Diamond Shield Removal? 2014 Itasca Meridian 34B

[R2D2-3PO]

Hi,

Looking for Diamond Shield removal advice. I've read a few older thread methods. Just looking to see what current thoughts are for products, tools and success.

Thanks in advance!

 

[creativepart]

There are companies that do this for a hefty fee and dozens of YouTube videos showing how to do this on your own. I’ve watched a few of those videos and my take away is that is too much work to do myself. I would hire out such a labor intensive project. Watch some videos and decide for yourself. It looks like a horrible job to try to tackle.

 

[Henbo]

an expensive option to have and an expensive option to remove. Mine is going ugly now on its 13th yr. Guess it had its positives. How does that moldy look get into it?

 

[erstanfo]

Get a clothing steamer. It will soften the film and glue and allow you to remove it
. Then solvents to remove the residue

 

[Waterbug]

Get a clothing steamer. It will soften the film and glue and allow you to remove it
. Then solvents to remove the residue

I noticed that those steamers appear to come in basically two versions, 700 or 1,800 watts. Do you know which works best for removing Diamond Shield? I don't want to damage paint.

 

[JoeCastor]

Hi,

Looking for Diamond Shield removal advice. I've read a few older thread methods. Just looking to see what current thoughts are for products, tools and success.

Thanks in advance!

I removed the diamond shield from an older Meridian with this method: Using a heat gun (or direct HOT sunlight) and plastic razor blades (available on Amazon), I started at a corner and went in long narrow strokes to begin peeling it off. It took about 25 hours and required a helper to work the heat gun. After the film was off, I used Goo-Gone to remove the residue, another couple of hours. Not easy, but inexpensive to do myself. Hope this helps.

 

[R2D2-3PO]

Hi all, thanks for the replies! I think I will try removing the film myself first. Worst case, I can get a detailer to take over. The steamer method seems interesting and potentially less damaging. I'm not sure the days are hot enough now to rely on just the sun for enough heat to soften the film. Also not sure if I can man a heat gun and strip the film at the same time.

Henbo, that moldy look is what drew my attention to this issue in the first place. I don't know how it gets behind the film, but I've read that it is removed with the film and will not affect the paint.

Thanks for the great advice so far!!

 

[Henbo]

yup. Thinkin the same thing I’ll try it same as you….maybe….
Lotta utube videos about it. Good luck. Post your results.

 

[R2D2-3PO]

I definitely will post results. I'm waiting for the weather to warm up some as I decided against the heat gun option. I'm gathering supplies now and will be ready when we have a warm sunny day.

 

[Waterbug]

I started removing the Diamond Shield from my 2012 Itasca Suncruiser 37F. It is about 50% completed, but I ran out of 90+ degree weather. On the photo, upper left is utouched, lower left is Diamond Shield removed but still has glue residue, right side is finished results. "Rapid Remover" works great for removing adhesive.

 

[R2D2-3PO]

Nice! I'm not familiar with "Rapid Remover" but will look into it. I figured to use Goo Gone Adhesive Remover.

 

[HiBanky]

I removed the shield from my 2005 Journey a couple of years back, and it was an arduous task to say the least. Aside from a few rock chips, the results were beautiful. I use the warm sun, plastic razor blades, and mineral spirits method, but I'm sure there are better ways. To preserve this renewed look, I took it to a shop in Grand Junction Colorado called NCAuto and had new protection installed with the lifetime guarantee. The front of my coach still looks brand new.

 

[R2D2-3PO]

Looks great! That's what I'm hoping for!

 

[R2D2-3PO]

We had a couple nice 75+ days and I had some time so I decided it was time to get
started. The area pictured is about three square feet. It took about 3-1/2 hours to
complete (although I still need to wash and wax it). Of all the videos I watched,
everyone removed all the plastic first, and then went back to remove the glue.
I'm more of a clean as I go type, which is probably good because I don't know
when I will have the time and good weather at the same time for awhile.

To start, I decided on Goo Gone Adhesive Remover and plastic razor blades and scraper.
The Goo Gone worked well to remove the majority, but left a sticky surface that it would
not get off. I went to a hardware store to pick up some mineral spirits, and a store
associate reccomended De-Solv-it Contractors Solvent (very similar to Goo Gone).
I sprayed it on and left it for a few minutes. It wiped off perfectly with no residue.

So for now, my recommendation is warm/hot direct sunlight (I don't want to go the
heat gun route). Goo Gone for the heavy lifting and finish with De-Solv-it. It definitley
requires heat and a lot of lubrication for the razor blades to work best. I found that
a plastic retractable razor scraper doesn't hold up. With so much pressure on it, the
mechanism would not stay open after awhile, so I bought a fixed blade scraper for
the next attempt.

BTW, you can see a spot on the before pic where paint was already missing. In the
after pic, you can see that there was no further paint removed as a result of the
process. It seems to be a paint friendly and safe process.

I'll follow up when I have more progress.

 

[wahoonc]

Unfortunately this is on my short list for my 2014 Meridian. I am going to try the steamer, I have one with a fairly small nozzle, it was not for clothes. I bought it 25+ years ago to clean the interior walls on an Airstream.

Aaron

 

[R2D2-3PO]

Aaron, let us know how that works. It seems to me that I saw a video of a guy using his wifes steam iron. I'm not sure if that was a serious attempt or not. Sounds like your setup will be more efficient.

Thanks for the reply!

BTW, from your avatar, it looks like we have the same paint scheme.

 

[wahoonc]

Aaron, let us know how that works. It seems to me that I saw a video of a guy using his wifes steam iron. I'm not sure if that was a serious attempt or not. Sounds like your setup will be more efficient.

Thanks for the reply!

BTW, from your avatar, it looks like we have the same paint scheme.

The steamer I have is a Singer Lazer from around 2001.

Our rig is the Sandalwood paint, Wescott interior with Honey Glazed Cherry cabinetry. I would much rather have the Claret paint scheme, but when you buy used...

Aaron

 

[R2D2-3PO]

Finally finished the removal! Now that I'm done I can say that it wasn't as bad as I thought, but my back would disagree! I'd work on it anywhere from one to three hours at a time, as I had time and the weather allowed. It was a total of ten days from Feb. to now. I put in 22-1/2 work hours, removed approximately forty square feet of film and spent $75 on materials. No damage to paint or graphics whatsoever. Now I need to get new headlight bezels and repaint the silver panel below the windshield and it will look as good as new!

 

[HiBanky]

So, you got it all done. I know It's a lot of work but worth the effort. Now that you have it all looking good again, I still recommend going to a shop that does vehicle wraps and get a quality clear bra put on to protect your ward work.

 

[R2D2-3PO]

Thanks for your thoughts, and I get that! But I really don't want to have go through the removal process again. I don't mind the work, but it just took way too long. If I find that I need to have front end protection, I think I'll have a vinyl bra installed.

That said, it was definitely worth the effort to remove the film myself. If you have the time, there is little cost involved, and the satisfaction of DIY.

Best of luck to those that want to go for it themselves! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!