End cap fading badly

Pappydude · 04-24-2013, 03:32 PM

The end cap - I guess that's what it's called (on the front end of the trailer) - on my SAB318 is fading badly - and it's only a year old. It's starting to turn white......any ideas what to do about it and why? I waxed the entire trailer last fall just before outdoor, uncovered storage and made certain to get all the wax off. I used a quality brand boat wax - recommended by my Cougar rep.
Pappydude (karl)

davidjsimons · 04-24-2013, 03:45 PM

My opinion, your best option is to have it painted. Nothing will restore a fading gel coat permanently.

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chain_dogg · 04-24-2013, 03:59 PM

http://forum.toyhaulnhooligans.com/s...ht=Front+clean

Here ya go !! The fix

Read down to post 10. I saw this trailer....looks brand new

**JRTJH** · 04-24-2013, 04:30 PM

pappydude,

Do a forum search on faded paint, faded end cap, etc. There were a number of members with this issue, seems to me that Keystone was repainting some of them. Which ones, how old, warranty or recall ??? No idea, but a number of people were getting them repainted on the Keystone dime.

Good luck

Lack of HP · 04-24-2013, 04:34 PM

Mine is also fading bad, finally after several calls (nice) and one not so nice keystone agreed to take mine down to the fiberglass and repaint and seal it.

I will stick with white from now on, I have seen alot of gray fade. Good luck.

cathcartww · 04-24-2013, 05:41 PM

After reading all the problems with the colored gelcoat front caps, I am sort of glad I got one of the last Outbacks with a white cap!

Coming from a background in fiberglass boats, colored gelcoat has always been tougher to keep looking good than white - you will notice most salt water boats are some shade of off white.

Typically, you can stay ahead of the oxidation for a while with frequent applications of a good UV resistant wax or polish. Light oxidation can be polished out with fiberglass polishing compound, but eventually the gelcoat becomes porous, and wax and polish won't do the trick. When that happens, the prefered solution is to apply a polyurethane paint (Awlgrip, etc.) and clear coat. If that is too costly an option, application of a acrylic finish (Polyglo, Red Max Pro) can do a nice job, but you will still have to keep on the horizonal surfaces that catch the direct sun.

If your unit is only a year old, I would pursue the problem with your dealer and Keystone as this seems to be a know problem. If you get no satisfaction that way, your options are to try to polish it out, pay to have it repainted, or apply an acrylic finish.

For now, I am applying NuFinish like crazy, keeping it covered, and hoping for the best ..

Pappydude · 04-25-2013, 07:41 AM

Thanks for the informaton. I'll be calling my dealer today. I've had the trailer since March 15, 2012.......this shouldn't be happening - we've had a pretty mild winter in Oregon........

Bob Landry · 06-19-2013, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lack of HP

Mine is also fading bad, finally after several calls (nice) and one not so nice keystone agreed to take mine down to the fiberglass and repaint and seal it.

I will stick with white from now on, I have seen alot of gray fade. Good luck.

White would be my color of choice also. I've also read some threads about the dark colored encamps absorbing heat and making the bedroom area hard to cool.

Pappydude · 06-25-2013, 09:03 AM

My Cougar was returned on June 21 - but it's not done. The body shop did an excellent job at returning the end cap to the original color and it appeared to buff out nicely (as observed by the buffing swirls). However, the service shop ordered the wrong decals......what they call "fangs" were the wrong ones. I've been told a week to a month - basically "unknown"...... before the new ones arrive. I'm trying to convince them to send the guy to my house to put them on...less than 10 miles one way and it will take him less than 30 minutes for both. Takes me longer than that to load/drive the rig to the dealer. Probably a while you wait - but I'm hoping to be able to do that in my driveway! Could be interesting and a pain in the arse! But it's done otherwise - and looks great. (so far)

jje1960 · 06-25-2013, 01:04 PM

Unfortunately, our SRX is suffering from the same. I'm going to call the Dealer however have no idea what I'm going to hear considering this is our 3rd year of ownership.

jerrykrenning · 08-12-2013, 06:33 AM

Purchased a 2013 Outback 6 weeks ago and it is fading ....call the keystone rep, talked to the dealer, and called Keystone customer service. It has to do with the brown gel coat. The white below it is coming to the surface according to Keystone. The fix is take it to the dealer and have it repainted. They are saying that once it is painted again this problem will not reoccur

Albert T · 09-04-2013, 09:11 AM

Purchased a 2012 Cougar High Country 246rls in May of this year (brand new). After 3 months the brown front cap is fading. Splotchy looking dark and light colored areas. Will be contacting my dealer as well regarding repainting.

jje1960 · 10-14-2013, 08:40 AM

Realize this is an old post... However thanks to Max posting the link to the 3M Marine product, our cap looks like new again. Used a very cheap RYOBI 10" orbital and the 3M. Hardest part of the job is reaching everywhere, didn't feel like climbing up on the roof today.

rjsurfer · 08-13-2013, 02:24 AM

Kinda makes you wonder about Keystone, first their decals keep fading and coming off now they can't even paint these front caps correctly

Ron W.

rosede · 08-13-2013, 07:20 AM

My camper is just shy of 1 year. I got it at the end of August last year and I just noticed my front cap is starting to fade. I logged on to post a question about another issue that I'm having, seen this post and couldn't resist complaining myself.

I just called my dealer and talked to them about it. He asked for pictures. I'll get them tonight and get them sent to him. Hopefully they'll get it fixed for me. I'm not to happy that the paint is already fading.

Daryl

pramey9876 · 07-27-2018, 05:41 PM

I have a badly faded front cap, went thru Keystone and got the standard "not our problem" answers, filed a small claims court action, they settled with me for the cost of having a local paint company repaint the cap. I covered to decals which is a small cost compared to the paint. My opinion, don't let them blow you off without fixing a well known problem.

jaspears75 · 07-31-2018, 04:33 PM

What year is your camper? Asking because we have a 2014 Premier Ultra Lite in which the cap is so bad its embarrassing to take out. Any ideas how to fix?

busterbrown · 07-31-2018, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaspears75

What year is your camper? Asking because we have a 2014 Premier Ultra Lite in which the cap is so bad its embarrassing to take out. Any ideas how to fix?

An automotive grade paint job is your best bet. Not much remedy with OTC products and most are just a very short term bandaid.

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