87 Chieftian Side Decal replacement.

[kyguy]

New owner of a Low Mile 87 Chieftian. The Ole Girls fiberglass covering is cleaning up nicely. Decals leave something to be desired. Looking for a source for replacement side stripe decals. Or talk with some one who has Painted Them.

 

[NWIP]

I doubt you can find replacement decals, however you good get a company that does vehicle wraps to reproduce if you have a good picture of the graphics. I don’t know the cost or if in your budget, just a suggestion.

 

[kyguy]

Thanks a million. My daddy taught me to talk to people smarter than me before I did anything. I finally figured out why. Again Thanks. Great idea.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Welcome to RVF, @kyguy; glad to have you here. Lost of people on this forum with extensive experience and willing to share it. Good luck on your restoration; I love it when folks bring vintage things back to life.

TJ

 

[Jim]

Or talk with some one who has Painted Them.

I don't have "extensive experience" but I have painted the decals on a 2004 Wind Sport that I used to own. It was my first RV and the decals were in poor shape. No luck finding replacements and the decal shop in town wasn't interested in the project. What I did was to remove the loose edges around the decaying decals, and then mask around them with some of that blue painters tape.

I took a few of the larger chips to the paint store in town and had them match the color as best as possible. Then, using a "good" brush, I painted over the top of the remaining decal It came out great!

I'm on the road right now but when I get home I'll post a couple of before/after shots. The general consensuses was nothing I did was going to make the problem any worse, so why not give it a try. As I said, it really came out well, all things considered. And the cost was very minimal compared to having decals made and installed.

EDIT: When removing the loose edges around the decal, I used a flat razor scraper, the kind you use to remove excess paint on a window after painting the trim. And then I used some 400 wet/dry sandpaper to rough up the decal and make a good surface to paint over.

Found a couple of pictures from another forum.

 

[kyguy]

Jim Thanks much. That's great encouragement. If you get a chance and have the info: Could you share the info on the type of paint and brush used. Any key techniques You used. I needed to to update a kitchen one time. Neighbor who was a painter told me Brand and Type of Primer, Plus the right tool ($39 Wagner airless sprayer), couple tricks to spraying. Worked, $10,000 kitchen cabinet update for $150. You said you used a good Brush, my neighbor said to use a "Purdy brand " brush where I could not spray. With that paint the Purdy was 10 times better than my other brushes. Again Thanks. Good advice is priceless.