RV Beautification -> Removing The Ugly 3M Shield From The Front Of Our Holiday Rambler
In the process of getting our RV in tip-top shape for sale, we’ve been addressing some of the smaller cosmetic issues that have been “on our list” to repair, but we just never got around to (you know how that goes, right?).
The very top of this list has been the 3M protective shield on the front of our coach. It actually looked fine until around a year ago, when it started deteriorating, and then it looked pretty awful. Lots of little cracks and dark spots (they look like mold) all over the front of our RV. It’s purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect the underlying paint, but it’s just not appealing. It made for poor curb appeal, if you will.
It’s a common problem too.
Many coaches have these sheilds. They are typically made by either 3M or Diamond Shield and their purpose is to add an extra of extra protection on the front of your coach. They serve their purpose OK, but they all eventually deteriorate and once they start, you can’t really stop them. You’ll find long discussions about 3M & Diamond Shield on RV forums, mostly related to folks looking for how to remove them permanently (those who remove them, rarely if ever replace them). It’s a VERY common problem.
Want to See This in Video?? We compiled a ~15 min video of our entire day here. Check it out:
Removing Them Takes Time, And Patience
Our original thought was actually to remove the shield ourselves. So we started Googling around, and searching YouTube which landed us on a set of detailed DIY Youtube videos from a company called Ugly Shield Removal. The videos were exactly what we were looking for. They offered a slew of “how to’s” on shield removal detailing exactly what equipment to use and how to do it yourself. Plus they had individual tips for different types of film (3M versus Diamond Shield). We were well impressed.
After watching the videos and seeing what a time-consuming project this was likely to be however (especially for us, given that we’re in a time crunch with our move), we decided just to give the guys a call to find out what it would take to get the shield removal done by them in Fort Myers. We were planning to drive up and check out some consignment guys up there anyway, so perhaps it would be an easy thing to get done while we were in the area?
One phone call was all it took to convince us. Wayne answered all our questions without hesitation, confirmed we would be able to stay on-site with the pets, and assured us that he could complete the work in one day. Done!
NOTE/ I have NO affiliation with these guys and did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Those of you who’ve followed the blog over the years know that I only ever recommend service that has really impressed us (and simply don’t mention service that doesn’t). I think I’ve only ever recommended around 5 places in the 9 years we’ve been on the road. I’m happy to say, these guys definitely make the Wheelingit cut.
Our On-Site Experience
We arrived at Ugly Shield Removal the evening before our appointment. Wayne greeted us at the door, took us around the facility and set us up right outside the shop with a 50A cord (much appreciated due to the heat).
We got a good vibe about the business right away. It’s a family-run company (owner, his dad, and son) located just south of Fort Myers in a a spotlessly clean facility next to a pretty lake. They’ve got a very nice interior paw-friendly, full-service lounge, lots of outdoor greenery (another paw thumbs up), and they even offer an on-site dump & water too. The shop itself is at the end of a street inside a quiet industrial area, so it’s surprisingly quiet too.
We spent a very restful night outside the shop and woke up bright and early for our appointment the next day.
The Removal Process
The removal itself is a 2-step process. The first step involves scraping off the shield itself (removing the outer 3M film) while the second step involves scraping off & removing the left-over underlying adhesive.
Step 1 – Removing the Outer 3M Film
Wayne spent the first half of the day removing the outer layer of the shield. It’s a laborious process that involves warming up the film (in this case Wayne took advantage of the fact that we were parked facing the sun), then using a scraper to carefully scrape off the 3M little by little. The shield must be kept warm, and the scraper needs to be resharpened regularly with sand paper (Wayne uses 80 grit, followed by 320 grit) as you go. Plus of course care must be taken not to put any scrapes into the underlying paint. Wayne was meticulous and methodical, as you would expect from an expert.
Step 2 – Removing the Underlying Adhesive
For the second half of our removal process, Wayne took us into the service bay. He first gave us a complimentary wash with RO water (such an unexpected bonus) and then him and his son went to work on removing the underlying adhesive.
Once again this is a super laborious process done bit by bit that involves spraying some chemicals on the adhesive to loosen it up, and then carefully scraping off that adhesive to reveal the underlying surface. A final polish to remove the remains and it’s done. Once again, the plastic scraper must be kept in shape with sand paper along the way, and care must be taken not to damage the underlying clear-coat.
Could We Have Done This Ourselves?
All in all, having seen how it’s done I’d say that removing a 3M shield is a laborious, but fairly straightforward process. The steps themselves that are not all that complicated. It’s simply that it takes time and a bucket-load of patience. Wayne and Kevin worked all day on our coach, and they have the experience of having removed hundreds of these things before. So yes, we could have done it ourselves, but I am more than happy that we got the professionals to do it instead. It would have taken Paul and I at least a week of hard work to complete, plus I just don’t think we would have taken the same care or achieved the professional buffer-shine that Wayne did.
Oh and the price? Wayne charges $850 and up for shield removal, a total deal IMO!
What Did We Think?
WOW!!
The difference before and after was beyond our expectations. Before the removal I think it would be fair to say our coach had so-so curb appeal. I mean the front wasn’t terrible, but it was fairly obvious that it had deteriorated, especially when you looked up up close. The front is the first thing you see when you look at an RV, so I felt it was cheapening the rest of the coach.
After the removal however, our coach looked STUNNING!
Seriously, her front looked brand new and gleamed like the day she was born. The front finally matched the rest of the RV (which still looks great), and gave off that inviting curb appeal that we had been looking for. It made such a big difference that we kicked ourselves for not having done it before.
Ugly Shield Went Above And Beyond
This was such a great service visit! We were overjoyed, not only with our final result, but also with our overall experience at the shop itself. Wayne was welcoming, warm, professional and meticulous, all the qualities you look for in a professional who’s working on your coach. Plus he delivered everything he promised and more.
He promised to get our coach completed in a day and, despite the fact that it was a big job (our 3M shield wrapped around the sides of our coach as well as the front) he did. Wayne and his son toiled 12 hours (!!) on our coach from 9AM to 9PM, an incredibly long day of laborious bit-by-bit removal work. And yet they never skimped on details or quality.
Everything was completed with care, even down to the removal of the little bits of film around the inner edges of our generator bay, and underneath the bottom of the coach. Plus he went the extra mile to wash our coach, wax & buff the front, and polish up our dulled headlamps, three additional bonus services that were thrown in for free. The quality and results of the work were top-notch, and I would have no hesitation recommending this service to others. A solid Wheelingit 2 thumbs and 12 paws up!
What Now?
After our 3M shield removal we spent a second night on the Ugly Shield property in Fort Myers (with 50A hookup), and now we are back south in S.Florida for our final few weeks before we move to Europe. We’ve got some minor RV stuff to take care of (e.g. replacing some burnt-out bulbs, deep-cleaning the carpets, oiling the cabinets etc.). Then we need to move all our stuff out, sell the RV (hopefully) or put her in consignment and finally board our flight to France. It’ll be a CRAZY busy few weeks….
WOW! I definately will keep this in mind. We are having the 3M product applied to our Chinook Countryside Sprinter Van. Having this information for future use is a plus. So glad you made the trip and prepared this video.
All the best,
Lloyd
Glad you liked it! Sweet van, by the way (we looked at that model).
Nina
We just watched your video. Lewis was back on the bed, dozing and when he heard your voices he snapped awake, started barking his “I know you!” bark and raced to the front of Beluga waiting for you to come in the door!
Awwwwww! I SO wish we were nearby to greet that lovely boy. We miss you guys!
Nina
Would you consider putting the 3M shield back on? If you ever experienced love bugs here in the south you may reconsider.
Honestly I’ve always felt that a good wax (E.g. Rejex) did just as good a job against the bugs, but I know the problem. Paul’s dad uses a leather bra. I might consider that if I felt we needed an extra layer. I really (personally) wouldn’t want the 3M shield back on there.
Nina
In my opinion, a Bra ‘flaps’ and wears off the paint. I had one on a car and I won’t ever use one again on any of my vehicles.
Nina,
I forgot to ask. Was the shield installed in 2008? Also, I did not observe any paint chips which I assume speaks well for the shield.
Lloyd
It was original on the coach, so likely installed in 2007, when it was manufactured. And yes no real chips. The clear coat on these coaches is pretty tough, but the shield did its job.
Nina
That before & after picture of the front end was an eye opener! Looks good!
We used Ugly Shield, too, and they did a terrific job. I would not hesitate to recommend Wayne and his dad – hard workers and super nice.
Great to know your experience was as good as ours. Cheers for the comment :).
Nina
Nina, we are custom ordering a motorhome. If you had it to do again would you just skip having a diamond shield installed on a new motorhome? We can do that, but need to let them know.
Hmmmm…..that’s a good question. Our shield held up for a while, so I can’t say it was completely useless, but it was a real pain when it started deteriorating. If you’re planning to RV mostly out West or in dry climates, I’d say go ahead, but if you’re planning to RV in the East or other heavily humid areas, then I’d say give it a miss.
Nina
Wow, Wow!!! What an amazing difference! I can’t get over much the clear headlights help make it look new. Can’t say I blame you for having this done. Worth ever penny, well, dollar!
In reading posts over the years on various RV forums about Diamond/3M Shield it seems that those writing had their RVs mainly in humid states not in the dry West. They complained of mold under the Shield. We had a 2004 with Diamond Shield and it was in perfect condition when we sold it in 2016 – 12 years later. We did keep it free of bugs as soon as we pulled in after a day’s drive and we applied 303 to it regularly. We always thought that problems are created by the humidity. You mentioned yours first started looking moldy about a year ago. Do you have any thoughts on this? Having driven our motorhome often on gravel roads and the big trip to Alaska with absolutely to dings to the front from passing vehicles and following vehicles, we were glad we had the Diamond Shield.
Much happiness and have fun in your new home!!
It’s interesting you should bring this up, but yes I do think that increased humidity in the East played a factor in our shield deterioration. While we were out West it held up fairly well, but when we started traveling out East it really showed it’s age. W’ve seen way more coaches with bad shields out here. In fact we’re currently parked next to several RVs with pretty awful front ends.
Nina
Nina – thank you for sharing your detailed description of the shield removal for the benefit of the community. Simply awesome. So glad it worked out well, and we all are now aware of a great resource when our time comes.
Agree that Mary’s prompt bug removal & 303 help, and sun, heat and hunidity can degrade front shields fast. Except for a handful of dings from BIG rocks, our 2004 3M still looks new. However, it’s spent its whole life in the dry West and was parked inside when not in use.
Can’t believe your now even more beautiful coach isn’t sold yet! What’s up with that? I’m SOOO going to miss your detailed tech writeups and go-to campground evaluations 🙁
The work they did on your yellowed headlight lens is amazing too!
Totally! It was an unexpected bonus.
Nina
Our 2005 had the Diamond Shield that started to go bad within 3 yrs. Besides being based in the east (FL), we traveled often in areas in the west that gave us many small and some larger impacts on the front end. This apparently caused small access points in the shield that allowed the moisture to cause the mold. Over time it became pretty ugly by 2012 but I hung in there until 2014 when I removed the shield myself. It took me about 20 hrs labor time to get it off. It looked great, but I will never do that again!
Then in 2015 my Dutch Star went back to the factory to have defective fiberglass sidewalls removed and a new factory paint job. I had a new roof put on it while it was there and now the exterior is a 2015! During the repaint process I was told they would install the new Nano Fusion paint protection film. I told them I did not want it but the factory insisted it was a much better product than the stuff from 10 yrs prior. I relented, it was installed, and has been great so far. It also has a lifetime warranty. At the 3 year mark it looks as good as the day it was installed so I’m hopeful it will continue to perform well. So to the previous question of getting it on a new coach or replaced on a used coach, I would say yes if it is the product I got. I believe Diamond Shield offers it now.
Excellent detail. Cheers for your input Terry.
Nina
Nina,
I’m sitting here at my computer going over all your blogs/newsletters that I have saved to guide us through our Class B adventures that are about to begin this June. This especially because you will no longer be in the US for, most likely, several years. As I have said before and will gladly say it again, I find reading your newletters amazing. The amount of information, the attention to detail, the reference materials, the neverending amount of information is fantastic. You and Paul have eased our concerns and doubts and we can never thank you enough. I’m looking now to see if I have missed any. What was your first newsletter so I have a reference point?
This is one 79 year old fan who will miss you guys. Stay safe, stay healthy and please come back.
Awww…thanks so much for the wonderful compliment. I feel blessed that I’ve been able to reach and inspire so many folks, even if just in a small way. RVing in the US has been one of the happiest times of our lives, and I’ll always come back to the memories we’ve made here.
My first post was in April 2010…..we’ve come a looong way 🙂
https://www.wheelingit.us/2010/04/05/in-the-beginning/
Nina
I have just started reading your blog/travel reviews and I have a question. Do you use a travel planner such as the RV Wizard to plan your routes? Looking for a good way to plan trips.
We use plain old maps most of the time, combined with several online campground websites (for specific spots to stay). But we do also plan according to season and temps too. If you’re interested in the nitty gritty, you may want to read my detailed 3-part planning series starting here: https://www.wheelingit.us/2013/07/30/planning-rv-travels-part-i-4-general-rules-tips/
Nina
Thank you Nina, I will read it. I read an article on RVing and it talked about routing around low clearance bridges. I’m not sure where I can find information about that.
I got you there too. Here’s my detailed article about handling tolls and low clearances out East: https://www.wheelingit.us/2016/10/05/rv-driving-in-the-east-tolls-ez-pass-low-clearances/
Nina
Thank you so much!
Great blog and video and congrats on selling the Beast. I have a few questions and hope you can steer me in the right direction. We are in the process of selling our camper, what did you use for a bill of sale? and since we have our camper financed we won’t be able to provide a title until the camper is paid in full. I am assuming a promissory note would be fine? I am going to consult with our credit union just wanted your feed back. As always it’s a pleasure reading your blogs which you have poured your heart and sole in. I look forward to reading your blog from abroad. Be safe.
Barbara
We’re registered in Florida so we used the official FL bill of sale (form HSMV 82050). I don’t know what state you’re registered in, but perhaps they have a similar form?
As for the financing portion, I’m not sure how that works. Our RV was paid in full, so we just signed over the title. If you still owe on the camper, there’s prob a different process. Your local DMV or the credit union where you hold the loan should be able to let you know.
Nina