  rinsed the area again dried and wiped with alcohol again.  At this point the ghost was completely gone, this is why I made the pattern.
4.   Taped the patterns back into its original position. 
5.   Using ¼ inch 3M fine line tape to outline the pattern and then removed patterns.
6.   Masked outline tape with 1 ½ inch 3M automotive  performance masking tape. 
7.   Masked remaining with masking paper to prevent overspray as much as possible.
8.   Sprayed several coats of metallic blue paint to create the  new decal.
9.   Sprayed several coats of clear coat to protect and create shine.
10.   Removed all masking very carefully.

It took about six hours to do all this for just one decal.  It makes you realize why it costs so much to have the entire coach redone by professionals.  Retirement is a great thing, giving you time to try things you have never done before and hopefully not messing up. 
Jason
1999 U320 36'

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #1 –
A few more pictures.
Jason
1999 U320 36'

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #2 –
Jason, awesome ^.^d Looks tediously and professional.

Retirement,  busier than ever :))
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My advice and experiences are Free, you decide if they are worth anything .

John - driving Old Faithful
1994 U280 GV
C8.3, Banks, Pacbrake, 900 watts, Resonator, XLHD tow dolly
Retired Army Warrant Officer

Life is what you make of it - if it is lemons, make lemonade!
Former Coaches:
1988 GV 40' ORED 300HP CAT - 9 years
1990 Winnebago LeSharo - 3 years
2000 Newmar London Aire - 3 years (#18 of 23 produced)

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #3 –
Hi Jason,
  That looks real nice. Great job.
Raymond
Raymond & Babette Jordan
1997 U 320
1998 Ford Explorer XLT

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #4 –
Jason,
Great job! Thank you for all the pictures :D
Greg & Nettie
1998 U320 40Ft Limited Edition
Build #5382
2014 Ford Cmax toad
Escapee #122299

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #5 –
That is fanstactic....
Jimmy Freytag,  Ardmore, Ok
1999 36ft U320. — -SOLD—-
1988 40ft GV        1990 36ft U280
1993 40ft U280      1996 36ft U280
  TRAVEL WHILE YOU CAN THE TIME WILL COME
            WHEN YOU NO LONGER CAN.

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #6 –
Looks great! Obviously not the first time you have done something like this. Mark
Mark Freeman 1995 grand villa, Brimson Mn
8.3 Cummins  G95 4709 40 WTBS U280 WE21

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #7 –
Nicely done.
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #8 –
Wow!  I removed the vinyl graphics from my 1990 Grande Villa a couple of months ago, and have been trying to decide to go back with Vinyl (about $1800) or to try to paint, or just let the next owner decide (it's about to go up for sale).  I've done some painting before, but not detail stuff like graphics.  You method and excellent pictures just might give me the courage to go ahead and paint.  Many thanks!
Current coach 1996 U320 40'
Previous coach, 1990 36' U280

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #9 –
Very very nice!
Former 2003 GV U295 (6230) (2015 - 2025)
Former 94 GV U225 (2013-2016)

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #10 –
Jason,
That looks really nice.  A really good match on the color.
Jerry & Nanci
1999 U270 34'WTFI
2011 Malibu
A smart man knows what to say, a wise man knows when to say it.

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #11 –
Looks great, what type of paint did you use?

What size tip in the gun?

Didn't look like you had too much over spray based on how much you masked off.

I'll give you one tip, I used "Vinyl Off" spray it on wait 15 min start pealing or scraping, takes the glue off to use 8 oz bottle on one side. Not easy just did take that long, about 8 hours for the whole side including wet sanding with 800.

I'll be painting in 2-4 weeks that's why I asking about the paint

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #12 –
Yep, I used Vinyl Off as well, great stuff, did the whole bus in one day, and the vinyl was 24 years old.
Current coach 1996 U320 40'
Previous coach, 1990 36' U280

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #13 –
                   Hey Jason, Nicely done!  Anything more complex than a rattle-can is beyond my payscale. :)) Looks great....


            Dean
Dean & Deirdre

2012 Arctic Fox 22GQ
Was 2003 U270

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #14 –
Great job. It looks like new!

I'm about to do something similar but not as Pro on one side of mine (the side that evidently took the brunt of the Sun for years - the other side is almost perfect)

Anyway - I bought some spray cans of a Krylon paint called Fusion -- formulated for painting vinyl and/or plastic.
I did a test area, and have been letting it sit for about 6 months now to see how it would hold up -- while I worked on other things.

It seems fine, so this is the route I'm going. It's only the two long runs I am addressing. The rest is acceptable for now.

Oh! -- on that test area, I first wet-sanded the existing vinyl until it was pretty smooth, but of course where the "spider checking" is -- the gel coat was peeking through.

Then after masking, I just sprayed over the vinyl.

I picked colors that are close to the earth tones originally used (that on one full-length stripe had faded to an almost purple color from Sun exposure)

Here is the product I'm talking about:

 Fusion for Plastic® - | Krylon

I'll post before and after pics when I get through.

Down the road I'll strip all of them off and have a full-body paint job done with more modern graphics. It's just not anywhere near a priority for now.

When I had checked about 18 months ago with that supplier that has all the NOS Foretravel stuff, I thought she said the OEM stripe kits were still available, but they wanted $1200 per side. Ouch!

That amount (for just the one side) will pay for the fire suppression systems for both my fridge, and the engine bay, and the materials I need to re-do the three sides of my engine bay for heat shielding.

Safe motoring out there to all,

Michael
Michael
1995 U300SE CAT 3176B Build # 4612 ("Marvin")

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #15 –
Great Job .... Looks Wonderful!
Tony Pasquale
SOLD....
'99 U295 36'
WTFE, 04/99, #5572
Toad: 2020 Equinox

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #16 –
Thank you all for your kind complements.  It nice to know that others appreciate your hard work.

LI Pets:
The paint I used was a lacquer as I was spraying outside, need something that dries very quickly.  Also lacquer has a no recoat window. I sprayed 3-5 coats of color followed by 3-5 coats of clear coat.  I know lacquer is old school and there are a lot of better paints bui I am old school.

I used an inexpensive HVLP touch up sprayer with a 1.00 mm nozzle.  The HVAC sprayers minimizes overspray and are very easy to learn to use.

The 3M fine line vinyl tape is what makes the job possible.  Without it you could not get smooth curves.

Will try Vinyl Off the next time I have a large decal to remove.  Thanks for the tip.

Geomm:
I hope the  Krylon will hang in there. Your approach is very systematic and thought out.  I know what you mean about doing the things that make it go down the road better before making it pretty.

John:
Give it a try, it is not that difficult just time consuming.

Jason
Jason
1999 U320 36'

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #17 –
Well done sir!
1995 U320C SE 40'
Jeep 4x4 Commander - Limited - Hemi
"The Pack"  Yogi and Diesel our Airedales -  Charlie our Boxer/Akita mix. Gone but NEVER forgotten Jake our yellow Lab.
NRA Law Enforcement Firearms instructor - Handgun/shotgun
Regional Firearms instructor for national Armored Transp. Co.

Re: Redooing old decals by spray painting

Reply #18 –
Outstanding job!
David and Carolyn Osborn
1995 U320C SE 40' Build 4726 Feb 1995
FMCA 147762
Motorcade 17186