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Topic: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals (Read 1086 times) previous topic - next topic

Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

There was a cracked gray swoosh decal on each side of my FT that finally got tired of looking at and removed.  Much to my surprise, there were tiny cracks underneath these cracked decals.  They are quite small and most people probably wouldn't notice them if they didn't know where to look but nonetheless, they are there. 

I'm not sure why these particular gray decals cracked.  No other decals on the coach have cracked nor did the longer but thinner sections of the gray decal crack.  Only the large swoosh section.  It was very clear that this was some sort of separate decal piece.

This is just a heads up to anyone who might start to notice a particular decal cracking, immediately remove it and hopefully you will keep it from cracking the fiberglass.

I'm not sure how well this is going to show up in the photos, especially the tiny fiberglass cracks.

Robert
Build # 5304
1998 34' U270 Cummins 6CTA8.3

Re: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

Reply #1 –
After a LOT of hard work, all of our decals are off. Under some, there were cracks. The good part is they don't go in very far. I used a jitterbug (air) with medium wet or dry and an spray of water every few seconds to sand them down. Went with lighter and lighter paper and finished up with 2500. The gelcoat where the decals were is pretty thick so don't have to worry about going through it.

You can see the cracks in your attached photo. Looks like ours did/does as I have not quite finished.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

Reply #2 –
 Saw vertical ones. They are most probably caused by heat increase in dark colours. Point an IR gun at all the different colours on coach and you will be amazed at the broad range.
JohnH
Coachless, now use aircraft. 2003 Ford Travelair TC280 class C. Super shape. Just for 1 yr .
1994 Ford E350 ClassC,total renovation inside and out. Now sold.
2000 U295  36' Cummins 350 c/w Banks Stinger, Resonator upgrade,Solar, LED lites.Residential fridge with slide out pantry. Build 5674. Sold
ex 92 GV 022C ored Cummins. Sold
ex 95 GV240 cat 3116. Sold
2017 Mini cooper s & 2016 land Rover LR2 HSE  LUX.
jhaygarth@aol.com    SKP #130098
treat everyone as you would like to be.

Re: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

Reply #3 –
Quote from: rsihnhold –
This is just a heads up to anyone who might start to notice a particular decal cracking, immediately remove it and hopefully you will keep it from cracking the fiberglass.

Excellent suggestion. I wouldn't necessarily have recognized the need to act quickly. Now I do. Thanks!
David and Carolyn Osborn
1995 U320C SE 40' Build 4726 Feb 1995
FMCA 147762
Motorcade 17186

Re: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

Reply #4 –
Am I correctly understanding what is being said here?  The color of the dark areas of the sticker cause enough heat from sunlight over time to crack the gel coat underneath it?  I see from the pictures that there are obvious cracks under the removed sticker but I don't understand how the sticker could have generated enough heat to cause it.  My stickers are peeling in some places but haven't started cracking yet.  I guess there's no way to know if cracks have developed under them without removing them.  And would the cracks be worse under the darker maroon areas than the grey? 

Re: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

Reply #5 –
Correct. The darker the color, the hotter it gets underneath. The laid up fiberglass underneath the Gel Coat still has some VOC's trapped even after it is cured (as explained to me by Greg, the shop foreman at Xtreme). Over time, the higher temperatures underneath the dark colors (be it paint or vinyl decals, though the paint being thinner is maybe not as bad) causes the VOC's to expand and crack the gelcoat. It just depends on exposure to hot summer temperatures and is often worse on one side if the parking orientation habitually favors the sun one side. Our coach had some dark green stripes that had some very minor cracking, really more surface crazing then cracking. Only visible from certain angles and in some lighting conditions. The fix is to sand the area and prime and paint it. One reason why painting the same graphics is a popular option... though some, like us, choose a different color scheme and or different style graphics which cover the areas damaged by the heat gain.
Don
Quote from: bdale –
Am I correctly understanding what is being said here?  The color of the dark areas of the sticker cause enough heat from sunlight over time to crack the gel coat underneath it?  I see from the pictures that there are obvious cracks under the removed sticker but I don't understand how the sticker could have generated enough heat to cause it.  My stickers are peeling in some places but haven't started cracking yet.  I guess there's no way to know if cracks have developed under them without removing them.  And would the cracks be worse under the darker maroon areas than the grey?
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Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

Reply #6 –
Some of our dark brown decals have cracked on the drivers side and front.  Others are holding up very well.  We like our graphics so we will likely remove and paint'm on. 
Bob Thomas
Sacramento, CA
Present:  1997 U320 '40
Previous: 1997 U295 '36
Bluegrass fan, and festival emcee

Re: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

Reply #7 –
Quote from: bdale –
Am I correctly understanding what is being said here?  The color of the dark areas of the sticker cause enough heat from sunlight over time to crack the gel coat underneath it?  I see from the pictures that there are obvious cracks under the removed sticker but I don't understand how the sticker could have generated enough heat to cause it.  My stickers are peeling in some places but haven't started cracking yet.  I guess there's no way to know if cracks have developed under them without removing them.  And would the cracks be worse under the darker maroon areas than the grey?

Yes but surprisingly, it is only under my gray stickers that the cracking has occurred.  It's the same on both sides of the RV.  The seemingly darker sections under the maroon stickers has been fine and the maroon stickers themselves are not cracked anywhere on the coach.  It might be that they are somehow a slightly different material or something. 

For whatever reason, it has only affected the middle section of stripes on the RV also.  I've removed everything down low except for a thin pinstripe without any cracking but the gray sections above the basement doors have been problematic. 

Eventually, I'll probably have Xtreme paint on new stripes when I get around to upgrading the headlights, someday. 
Robert
Build # 5304
1998 34' U270 Cummins 6CTA8.3

Re: Fiberglass Cracks Underneath Decals

Reply #8 –
 If you say that the maroon stripes are perfect and not cracking or peeling how do you know they have not caused cracks in the gel-coat as you can not see under them??
I bet you do have many there if the grey has them.
JohnH
Coachless, now use aircraft. 2003 Ford Travelair TC280 class C. Super shape. Just for 1 yr .
1994 Ford E350 ClassC,total renovation inside and out. Now sold.
2000 U295  36' Cummins 350 c/w Banks Stinger, Resonator upgrade,Solar, LED lites.Residential fridge with slide out pantry. Build 5674. Sold
ex 92 GV 022C ored Cummins. Sold
ex 95 GV240 cat 3116. Sold
2017 Mini cooper s & 2016 land Rover LR2 HSE  LUX.
jhaygarth@aol.com    SKP #130098
treat everyone as you would like to be.