Faded Decals

[DexterP]

Our LMC Motorhome, now 13 years old, still going well, but the grey decals have faded. Apart from replacement, is there any solution suggested to bring them back to “life”

 

[sonar]

sorry to be the bearer of bad news but,
I looked into this with our aged moho and the answer is they will have to be replaced or removed.
the vinal used for the decals does start to fade .
the fading occurs on the printed colour layer .

there's nothing that can bring them back to looking any where near what they used to.

tried everything myself. As the printed top layer fades away there is nothing underneath it to restore it back to as new.
the more you rub the decals with anything the more surface you remove.

unlike faded paint.

when you now buy or look for decals or vinal replacements the will say good for five years.

that’s not five years in direct sunlight.

 

[Stealaway]

Local sign writers should be able to make you some new ones cheap

 

[Jev88]

I have seen an RV where the guy very lightly sanded the decals and masked off. Then spray painted roughly matching colour over faded decals. Looked good. He was lucky to find lacquer in Maroon and Grey to make the job faster.

 

[sonar]

I have seen an RV where the guy very lightly sanded the decals and masked off. Then spray painted roughly matching colour over faded decals. Looked good. He was lucky to find lacquer in Maroon and Grey to make the job faster.

i thought about that as well but it was finding a paint that would stick to them.
without flaking off in the first wind or rain.

but I suppose you could remove them wipe it off with acetone and then masking tape and paint it on .
will need a primer undercoat and several top coats .
un less it’s GRP. Of plastic coated. then an additional sealer prior to any painting.

I found it was a lot better to remove them with a hair dryer. Wash and wipe it all off with acetone and then apply a new alternative set do decals.
bought mine from eBay cheaper and just as good as any other supplier.

I pad £60 that was for both sides.

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[DexterP]

sorry to be the bearer of bad news but,
I looked into this with our aged moho and the answer is they will have to be replaced or removed.
the vinal used for the decals does start to fade .
the fading occurs on the printed colour layer .

there's nothing that can bring them back to looking any where near what they used to.

tried everything myself. As the printed top layer fades away there is nothing underneath it to restore it back to as new.
the more you rub the decals with anything the more surface you remove.

unlike faded paint.

when you now buy or look for decals or vinal replacements the will say good for five years.

that’s not five years in direct sunlight.

 

[DexterP]

Oh well...Thankyou for this advice...my wife has now told me to just live with the faded look

 

[Richard Mason]

Our LMC Motorhome, now 13 years old, still going well, but the grey decals have faded. Apart from replacement, is there any solution suggested to bring them back to “life”

Hey I sold a new moho for a 14 year old one! Better built and less cut corners by manufacturers. Mohos haven't innovated forever so cheaper to care for an older van!
Most decals are on Amazon or Ebay

 

[sonar]

Hey I sold a new moho for a 14 year old one! Better built and less cut corners by manufacturers. Mohos haven't innovated forever so cheaper to care for an older van!
Most decals are on Amazon or Ebay

The older ones have not so much tech in them so there is less to go wrong .
plus they have had most of the problems solved. Just then down to maintenance and repairs.

 

[Richard Mason]

The older ones have not so much tech in them so there is less to go wrong .
plus they have had most of the problems solved. Just then down to maintenance and repairs.

Mines a 2007 Rapido/ Fiat. First of new shape/ Euro 3. Like living in a drawing room and NO rattles when driving. Cost a bit to get right but its so much more homely than modern vans.
It was too low mileage ( 12000 at 14 years) but now its run in and driven properly its sweet!

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[pjay]

Its was a while back but I know someone who used vinyldye on his Hymer decals and reported good results but said it was a fiddly time consuming job.

TRG 150ml - Normal Size

Vinyl Dye for colouring Leather, Vinyl, Plastic, Textiles, Rubber and more by TRG. Waterproof, scratch proof, will not rub off.

www.vinyldye.co.uk

Pete

 

[ljbarber]

Our LMC Motorhome, now 13 years old, still going well, but the grey decals have faded. Apart from replacement, is there any solution suggested to bring them back to “life”

Now 13 years old made me smile, I have just bought a 30 year old A/S Clubman, yeas I know, I'm stupid.
The previous owner had put about 30 stickers on the back & front windows, but the were easy to remove with a heat gun, a scraper and some WD40. I was also told to see a local sign writer about replacing other decals.

 

[sonar]

Its was a while back but I know someone who used vinyldye on his Hymer decals and reported good results but said it was a fiddly time consuming job.

TRG 150ml - Normal Size

Vinyl Dye for colouring Leather, Vinyl, Plastic, Textiles, Rubber and more by TRG. Waterproof, scratch proof, will not rub off.

www.vinyldye.co.uk

Pete

I saw that as well but was told it’s like the glass dyes very patchy and would need several coats.
never heard of anyone using it on plastic decals before …
but when I mentioned it to the place I was going to get the decals from I had to pick him up off the floor through him laughing..
so I never even bothered looking any further. As it’s a spray it is properly better for large areas like chairs or something like that.

I would think it’s ok just to touch up a few small areas but as for the price you can get a new full set of decals from the auction sites

 

[knockersmith]

Had my decals wrapped,great result no need to remove the old ones

 

[madroy]

sorry to be the bearer of bad news but,
I looked into this with our aged moho and the answer is they will have to be replaced or removed.
the vinal used for the decals does start to fade .
the fading occurs on the printed colour layer .

there's nothing that can bring them back to looking any where near what they used to.

tried everything myself. As the printed top layer fades away there is nothing underneath it to restore it back to as new.
the more you rub the decals with anything the more surface you remove.

unlike faded paint.

when you now buy or look for decals or vinal replacements the will say good for five years.

that’s not five years in direct sunlight.

Any vynle paint sticks to vynle

Our LMC Motorhome, now 13 years.inc old, still going well, but the grey decals have faded. Apart from replacement, is there any solution suggested to bring them back to “life”

Any vynle paint sticks to vinle including emulsion .

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[JamesT@Dundee]

Oh well...Thankyou for this advice...my wife has now told me to just live with the faded look

May be worth trying Polytrol before you give up. I used it originally for the plastic trim round our previous van which should have been dark grey (had faded to patchy light grey). Polytrol brought it back to almost good as new.
I then tried it on the faded decals - it did improve them - though not back to "as new". Just rubbed on with a cloth so it's not removing surface as far as I could make out.

 

[triky]

I tried this on the "Concorde" decals ,BUT it did'nt make any difference ,despite being VERY expensive for the SMALL content !!

 

[johnstrb2]

Check out these guys on Facebook. I believe they do a great job. Maybe someone in here has used them already.

Log in to Facebook

Log in to Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family and people you know.

l.facebook.com

 

[AdamVD]

Its was a while back but I know someone who used vinyldye on his Hymer decals and reported good results but said it was a fiddly time consuming job.

TRG 150ml - Normal Size

Vinyl Dye for colouring Leather, Vinyl, Plastic, Textiles, Rubber and more by TRG. Waterproof, scratch proof, will not rub off.

www.vinyldye.co.uk

Pete

Hi, I'm Adam from the website you mention above. A few people have called me and mentioned this forum, so thought I should answer the questions right here

Yes you can use VinylDye on most plastics, but as you've mentioned, it seems a lot of effort and not exactly what it was meant for.

Yes, quite a few people have used VinylDye on 'vinyl wrap' before (usually to remove logos/names from brands, but they love the graphics of the vinyl wrap on the car/van for example), I only mention this as someone in this thread mentioned a vinyl decal.

Most motorhome owners use our sprays for 'grab handles' (internal and external), seating, dashboards etc. when they want a new fresh look.

Finally, forgive me, I don't know the model number, but the motorhomes with the 'pop out' roof to sleep in, have a vinyl folding down part, our VinylDye sprays have been used on that many many times (in some rather out-there colours too).

I hope that's of some help, oh just another thought, our sprays get used on the wheel covers a lot too of the spare wheels.

Feel free to ask any questions here, I assume this well email me with updates sorry I'm new.

 

[jobla]

Had my decals wrapped,great result no need to remove the old ones

Hi
I know this post is a couple of years old but could you give me a little info about what was done and whether it is lasting. I spoke to a local outfit and they did not seem to understand how it was done.
Jobla

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[raysalaugh]

Knockersmith was last seen on here 23rd July 23, he is now a free member.

 

[hja]

Interesting that this thread has re-emerged. I think there is another thread as well, but more about replacing decals. Our decals are "wearing" on one side - sort of peeling. I am led to understand that this could be the effect of sun and it is the side that faces the sun when the van is at home. Only noticed it this year but I expect it has slowly been deteriorating. Summer of 2022 the van sat for some time out the front without moving, because I had a knee op. The hot weather did do some damage - a couple of facing strips inside came off and the tambour door for the loo was damaged. We think about the van and winter protection but just didnt think about the effect of the sun! So I expect that is when the decals started to "go". We have yet to decide what to do - live with it, or try and get them replaced. It is the word "Globecar" and the globe logo that are most effected. The van is three years old and we are certainly not looking to change it. Just starting to do a bit of investigating and thinking.