Advice on refinishing/painting a 1993 Winnebago Brave fiberglass exterior

[yerbluez]

Hi all, looking for thoughts or advice on how to refinish the exterior of a 1993 Brave 27' RV. I am looking at purchasing this from a local guy tomorrow, he's the second owner. He is asking $6,000, the truck has 90k miles on it and one of the main perks is that he has renovated the entire interior, replaced the roof, and all the plumbing.

The main drawback is the exterior. The original owner apparently put hundreds of stickers/decals and what not. The current owner removed them and now it looks like a mess. Since it is fiberglass, I'm guessing the best way to do this is sanding the entire exterior and then priming and painting?

Here are pictures in the google photos link -curious to see what other folks think of it and whether it's a good buy. Thanks!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wHwawudTrfWpHwf66

[Eagle5]

Greetings YerBlueZ,
I must admit the interior does indeed look good. If the tires and batteries are relatively new, that would be very good too. All the systems should be checked-out, as you are dealing with a vehicle which by all rights is now an antique. Here is what that motorhome looked like thirty years ago.
As far as repainting the exterior, that could be very expensive. How about doing an RV wrap instead? I would get a bid for that, as well as a full paint job, and then you can decide if $6,000 is a relatively good deal or not.
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

[Eagle5]

... one more thing ...
It looks like it has a microwave and a toaster oven, but no range; is that right? That seems sort of odd to me. I do like to have a range to cook upon.
Eagle5

[bigb]

2 things, if you decide to sand it first you have to be sure you have removed all the adhesive residue and any wax or you will end up sanding these contaminants into the surface and ruin your paint job. Second, if you ever go to Rocky Point, Mexico there are some guys who do good work for cheap on motorhome paint. They come right to the RV park and do it.

I've successfully re-painted my upper roof radius' with automotive grade base coat/clear coat and it came out great but was a lot of work. You could do a section at a time.

[MadMaxWinny]

Those old graphics are the biggest challenge. Get a rubber "wheel" for your drill and go to town. After removing EVERY trace of organic residue (as Brian said), I sanded w/400 grit, wet washed, solvent washed, tack-clothed, and primed/painted with Pettit EZpoxy marine paint (which I have decades of experience with). I rolled it on and tipped it with a nearly dry high quality brush. Lightly sand and rinse and repeat two more times. It's not a spray-quality job, but I get a lot of compliments. You can also spray this stuff, but you need a respirator. I never bother, because you're going to get bugs and air born crap, no matter what you do. It took me three weeks of 5-6 hour days, but I'm happy with the outcome. I spent less than $600 for everything.

[Bo Walker]

This motor home looks exactly like the one I owned many moons ago.

I used a heat gun on the decals to peal them off of my present motor home.

[BobC]

I'm not sure it's a good buy if you're that interested in the outside appearance. Without spending a ton of money, it's never going to look great. You're easily going to be into it for $12K or more and it's always going to be a 1993.

On the other hand, if you'd be satisfied with removing the decals and stickers with a heat gun like Bo Walker did and buff it out as best you can, then it might be a decent deal, but only if the major systems, chassis, drive train, A/C, heat, refrigerator, etc., and especially the slide are in good working order. A malfunctioning slide can easily cost thousands to repair and that assumes parts are available. It may work now but how about a year from now?

My Suncruiser is a 2002. I bought it in 2017, mainly because it had a wheelchair lift. If that wasn't an issue and, I was buying today, I'd look for something a bit newer and wouldn't even consider buying a 1993.

There are people who enjoy restoring old RVs just like there are those who restore old cars. For the most part, they don't do it to save money but because they enjoy it.

[Bo Walker]

BogC, I don't think the 1993 Winnebago Brave has any slides.

With the interior already renovated, the exterior could be an interesting project as long as one has the time and perseverance. No slides is a desired feature for some.
Personally, I would pass on purchasing it.

[BobC]

You're correct about the slides. I'd Googled 1993 Brave floor plans and saw slides but didn't double check the year.

However, it doesn't change my assessment and I'm with you, I'd pass as well.

[SANDPSYCHO]

Elbow grease. Remove sticker adhesive, clay par, polish wax, etc. There are a ton of products and ways to do it. It is labor intensive but the results can be a mirror finish. A section here and there are a good way for a non pro DIYer.