BigFoot Vinyl Graphics

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Hey Thomas! What's that logo on your cap?

Muzzy "Bad to the Bone" They make Archery stuff typically Broadheads. I don't know where I got the hat as I am not an Archer. I either got it at my gun club or from a Son-in-Law who is an Archer. For me most hats are uncomfortable so when I find one I like I wear it into the ground.

[squish]

Originally Posted by ThomasC

Thanks!... The production date is 3/2020 and there was already a faint shadow in a few places.

This doesn’t surprise me.

I ride motorcycles and I had an orange helmet.
One day while attending a race I left my helmet on my bikes seat and I ledft the visor up, I came back at end of the day to find a distinct color shift from where my visor was and where it wasn’t, the sun had faded my brand new helmet that much in just eight hours, granted it was a bright orange helmet, but it was still shocking how pronounced the fading was.

I am a little shocked at how well or campers decals are holding up.
We live in SoCal and our camper is out in the sun everyday, and we live very close to the ocean so it’s also very humid and salty air here. Yet our grasp is look ok, not a lot of fading and just a little cracking and checking.

[Russ Foster]

Agree...don't like it...

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Russ Foster

Agree...don't like it...

Don't like what?

[cathys]

Casita Greg, looks good! Did you use a decal remover?

[Eggcentric]

DON'T PEEL OFF THE GRAPHICS.
Here's why:
In 1998 we bought a new Frontier trailer it originally had been labelled as a Vanguard but the manufacturer pulled of the Vanguard decals and replaced them with Frontier labels so a Frontier dealer could put it in a trade show.
A year or so later, as the trailer was exposed to sunlight and weather, the old glue from the original decals was altering the aging process and the Vanguard logo started to emerge.
The company sent out a crew to try to buff out the fiberglass to hide the old decals.
They had to buff so deeply that it wrecked the finish on the fiberglass cap, we made Peak, the manufacturer buy back the unit for this and several other defects, they later put a new front cap on the trailer, but the decals on the sides were still in evidence.
SO, YOU CAN PEEL EM OFF, BUT THEY MAY RETURN AS ZOMBIES.

[lgboro]

I pulled mine off the day I picked it up and never regretted not having decals on mine.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by cathys

Casita Greg, looks good! Did you use a decal remover?

Actually, all I needed was a fingernail to pry up the edge and then peel them back. When they're brand new they come off very easily. The problem removing decals is as they age, the harder they are to remove. If you have some glue spots to remove from the gel coat, a little mineral spirits and some paper towels will usually remove any old glue residue.

As an aside for those thinking of getting a new trailer and are unsure if you really want decals on it when you pick it up, you can request that the factory not install them when they are building your trailer, (which I didn't do initially.) They will usually include them all rolled up and placed in the trailer, should you want to install them later, but if you don't like or want the decals, just ask to have them left off.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Eggcentric

DON'T PEEL OFF THE GRAPHICS.
Here's why:
In 1998 we bought a new Frontier trailer it originally had been labelled as a Vanguard but the manufacturer pulled of the Vanguard decals and replaced them with Frontier labels so a Frontier dealer could put it in a trade show.
A year or so later, as the trailer was exposed to sunlight and weather, the old glue from the original decals was altering the aging process and the Vanguard logo started to emerge.
The company sent out a crew to try to buff out the fiberglass to hide the old decals.
They had to buff so deeply that it wrecked the finish on the fiberglass cap, we made Peak, the manufacturer buy back the unit for this and several other defects, they later put a new front cap on the trailer, but the decals on the sides were still in evidence.
SO, YOU CAN PEEL EM OFF, BUT THEY MAY RETURN AS ZOMBIES.

That decal "ghosting" issue has been brought up several times in previous posts above. True, the longer they have been on, the more visible those areas on the gel coat will be. The places where the decals were removed will be visible when they are removed on older trailers, especially those which spent a lot of time in direct sunlight, but sometimes the decals are also beyond salvage and need to go away anyway, or at least be replaced after they curl on the edges and the sun ruins them.

[Herb Sutton]

When I destriped my Casita I used a heat gun (el cheapo from Harbor Freight) and an old credit card for a scraper. There was a bit or adhesive residue that I removed with some mineral spirit. Worked well.











de striping

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by cathys

Casita Greg, looks good! Did you use a decal remover?

I tried a heat gun at first but it weakened the vinyl and made it harder. More glue was left behind too. The next day I went to the hardware store to get a gallon of Acetone and a plastic putty knife. What I found was a small razor scraper with a half dozen two sided plastic "razors". It is a fantastic tool.

I washed down everything with the Acetone and did it again the next day with a damp T-shirt. I can see a ghost in a few places especially with polarized sunglasses but I an not worried about it mostly because of the Acetone.

[Casita Greg]

In a couple of years, the ghost images will also fade away.

[Doctor Harold]

Decals placed on new units are designed with two things in mind: to not be a turn-off to the most number of people, and the ego of the owner of the company that puts them on their trailers.

There will always be a minority that loves the decals, and a minority that hates them, but the huge majority will either be fine with them, or couldn't care at all.

I think the decals on my 13-foot Scamp lend a positive to the iconic design. Looking at other trailers my feeling is: "meh". I'm not fond of the Bigfoot guy, but if I owned one I wouldn't care enough to remove him. Phone numbers are another matter, and I would remove them in a heartbeat. I also never wear clothing that has logos and similar "advertising" on it, at least not in public. The last t-shirt I had that had a graphic was one with a Triumph Motorcycle logo on it, and that was in 1975.

I think small trailers look okay naked. It adds to the fiberglass egg thing. Larger trailers not so much. If I had a naked trailer I would want to personalize it. Maybe something Dr. Who'ish.

Bottom line: to each their own.

--Harold

[JonRaw]

Originally Posted by ThomasC

Here is my naked BigFoot.

Not going to put down someone else's choice of a naked Bigfoot, but I think will be leaving mine 'dressed'.

Originally Posted by Doctor Harold

If I had a naked trailer I would want to personalize it. Maybe something Dr. Who'ish.

Bottom line: to each their own.

--Harold

Is it bigger on the inside?

[Doctor Harold]

Originally Posted by JonRaw

............Is it bigger on the inside?

Infinitely!

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by JonRaw

Is it bigger on the inside?

Seems Bigger!