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Old 09-30-2011, 09:01 PM   #1
03heritagerider
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Default Peeling Paint/clear coat

A couple of years ago we noticed that the paint/clear coat on our '03 Friendship was fading and peeling in a couple of spots. I tried to touch up the spots myself by giving the paint codes to the NAPA dealer and purchasing matching paints from the original manufacturer. I'm no painter, but I did O.K. Then the places became more wide spread and would require a professional to repaint entire panels.

I wrote to Mike's Custom Painting Inc. in Bremen, Indiana (The original factory coach painter) and discussed the problem with Mike Weldy, the owner. I sent him photos and indicated that a local body shop told me that they thought it was one of two problems...(1) there was a problem with the paint itself, or (2) the clear coat was not applied soon enough after the color coat, which prevented complete bonding.

Mr. Weldy disagreed. He said that he discussed it with the Martin-Senour paint representative and they agreed that there was no indication of a problem with the paint and he was sure that there could be no problem with his application. He also stated that since the coach was out of warranty, there was nothing he could do. He did, however, offer to repaint the coach for a "Discounted price" of only $10,000! I got the local body shop to repaint it for much less, and I didn't have to incur the additional expense of an 800 mile round trip to drop the coach off and another 800 mile round trip to pick it up.

AND NOW FOR THE REST OF THE STORY!

Yesterday, I accompanied a friend to an RV dealership to look at a Class C he was interested in buying. When we arrived, there was a 2003 Gulfstream Friendship Quattro with the exact same paint scheme as mine sitting on the lot. It had just been taken in on a trade.

I walked over to the rig and immediately noticed peeling paint on several areas of the front cap, the mirrors and mirror arms, the area around the entry door and several other locations around the coach.

Same model...Same paint scheme...Same damage...
What's your conclusion?


The above photos are of my coach prior to repainting...I may just go back out to that RV dealer and take photos of their Friendship to post here for comparison.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg damage-L.JPG (15.5 KB, 2831 views)
File Type: jpg damage-E.JPG (15.9 KB, 2826 views)
File Type: jpg damage-I.JPG (16.5 KB, 2825 views)
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Old 10-01-2011, 12:55 PM   #2
J79Engine
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

Well show us the finished paint job and tell us just how much you paid for a bumper to pumper paint job?

I had a 1976 chevy stationwagon painted while I was staioned in England and one day when I was walking off the flight line I seen a big glare coming from it. I figure out the paint under the clear coat had all cubed allowing bare netal to shine in the sun but the surface was totally smooth. When I returned to England I took the car back to the body shop and he was amazed but did not offer to repaint as he stated I paint for English weather not Desert heat! I sold the wagon to a British church in Cambridge so they could use it as their 9 passenger bus.
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Old 10-02-2011, 07:33 AM   #3
03heritagerider
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

Quote:
Originally Posted by J79Engine
not Desert heat!
Which desert?

I will post photos of the repaint, if it ever stops raining here!

As far as actual cost for a total repaint...I can't say exactly. We sustained some storm damage to the front end earlier this year, which is where most of the peeled paint was. However, the repairs covered by the insurance (which included replacing a cracked windshield), plus what I had to add to it to cover my deductible, and for the other areas, still brought the entire job in at just under $10K.

If I had to come up with the entire amount myself, it would still look like the before photos.
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Old 10-13-2011, 10:02 PM   #4
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

My 07 Tourmaster is being repainted as a result of a grass cutting tractor used at my storage area throwing gravel chips. It was done by a new employee that wasn't paying attention to what he was doing and the gravel area around the motorhomes there were to be sprayed with weed killer instead of cutting. There were well over 150 small chips in the paint and each one has to be filled and sanded. Fortunately the lot owner had good insurance and is covering the repairs and paint job. Another newer coach was involved also. I stopped by today to see how it was going and the body shop supervisor told me that the original clear coat was peeling off in places, particularly a large area on top of the front cap and the back of the mirrors and mirror arms. He also showed me a couple other places where this was happening. Since my coach is being totally repainted and clear coated in the process, that will take care of all the areas. Looks to me like whomever painted the coach originally might have scimped on the painting process.
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Old 01-28-2017, 03:07 PM   #5
boatguypat
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

Can you share the paint codes? I gave a 2004 Friendship - green paint scheme. If you still have them.
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Old 01-28-2017, 05:49 PM   #6
RayChez1
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

Quote:
Originally Posted by boatguypat
Can you share the paint codes? I gave a 2004 Friendship - green paint scheme. If you still have them.

You realize that Heritage rider posted in 2011. That post is six years old.

But I had to top of my 2002 Scenic Cruiser front cap painted about three years ago and it was also peeling real bad. I took it to a paint shop here in California and I believe it was $500.00 they charged to paint the top of the front cap. But I do live in the high desert of Southern California and in the summer it gets pretty hot. And I do not park my coach under a shed, it is out on the open. So I figure IF you can get ten years out of any paint job, it is not bad at all. The paint on the rest of the coach still looks pretty good.

Now the 2002 Gulf Stream Coach color program for the Friendship full paint is as follow:
40841- 1991 Subaru 076 Sandstone Met
48443- 1998 Ford Fe Evergreen Frost Pri.
50270-1999 Chrysler PJP Med. Fern Prl.
53981- 1998 GM 67U Lavender Prl. Met.

Freindship Deluxe Full Paint:
60434- 2001 BMW 443 Sahara Beige Prl.
60160- 2002 Jeep PU2 Woodland Brown Met.
63034- 2001 Jaguar BDE Roman Bronze Met.
60061- 2001 GM 61U Med. Gold Met.

Hope that helps you.
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Old 02-02-2017, 12:52 PM   #7
boatguypat
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

Yes i did see that - worth a shot! Thank you. Looks like the 2002 is different than the 2004. It looked like the 2003 is the same as the 04.
Thanks again.
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Old 02-10-2017, 06:23 AM   #8
rvdreams
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

I realize these posts have continued through the years but maybe if enough of us have the same problem it will become a recall? I'm not well versed on these things.

We recently purchased a 2002 Friendship Quattro 8408 with the exact same paint peel problems in the same places but I would add the front bumper area as well. I did copy the paint codes - thank you!

We are thankful we got I good deal on this coach as we are finding a large number of problems not seen in the walk through. I suppose that is normal with any used rig, especially 15 years old. All in all she is in good shape; it's the little things here and there that seem to add up. Most of it we believe is caused by too many peoples hands being in it that didn't know what they were doing?
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Old 02-10-2017, 04:51 PM   #9
RayChez1
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

You are not going to get a recall on a paint job that is already 15 years old. Heck! my daughter bought a brand new automobile from GM and the paint is oxidizing already on the hood after three years. So 15 years we can actually say WOW, that was a good paint job that lasted as long as it did.

I had the same problem with the top of the front cap, but I live in the high desert of southern California, and I got 13 years before it started to peal and fade only on that part. So I was not disappointed with it going bad, it was expected after so many years with sun hitting it every day. I believe it cost something like $500. to paint the top of the front cap, all the way across and about 24" in length.
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Old 02-26-2017, 08:36 AM   #10
rvdreams
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

[quote="RayChez1"]You are not going to get a recall on a paint job that is already 15 years old.

True enough Ray. I guess I didn't think about it like that because we have found several recall's on other things.
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Old 05-21-2017, 02:28 PM   #11
Kate P
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Default Re: Peeling Paint/clear coat

We have a 2009 Gulf Stream Tourmaster and we have noticed small cracks in the paint which I have come to find out is called "checking." I have taken the coach to two paint providers and they refused to repaint it as the problem is a defect in the sidewalls of the coach. My son found a class action suit that Coachman filed against the sidewall manufacturer, Crane Co. Are there any other Gulf Stream RV owners who are experiencing the same problems with their paint? I sent an email on this to Gulf Stream and will report back on the results. Here is a copy of the relevant portion from the class action settlement:

Crane To Pay $18M To Settle 'Lumpy' RV Suit
Share us on: By Ryan Davis
Law360, New York (April 21, 2009, 12:00 AM EDT) -- Crane Co has agreed to pay nearly $18 million to settle a suit brought by Coachmen Industries Inc. over defective recreational vehicle sidewall materials, nearly three months after a jury found Crane liable for the defects.

The Jan 27 verdict by the jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana only decided the question of liability. A second jury was slated to determine the amount of damages later this year, but before that could take place, the companies engaged in mediation.

Crane announced Monday that through the mediation, it had agreed to pay Coachmen $17.75 million in several installments to be made through July 1.

Coachmen had initially sought $65 million in damages, including $20 million in repair and other direct costs and $45 million in other consequential damages such as lost market share and lost profits. A representative of Coachmen could not be reached for comment on the settlement.

Coachmen filed the suit in March 2006 against Kemlite Co. Inc., which is now owned by Crane. The suit alleged that Kemlite’s Recreational Vehicle Filon, a fiberglass-reinforced plastic material used in the exterior sidewalls of Coachmen RVs, became distorted and took on the lumpy, unappealing appearance of “cottage cheese” or “toad skin.”

The distortions “were not viewed favorably by either Coachmen or its customers,” the suit said.

Because of the alleged defect, Coachmen was forced to buy back or repair the affected RV units and offer deep discounts on some RVs in order to sell them, Coachmen said in its complaint.

Coachmen alleged that Kemlite made some chemical changes to the product that caused the bubbling distortions starting in 2004, according to court documents.

Previously, Kemlite — now owned by Crane Composites Inc. — had supplied Coachmen for more than a decade with fiberglass-reinforced panels that had no distortion problems, the documents said.

The RV manufacturer sought to declare Kemlite liable for all damages associated with the so-called defective sidewall panels, according to the complaint.

“It has become apparent to plaintiffs that this is a widespread failure inherent in the Filon sidewall material purchased from Kemlite, and that more failures will occur in the future, causing additional damage to plaintiffs,” the complaint said.

Kemlite maintained that its panels were only one element in the assembly of the RV sidewalls, and that the defect may have been introduced through the use of other materials or at some point in the RV manufacturing stage, according to court documents.

Founded in Middlebury, Ind., Coachmen is one of the country’s leading manufacturers of both RVs and modular housing structures, according to the company.

The company markets motor homes, trailers and fold-down camping trailers under the names Coachmen, Georgie Boy, Sportscoach, Adrenaline and Viking, according to the site.

Kemlite, now owned by Crane, produces a variety of reinforced fiberglass composite materials, including the RV sidewall panels, according to the company.

Coachmen and its subsidiaries are represented in the case by May Oberfell Lorber.

Kemlite and Crane are represented in the matter by Barnes & Thornburg LLP and Yukevich Calfo & Cavanaugh.

The case is Coachmen Industries Inc. et al. v. Kemlite, case number 3:06-cv-00160, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

--Additional reporting by Christie Smythe
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Old 05-21-2017, 10:30 PM   #12
Kate P
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Default Re: "Checking" in the paint due to faulty sidewalls

I posted about a problem we have with the paint on our coach which I have come to find is called checking and it is due to the faulty Fillion in the sidewalls of the coach. The file with the photo is too big as the max size is 256 kib. If you want to see a photo, please reply and I will send it to you. It just looks like little cracks in the paint. I have sent an email to Gulf Stream to ask for their assistance in negotiating with the sidewall manufacturer. If you also have checking in the paint job on your RV, please let me know.
Thanks,
Kate
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Old 06-20-2017, 12:10 PM   #13
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Kate, I believe your checking is completely a different problem then the Coachmen lawsuit. The Coachmen problem does not have cracks, it is more of a bubbling on the fiberglass, then cracks.

But I am very interested on your problem because I have seen just a few, not much of tiny little cracks or checking on a small part of my sidewall that is painted like a lavender color. But the rest of the paint which is a different color there are no cracks at all. So I thought maybe it was the paint used and not the fiberglass that had caused those tiny cracks. I have seen at least six of those tiny cracks, but it could be the beginning of a bigger problem. But then again my coach is already thirteen years old and most of the paint color still looks like new. Just interested on your post though.
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Old 07-20-2017, 04:09 PM   #14
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Me Too! it seems were all victims of the Nineties environmental movement! I have a car doing the same!
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Old 03-31-2022, 09:47 AM   #15
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We bought the cabinet package from Nuvo and further paint to travel together with it. I can’t say sufficient extraordinary matters approximately this paint! We extensively utilized their countertop package yet. the most important tip I even have is to place money into a terrific primer, specifically, just in case your shelves are dark, otherwise, it'll take a pair of coats. Also, do VERY skinny layers! We made the error the first pass round of making the layers too thick and that we had quite a few problems with cracking. We’ve used those kits in our lavatories and kitchen, and we just like the results!!!
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