We stayed home this past Memorial day weekend since we had been on the road for the past three weeks and had a laundry list of general fixes and repairs to make to the the 179. One of the things we have wanted to do for a while is clean up the outside appearance of Rpod which was weathered and faded. Having three days with trailer in the driveway, we decided now was as good a time as ever to remove the faded, cracked decals and restore the finish so we could apply the new decals we purchased from RV Decals Direct. Here are a few tips and tricks and things we learned from the three day adventure. We chose to remove all of the "RPod" decals, Frog and the wider side stripe. We left the two thinner side stripes which were still in good shape.
Don't bother with hair dryers, plastic razor blades and Goo Gone, WD-40 or Goof Off. They are all a waste of time, money and energy. Instead use a real heat gun, razor blade scraper and Rapid Remover. To get some of the most weathered and cracked decals off, especially the side stripe, I had my Blue Point heat gun turned up to 8, sometimes 9 with 10 being the highest the gun will go. A typical hairdryer won't even come close to that kind of heat. While a hair dryer will work on some stickers, it will be ineffective and the heavily weathered stuff. Also, when using a razor blade scrapper, temper the blade first by dragging it over a smooth, hard surface several times. This will keep the blade from "bitting" into the finish.
Finally, Rapid Remover is your go to adhesive remover. We knew early on that we may not have enough of the product and bought some Goo Gone since I could only find Rapid Remover on Amazon. When Goo Gone didn't even touch the residual adhesive after the decal was removed, we tried Goof Off, then WD-40. Even after allowing those products to sit on the adhesive for 10, 15, 20 minutes, none of them did what Rapid Remover did in one minute. The stuff is that good but be aware it is not as oily as the other choices. If you are using it on a hot sunny day, the product will evaporate and you will have to use significantly more. We used a full, 32oz bottle for the job.
The RPod decals came off the easiest followed by the frog decals. Plan on an hour or so per decal including removing the adhesive. The side stripe is another story. We easily spent three hours per side removing the large stripe. Even with that, there were small patches of adhesive that would not come off even with multiple applications of Rapid Remover. We were planning on adding a new stripe of thicker, outdoor sign vinyl so we weren't too concerned. I've used this before on motorcycles and ATVs and it holds up quite well. Usually available at local sign shops and comes in a huge assortment of colors.
We used Meguiars' M6732 One Step Gel Coat compound to restore the chalky Rpod finish back to something with a little more shine. I used a wool bonnet on an old Sears polisher I had. Once I got the hang of it, it went pretty quick with my wife doing the tight areas by hand. Be sure to read the instructions and do not apply in direct sunlight. We started at about 5:30am and had a shiny 179 by 8:30. While the buffed surfaces were much better, they still were a bit discolored where the decals were removed and the new shiny surface exposed. Still the Pod looked tons better.
We ran out of energy and never got to applying the new decals. We will save that for another day. It was a lot of work for a couple of folks in their lates 60's but we are pleased with the finished product. Much better than the faded Rpod with weathered graphics.
Be safe out there!
------------- Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023)
2022 Escape 5.0TA
2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB
Triumph T120
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