Protective Film on Front of Coach

wlf00 · 12-03-2012, 11:09 AM

The protective film on the front of my coach is really looking pretty bad. It is turning brown underneath the film.

I called Winnebago and they told me that they only offer a 1 year warranty and there is nothing that they can do. He looked up the serial number and said that it was a 3M 8591/8592 film on my coach.

CDI is who paints the coach and applies the film. I called them and they looked up the serial number and said that Avery Dennison is who makes the film that was applied to my coach. Avery has a 3 year warranty on the material only and I have had the coach for a little over 4 years. He also said that this appears to be a Florida thing where mold starts to grow under the film and is not normally seen in other places. He gave me a number for Diamond Shield in New York to find a local place to see about replacing it. However, the phone number was wrong. He also said that Diamond Shield uses Avery film.

Now I am really confused.

Has anyone had good luck removing the film? Did you replace it? Where did you go to have it replaced.

Thanks,

Falcon190 · 12-03-2012, 11:36 AM

I live in the PNW where it rains just about nine months straight, so I have the same problem. Does someone know how to safely remove it with harming the paint?

MDPD · 12-03-2012, 11:48 AM

I was at the Winnebago rally in Orlando in January, at which they had a seminar on the film. Unfortunately I lost the number for the company giving the seminar but after it was over I asked how they remove the old film since they charge $800 to do it and a friend had the same issue as you and could not afford to replace his at almost $2000.

The gentleman advised me that the only way to remove the film without damaging the paint was to use a hand held clothing steamer and pull VERY slowly. The steamer he advised that he uses costs $40 and he purchases them at Target.

I advised my friend and he bought the steamer and successfully removed the old film from his coach. Almost all of the adhesive came off with the film and the remainder he removed using WD40. He said it took about 10 hours to get the film off but after polishing and waxing the paint it looked great. I have not seen it myself but he was very pleased with the results.

corjaguar · 12-03-2012, 11:53 AM

I saw a guy at a campground taking his flim off............he was using a heat gun and a pair of pliers to pull it off with. He told me he has been working on taking the film off when he stopped for any length of time....it looked like it was a messy job, and it came off in small pieces because it was cracked in so many places.

ChiefJohn · 12-03-2012, 03:37 PM

Wife and I removed our protective shield in approximately 2 hrs, not including the glue residue that we paid a technician to remove. For the most part, the film wasn't too difficult to remove -- we let the sun heat the film up and most of it pulled clean -- technician used a plastic scrapper to remove the small amount of glue residue.

wlf00 · 12-03-2012, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefJohn

Wife and I removed our protective shield in approximately 2 hrs, not including the glue residue that we paid a technician to remove. For the most part, the film wasn't too difficult to remove -- we let the sun heat the film up and most of it pulled clean -- technician used a plastic scrapper to remove the small amount of glue residue.

John. I see that your coach is also a 2008. How old was it when you removed it? Did any of the paint lift off?

My coach is now at the shop for an unrelated issue. I called them and asked about removing it. They said that since it has not cracked yet, it would be somewhere between 2 and 4 hours of labor. But he cannot guarantee that no paint will be lifted off. He suggested that after any paint repair that needs to be done, that he put a couple of layers of clear coat on to help protect the front from nicks and bugs.

This is the direction that I am leaning. Remove the protective film and not replace it.

Oscar Mike · 12-03-2012, 04:12 PM

I am really confused now, I have been thinking about adding Diamond Shield to my Motor Home. From reading this thread it might not be such a good idea, except that I live in the desert southwest so algae/mold growth is not a significant issue, but we have lots of rocks on the road that really nick up the paint.

Golf Nut · 12-03-2012, 08:46 PM

I bought my 2004 Horizon used and it had a very badly crack 3M mask. I had a local company completely remove it for $250.00 with no paint damage. After the work was done they said they would not do another for less than $600.00. The front end looks beautiful and new and after investigating replacements I am reluctant to have it done again. It may be wiser to just consider repainting the front in the distant future if need be.

Mr_D · 12-03-2012, 08:51 PM

I have seen and heard enough bad things about the film that I'm glad we didn't get it on our rig. Even some bugs discolor it and it's impossible to remove the stain.

akadeadeye · 12-03-2012, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlf00

John. I see that your coach is also a 2008. How old was it when you removed it? Did any of the paint lift off?

My coach is now at the shop for an unrelated issue. I called them and asked about removing it. They said that since it has not cracked yet, it would be somewhere between 2 and 4 hours of labor. But he cannot guarantee that no paint will be lifted off. He suggested that after any paint repair that needs to be done, that he put a couple of layers of clear coat on to help protect the front from nicks and bugs.

This is the direction that I am leaning. Remove the protective film and not replace it.

Why would you want to remove it? It's there to protect the paint finish.

Don

Falcon190 · 12-04-2012, 11:35 AM

I want to remove it because there's mold (or something) underneath it, it won't clean, and it looks really bad. Plus, the mold may be damaging the paint and possibly causing rust.

wlf00 · 12-04-2012, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akadeadeye

Why would you want to remove it? It's there to protect the paint finish.

Don

Don: See my first post. There is something brown (I suspect mold) growing underneath the film and it is starting to look pretty bad. There is no other way to make it clear again.

steved44 · 12-04-2012, 01:12 PM

I have an 05 Allegro Bus and my film was getting to look pretty bad too. Some of the bug spots would not come out, and it just looked shabby. I took it of after pointing the bus into the sun and warming it up that way. I went slow and easy and had no problems. It all came off without damaging any paint. I used goo gone on the remaining adhesive and it all came off leaving a nice smooth surface. I then waxed the front and it looked better than it ever has. After a couple of years, it still looks good. It does have a few rock chips, but if it gets really bad I'll just have the front cap repainted. I had a friend of mine take his off, but he had paint problems. It pulled some of the paint loose. It must not have had a good paint job to start with. Steve

Luckiest Dreamer · 12-04-2012, 04:18 PM

On my 2012 I got some of the big yellow bug splats that I could not clean off. I noticed the stain would slowly disapear when I let it sit facing into the sun.

OldChief7155 · 12-04-2012, 06:15 PM

Try Bounce dryer sheets to remove the bugs. Just wet the sheet, rub on the bug and it'll almost dissolve. I can de-bug the whole area below my windshield in about 20 minutes.

Ding-a-ling · 12-05-2012, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luckiest Dre

On my 2012 I got some of the big yellow bug splats that I could not clean off. I noticed the stain would slowly disapear when I let it sit facing into the sun.

I too am approaching the point of taking the film off because of the mold growth.

BTW, when you have big bug splats, after cleaning them off do you see sort of a shadow where the spot was? I found that using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser fairly easily gets rid of the whole spot without any harm to the finish.

FJF

vraines · 12-05-2012, 08:47 AM

We have a Dutch Star with Diamond Shield and it is beginning to look pretty bad. We saw another Dutch Star at the September IRV2 rally and they had successfully removed the shield the old fashioned way. With fingers and "Goo Gone". We under took it using fingers and paint solvent. A very slow job and hard on finger tips, but it works. Not finished yet, but no paint removed. I use a rubber scraper, like a Bondo scraper, but a little harder. Last week I happened to be in a 3M paint store and they have a adhesive removing solvent that should work on the Diamond Shield adhesive. Removal of the film is more difficult in spots where a rock has impacted it, but it does come off. I have not used a heat gun, but rely on direct sunlight to soften the shield enough to prevent it tearing or breaking. Diamond Shield said they would come out and remove it, but their cost was pretty high, but probably reasonable given their costs, etc. There have been a number of posts on this, so I recommend that you check them out. I would never buy another motor home with that stuff.

AFChap · 12-06-2012, 09:31 AM

I have been through the film on/film off routine. I would recommend it ONLY if you will be selling it within 3 years. It might help the sale. Otherwise I do not believe it is cost effective as original cost plus removal cost is just added to the paint repair cost you have anyway. If you just have any damaged area repainted every 10+ yr you will be ahead, and won't have the aggravation.

ChiefJohn · 12-06-2012, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlf00

John. I see that your coach is also a 2008. How old was it when you removed it? Did any of the paint lift off?

My coach is now at the shop for an unrelated issue. I called them and asked about removing it. They said that since it has not cracked yet, it would be somewhere between 2 and 4 hours of labor. But he cannot guarantee that no paint will be lifted off. He suggested that after any paint repair that needs to be done, that he put a couple of layers of clear coat on to help protect the front from nicks and bugs.

This is the direction that I am leaning. Remove the protective film and not replace it.

Bill,
The plastic shield came off fairly easy - where we made our mistake was not being careful around and holes in the shield. Had a couple of places where the paint pealed off - used the Winnebago paint that came with the MH and those spots are barely noticeable. Removing any remaining adhesive is the worst part of the process.