Repainted front caps

[Ontario Sam]

I had my Crusader nose cone was repainted last spring with new decals....all paid for by FR under warranty. So far it looks great. The shop that did the repainting also paints helicopters. The painter said it should last just like a car paint job as it has a good quality UV filter in the clearcoat which was missing in the original paint from the factory.

[SeventyGTX]

Originally Posted by Jcoope

We bought our 2015 Silverback 29 IK after the front cap had just been painted. The decals had been ordered and the dealer installed when they arrived. The first set were not OEM and were put on crooked. The second set looked ok when 1st installed. The new decals have been on less than 6 months, the trailer is kept under a shelter, and not used very often. The new decals are already cracking and look bad. The dealer has agreed to order and install another set. I am going to try 1 more time and if these are no good just give up. Saying this to let you know to question the quality/installation of the "new" decals and that you may be starting a thankless project. After this time if ours fail again, we are just going to work on liking it without decals!

Do you know if they were factory decals from Forest River? An ebay seller has ones like we need, but they are aftermarket and supposedly last 7-8 years.

[Jcoope]

Not sure, I assumed they were original equipment because the dealer ordered and replaced them. I believe there has to be a quality replacement that will last. Somehow we just haven't gotten one yet.

[Cidewayz]

Anybody know of a place in California, preferably in the Bay Area, to paint the cap? This wildcat isn't even 2 years old.

[PhoneDude 8289]

Camping naked the last few years (not me, the cap). Better than the cracking and pealing decals that were there, used a hair drier to remove them.


I use this on the cap twice a year. the cap still looks good.

[SeventyGTX]

Originally Posted by Cidewayz

Anybody know of a place in California, preferably in the Bay Area, to paint the cap? This wildcat isn't even 2 years old.Attachment 177196

Interesting, I have not seen the fading issue with the newer 2-tone caps on the Wildcats. I assumed they finally wised up and painted them, but it looks like they didnt. Ours is an early 2016 and has the typical fading solid gray nose.

As far as painting, give your local dealer a ring and see who they use. That's what I did and going to try and get it done in August by a place in Carson City.

[Themeads46]

I wiped my faded front cap with maquires protectant, similar to armoral, and the color came right back. It sats uv protection. Right now it looks like new, we’ll see how it holds up but I can wipe it down a lot for the price of a new paint job.

[Jcoope]

The end cap had been repainted when I bought it used about a year ago and a decal was put on at the dealership at that time. Attached is a picture of the 2dn decal (1st one already been replaced) by the dealer. Trailer is kept under a shelter 90% of the time. Can’t figure out what the problem is. Any help is appreciated.

[SeventyGTX]

Originally Posted by Themeads46

I wiped my faded front cap with maquires protectant, similar to armoral, and the color came right back. It sats uv protection. Right now it looks like new, we’ll see how it holds up but I can wipe it down a lot for the price of a new paint job.

I would have no problem doing that with ours........IF I could reach it. The cap on our fiver is severely rounded not to mention 12-13ft in the air and I'm short to boot. I would need a special scaffolding to even attempt it which ain't happening at my age.

So, since FR is blowing me off, I made an appointment to get it painted 2-tone and taking it in Aug 20. It'll be worth the $2k to have peace of mind that it will last years, not months.

[SeventyGTX]

Finally got the nose of our Wildcat painted and it turned out awesome! It was a good chunk of $$$ at $2600 to do it two-tone and install the decal, but now I now it will last years instead of months.

Ours is an early 2016, but had it painted like the late '16's and '17's except had them match the color of the lower siding instead of the tan color the factory does. I am super happy with the results except the minor detail they got the decal a bit crooked. But I'm pretty anal with stuff like. Speaking of the decal, it was a $50 item off ebay.

I attached pics of before and after. The 2nd pic is pulling it out of the paint shop. Ours was not really bad as it is under cover mostly, but it was still starting to fade only getting a couple of hours of morning sun. I was always afraid to leave it in the sun for any length of time, now it will last for years....

[SeventyGTX]

Here is a shot inside the shop that shows the gloss a bit better. Now we just need to get that credit card paid off...

[Cidewayz]

Originally Posted by SeventyGTX

Here is a shot inside the shop that shows the gloss a bit better. Now we just need to get that credit card paid off...

Looks pretty nice. I'm waiting to get mine back from the body shop (I just a had a blow out last month and so far $4600 in damage, thank god I have insurance) to get quoted to line-x it. Still haven't decided if I want the line-x or have it painted.

[dcummins56]

I have a 2016 Surveyor and the front cap started fading the day I bought it. I did not get it painted, I had it wrapped, far cheaper and it will last 10 years, so the company says that did it. $800 vs $2400. I'll post some pics. I did not reploace the decals, I like it a bunch.

[Cidewayz]

Originally Posted by dcummins56

I have a 2016 Surveyor and the front cap started fading the day I bought it. I did not get it painted, I had it wrapped, far cheaper and it will last 10 years, so the company says that did it. $800 vs $2400. I'll post some pics. I did not reploace the decals, I like it a bunch.

I think I'm going to forego the decals also. I already ripped the side ones off. Wrapping is another option I should check out but yours turned out pretty good too.

[SeventyGTX]

Originally Posted by dcummins56

I have a 2016 Surveyor and the front cap started fading the day I bought it. I did not get it painted, I had it wrapped, far cheaper and it will last 10 years, so the company says that did it. $800 vs $2400. I'll post some pics. I did not reploace the decals, I like it a bunch.

I live in a small town and there was nobody anywhere near me willing to wrap it. I had one guy that said he would that is 70 miles away........until I sent him a pic and then never heard back. The shape of that cap on mine is crazy and would take special scaffolding to be able to do it. It's impossible for me to even wax it completely the way it curves way back on top. A pull trailer would be much easier than a 5th wheel 13ft in the air, plus all the weird lines and mine has.