Help! Ghosting!! - Fiberglass RV
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Old 07-06-2016, 02:26 PM   #1
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Name: Ivan
Trailer: Bigfoot
British Columbia
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Help! Ghosting!!

I removed the decals from my 1992 Bigfoot trailer. My trailer is light cream colour, under the decals is bright shiny white!! How do I fix it?
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Old 07-06-2016, 02:32 PM   #2
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Name: Kelly
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I removed the decals from my 1992 Bigfoot trailer. My trailer is light cream colour, under the decals is bright shiny white!! How do I fix it?
stick a decal you like better over it
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Old 07-06-2016, 02:39 PM   #3
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Try doing a search with the FGRV website's "Search" button above. Drop down to "Search Site/Google" and insert the words "remove decal". You will find lots of ideas there. You could PM (private message) someone whose tips you like and ask them for details.

My 2011 Scamp has, by necessity, been stored outdoors and the rock guard sticker is showing wear. I expect to be in your situation soon. Let me know what works for you.
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Old 07-06-2016, 02:41 PM   #4
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sure would be interested...

I'm afraid I don't have an answer to the problem...but I'd sure be interested on what you used / method and how hard it was because I'd love to get rid of the decals on my rockguard....tried heat gun...no joy
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Old 07-06-2016, 03:52 PM   #5
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Sorry to hear about your decal ghost problem. I too don't have an answer as to how to get rid of them and I'm not sure that anything effectively will. But I will offer a caveat for those folks with new trailers who want to prevent it from happening to them as well. The very first thing I did when I picked up my trailer, (when it was brand spanking new,) was to go around it a peel every last decal and sticker off it and throw them in the dumpster. The only real cure is prevention. As an aside, I have always thought that the trailer looked cleaner without all those crappy decals all over it. Are the manufacturer's paying you anything to roll all over the country advertising their products? Who wants to ride around in a rolling billboard?
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Old 07-06-2016, 04:35 PM   #6
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I am interpreting the situation differently. I read as the OP has removed the decals, and now has white where the decals were, but the rest of the trailer has yellowed over time. If I am correct, how does he bring the white back to the entire trailer?
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Old 07-06-2016, 04:35 PM   #7
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Name: Michael
Trailer: 17ft Bigfoot trailer
British Columbia
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Ghosting

Hi,

I too had some nasty, fading, cracking decals on my 86' BF. I was actually able to remove them with a heat gun and plastic scraper (as to not score the fibreglass). I also used a product called 'Goof Off' to remove the remaining glue...worked quite well. Similar to you, I had the ghosting left underneath. As my trailer's gelcoat was all but gone, I choose to do the Barkeepers Friend and Zep floor polish procedure. After applying the Zep the Ghosting was far less noticeable.
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Old 07-06-2016, 08:20 PM   #8
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Name: Ivan
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We used a heat gun and plastic scraper. Took a while, but they came off. The ones in the worst condition were the hardest. We removed the gummy residue with acetone, came off nicely.
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Old 07-06-2016, 08:26 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis mn View Post
I am interpreting the situation differently. I read as the OP has removed the decals, and now has white where the decals were, but the rest of the trailer has yellowed over time. If I am correct, how does he bring the white back to the entire trailer?
That's why I said it is better to remove them BEFORE they become old and no longer serviceable. If you wait until they fade and curl at the edges, and the trailer's gelcoat has faded everywhere but the areas underneath the decals (or what's left of them,) you never will completely get rid of those decal ghosts. You need to do a "preemptive strike" and take them off before they turn to crap. If you wait, you won't be able to resurrect your gel coat from the damage caused by sun exposure and the elements over the years. Remove them early or be prepared to live with the resulting damage that they will create down the road. If your gel coat is going to fade, at least it will do it evenly.
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Old 07-06-2016, 11:11 PM   #10
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Help! Ghosting!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilda View Post
...My 2011 Scamp has, by necessity, been stored outdoors and the rock guard sticker is showing wear. I expect to be in your situation soon. Let me know what works for you.
Gilda, I am preparing to deal with my deteriorating decals. I plan to remove and replace the large "Scamp" stickers on the back corners. I already have the new ones from Scamp (Don't tell Floyd... I bought gold ones, since my car is gold, and I am hoping gold might stand up to our AZ sun better than the red did). In place of the stripes I am going to put white DOT reflective tape all the way around the back and sides. For the rock guard, I will remove the Scamp logo and start a collection of travel stickers from places we've been. Eventually I figure they will cover most of the ghosting.

To get the old ones off, I'm going to give this tool a whirl: 3M Stripe-Off Wheel. I will give the whole trailer a light buffing after removal and before I add new.

Probably won't get to it until August or September, but I will report how it goes.
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Old 07-06-2016, 11:20 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis mn View Post
I am interpreting the situation differently. I read as the OP has removed the decals, and now has white where the decals were, but the rest of the trailer has yellowed over time. If I am correct, how does he bring the white back to the entire trailer?
The white is original gel coat. The off-white is UV-deteriorated gel coat. If the trailer is old enough, you may even feel a slight bump where the white ghost images are, as the gel coat is a little thicker there. I don't think there's a whole lot you can do, short of gel coat restoration ($$$) or paint ($-$$).

A thorough buffing and waxing with a marine fiberglass restoration kit from 3M or Maguire's might make the difference less noticeable.
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Old 07-07-2016, 12:41 AM   #12
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Trailer: Bigfoot 17 ft 1992 / Chevrolet S10 4.3L.
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I have remove all ghost on my Bigfoot with 600 grid water sanding paper and after buffed with compoud and wax
Not only color but a but a small difference in the thickness

The white ghost disappears and hue becomes uniform


Now it does seem at all except in the door that I had to repaint
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Old 07-07-2016, 12:54 AM   #13
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That is a pic of my job
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Old 07-07-2016, 07:23 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Yvon Chayer View Post
I have remove all ghost on my Bigfoot with 600 grid water sanding paper and after buffed with compoud and wax
Not only color but a but a small difference in the thickness

The white ghost disappears and hue becomes uniform


Now it does seem at all except in the door that I had to repaint
We removed all of our decals and replaced them,but before doing so, used the 3M Marine compound of buffing, polishing and waxing. It almost completely removed the ghosting, or at least I could no longer see it! Plus it really freshened the entire trailer!
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Old 07-07-2016, 08:46 AM   #15
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Name: Jack L
Trailer: Sold the Bigfoot 17-Looking for a new one
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Originally Posted by Yvon Chayer View Post
I have remove all ghost on my Bigfoot with 600 grid water sanding paper and after buffed with compoud and wax
Not only color but a but a small difference in the thickness
The white ghost disappears and hue becomes uniform
Now it does seem at all except in the door that I had to repaint
I have done similar restorations on boats using the method Yvon suggested. I started with 320 grit wet paper and worked my way up to 1000 and polished and waxed. It does work however, it is a very labor intensive project. I would like to do this to my trailer some day.
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Old 07-07-2016, 09:33 AM   #16
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Wow!! Looks good! Did you put more decals?
What paint did you use for the door?
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Old 07-07-2016, 10:00 AM   #17
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Name: Ivan
Trailer: Bigfoot
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Originally Posted by Yvon Chayer View Post
I have remove all ghost on my Bigfoot with 600 grid water sanding paper and after buffed with compoud and wax
Not only color but a but a small difference in the thickness

The white ghost disappears and hue becomes uniform


Now it does seem at all except in the door that I had to repaint

Wow looks good!!
What paint did you use for the door?
Ivan
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Old 07-07-2016, 02:48 PM   #18
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I removed a couple of round decals near my Bigfoot's entry door a couple of years ago. Without doing anything at all, with time the white under the decals has faded to match the rest of the trailer. Those two spots are a bit raised compared to the surrounding area, but only noticeable if you are looking for them.
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Old 07-08-2016, 12:08 AM   #19
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Name: Ivan
Trailer: Bigfoot
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I removed a couple of round decals near my Bigfoot's entry door a couple of years ago. Without doing anything at all, with time the white under the decals has faded to match the rest of the trailer. Those two spots are a bit raised compared to the surrounding area, but only noticeable if you are looking for them.
Thank you. It is strange that some of the removed decals are shiny cream like the original, but under most of the removed decal is bright white.
It's like some of the decals bleached the fiber glass.
Good to know the white fades in time.
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Old 07-08-2016, 12:11 AM   #20
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Name: Ivan
Trailer: Bigfoot
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That is a pic of my job
Looks great! I believe it is the same year as our 1992 Bigfoot!
What did you use to paint the hitch and door?
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