How to Protect, Restore or Replace the Vinyl Graphics on Your RV
Is there a product that will restore the graphics on the side of my motorhome?
ANSWER: Hi Jerry, I am afraid that there is no "Magic Bullet" product that I am aware of that can restore fading and cracking vinyl graphics on an RV. If any of our visitors know of one, they can leave a comment on the bottom of this page. Since you live in the Las Vegas area you are well aware of the sun's harmful effects on RV Vinyl Graphics especially if you store your RV outside and uncovered.
Even though there is no cure for your RV's cracked and faded graphics, there is a product that you can use to prevent this damage from happening again if you eventually decide to replace the vinyl graphics on your RV. The product is 303 Aerospace Protectant, which if used regularly can significantly increase the lifespan of vinyl graphics. 303 Aerospace Protectant has UV screening technology. Regular use gives 100% Prevention of UV caused slow-fade and hinders the development of cracks in the vinyl graphics.
A lot of RVers routinely use the 303 Aerospace Protectant on their RVs and not just on their graphics as it also works on Rubber, Gel-coat Fiberglass, Plastics, Acrylics, Poly carbonates, Carbon Fiber, Resin Composites Dacron and Monofilm.
Of course using an RV cover on your motorhome during storage will also help reduce the harmful effects of the Sun's UV Rays on your RV's graphics.
Replacing Graphics
Unfortunately, you now face the choice of either leaving the graphics alone or replacing them. There are several choices you can make to restore your motorhome to its previous glory, some more costly than others. I have outlined them below:
Get New Vinyl Graphics: This is the most cost-effective of all the options. You can have the old vinyl graphics removed and new vinyl graphics installed. The first place to look for vinyl graphics for your RV is to contact the manufacturer of your RV and find out if they have
them. If they don't you can look on the internet and see if you can find them. A good place to start is ebay as they have a large collection of RV Graphics that also include graphics for some large RV Manufacturers. eBay also has enough generic graphics, that you can use them to personalize your RV. Amazon also has a broad selection of RV Graphics to choose from.
If your RV manufacturer or the internet does not have the graphics that you need or want, you can look up a company in your area or on the internet that you can send pictures to, and they can specially make the graphics for you. Of course, this option will be a little more expensive.
Wrap Your RV: Of course this option is going to be a lot more expensive than just replacing the cracked and faded graphics on your RV. A wrap is a giant vinyl graphic that is placed on your RV. The advantage of a wrap is that it can include pictures and extraordinary graphics. The main disadvantage is that it is a giant decal that will not last as long as a good paint job. These wraps can also fade, get ripped, start cracking, etc.
Paint Your RV: This is the most expensive option, but if maintained properly will last the longest. There are no decals, all the design is painted directly on the surface of the RV. The more complicated your design is the more expensive your paint job will be.
If you decide to have someone paint your RV, I suggest that you ask them to let you contact some of their past customers to make sure that they did a good job of painting their RVs. If they tell you that your RV is the first one that they have ever painted, start running away and do not look back.
I know that you were hoping that there was a magic cure for your cracking and fading graphics but, since there is not, I hope that the information that I have given you has been helpful.
Comments for What Can I Use to Restore the Graphics On my RV?
Buy heat gun at Lowe's, cheapest one (locate in paint isles). Using plastic scraper heat and remove decals that are cracked. Clean afterwards with endangered alcohol. You can replace with new or just leave off. Our t.v. is a 2004 so we still had plenty of good ones and just left them off. Monochrome looks great well worth the trouble.
Reading the bottle I didn’t use it on our RV, now reading this article I should use it on my RV especially the graphics!
Is that right? Can I use it all over my RV??
ANSWER: I would only recommend using 303 Protectant on the vinyl graphics on your RV, not on the paint, aluminum or Gelcoat of your RV. 303 Aerospace Protectant will prevent the sun and dirt from prematurely aging the vinyl graphics. Hope this helps.
RVing Al
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Graphic repair by: Anonymous
My husband and I got a used Kodiak and the graphics were chipped alot so we used a razor blade and scraped the edges and filled in some of the spots with a marker looks pretty good.
Hi, You can use shoe polish to fill the cracks let dry for one hour then buff out by hand or with a buffer it will bring back the look last for weeks, You can get a paste or liquid shoe polish the same color as the graphics paste works better can fill the fine cracks better. Tape off the graphics so you don't get the color on other graphics...
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Removed faded graphics, replaced with vinyl cut-outs by: Ron
I tried to polish faded designs, then painted over them (which peeled in about a year). I used tracing paper over the old design and transferred it to cut out similar designs from vinyl rolls. It worked pretty well. I used scissors to cut the vinyl so there are a few areas where it doesn't look like straight cuts. At least its an idea that may work. I'm mostly satisfied with it.
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Penatrol by: Anonymous
I'd love to know more about this, product...I have a 2001 car and its fads so bad was wondering if this would bring bCk the color and take the dull away...would it be safe to use on paint like a car?
Modern graphics material comes in degrees of UV Protection. Just had my 1984 Autotrail done. The company used a grade with an 8 year guarantee.
Others are available many have no UV protection. I also use the protection you recommend which was developed by NASA.
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Painted RV by: Ronny
Al says if someone tells you they never painted an RV to run and never look back. Anyone that paints RV's had to have one to start on, just because a person has never painted an RV doesn't mean they can't, any credited paint and body shop will stand behind their work, they may have painted hundreds of fiberglass boats and other than an RV being larger (in some cases) there isn't much difference.
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Rubber eraser wheel. by: The Detailer.
We replaced all of our graphics on our 1996 Coachmen. I have been removing graphics, decals, pinstipes my whole life.
I found out the hard way that you cannot heat up the surface on a RV. It will cause the siding to delaminate. Like using a buffer,its easy to burn through.
We used our snap-on "crud-thug" with the rubber eraser wheel attachment.
After we removed all of the graphics,we buffed it out using 3M commercial three stage. We updated all of the graphics and it was well worth the effort.
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Penatrol/ RV restoration by: Anonymous
There is a product at your local paint store or or Lowes or Home Depot called Penetrol it cost about $10 a quart it is a paint additive that also states on the can it will restore fiberglass.
I used it on a 98 dolphin that was very faded when we traded it in they thought I had kept it in the garage it looks like brand new. It won't fix cracks in graphics but it will return the color and fill in minor cracking. I did three coats they have to be very very thin coats
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My Sharpie Fix by: EVT
My last travel trailer was a Citation, before trading it in, I wanted it to look as pretty as possible, her grafics had some cracks in them, being the crafty mom that I am, it was a no brainer to brake out my best matching sharpie markers & fill in the cracks, it looked 90% better! From far away, it looked perfect, very close, you can tell a little, but what do you want for free! Now my trailer, also a Citation, 15 years old & I love her dearly, is getting little cracks in her grafics too, I will be filling in her cracks with markers also.....
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removal by: Anonymous
Plastic razor blade and goo off. Then Denatured alcohol to finish clean up. As for fading chipping graphics. No luck in fixing them. Even the best vinyl k has a 9 year lifespan
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Remove graphics by: dave thompson
I would like to know how to remove the graphics on my 1984 mallard.
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303 aerospace protectant by: Anonymous
Just here to echo the recommendation of this product. It has worked great on everything I've applied it to, especially my tires.
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