Clear Coat Repaint

Opus is going to be a teenager this May, turning 13 years old. While we have been diligent with annual maintenance there are some things that just wear out over time. Last fall we installed new suspension air bags at Spartan and I removed the Diamond Shield from the front. We have replaced both TVs and the microwave convection oven. One problem that has been getting worse is the peeling clear coat on the roof and end caps. I contacted a friend who had this job done at CJ's RV Repair Specialists in Yuma and was happy with the job. We made an appointment for January 2 to have the work done. As it seems with all the RV service we have done, many things don't go as planned. 

If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see were it was pealing above the running lights. It was worse on top and was starting to spread to the sides of the roof.

After a day where they did nothing because they had misplaced our information, they started by removing the tape between the front cap and roof. They found a couple loose screws and added a strip, that Newmar had not installed, before they sanded.

After doing the same to the back they sanded all the areas that they would repaint before doing the new clear coat.

Once they got started there were three men working on it sanding and taping to get ready to paint. See the ladder in the front, that is where the first problem arose when they put a scratch on the front. Obviously I was not happy but it turned out they were able to rub out the scratch. 

After a day with three men working on it, it was ready to paint the next day. I was happy that the winds were calm and it was dry, as all the work was done outside. I was surprised that they did the paint and clear coat in one day, but by late in the day after drying for three hours it was all done, almost. While checking things out I found ANOTHER nick on the front that went down to the primer.

The finished job looked good but it was late in the day so we would need to return to have them take care of the nick. First plan was to take Opus back for a day while we were still in Yuma, a pain in the butt move.  

We opted for plan two, stop on our way from San Diego to Tucson for one night. That way we could industrial camp for the night and they could work on it early the next morning and we could be on the road to Tucson by 11AM. 

The finished top looked very good, BUT, when I went up on the roof to take this picture I noticed the antenna (far right) was gone. When I called CJ's to confirm our return visit and tell them about the antenna, I was happy to be told it was on the owner's desk as they had forgotten to reattach it.

So here is Opus back at CJ's with one man on the roof attaching the antenna while another touched up the nick and a couple others we have picked up over the years. 

While I know it is there and I can see it, at least it now matches the rest of the paint. Overall I was happy with the results of the job we had gone there to get done. That said, how can anyone be happy when your rig is damaged while it is being worked on (even if they fix it) and as so often happens with RV repairs a second visit was needed, something that happens way to often.

We are now at Tra-Tal RV Park in Tucson until the middle of March when we will be moving 25 miles to the Escapade for 10 days of working and getting caught up with many friends.