Second week done, and we're out of here!

We spent a quiet weekend mostly killing time, did some laundry, took several walks, there's a nice trail about 5 miles away, wide, paved, and best of all, shaded.  So in anticipation we looked forward to Monday.

Lester came and got the coach first thing Monday morning, and they got right to work with sanding, prepping, and priming the front where the paint had pulled off.

Getting sanded

Masked off, filled, and primed

Our dappled front:)

That took most of Monday, so back to our spot we went.  Tuesday we moved back inside and that was paint matching day.  A little frustrating if you're waiting around though.  Even though the shop has the color formulas, there are reasons it won't match right up.  Age and wear and tear combined with sunlight is one, but the other is how the motorhome was originally painted.  If you look carefully at the picture above you can see a narrow line of green going across the top of the generator door.  That is the color the entire motorhome was painted first, yes the entire coach was painted green first, then each color after is masked off and painted on, so even if you have the whitish color formula, you have to take into account there is green under it, and because it is a "pearl" type paint, it is even more challenging.  So suffice to say, it was a long day for us, while they mixed some paint, sprayed it on a control panel, shot it with clear coat then waited for it to dry to see if it matched perfectly with our paint.  This is one of the reasons this shop is so good and has the reputation they do.  So as we were being moved back to our "campsite" we were told they thought they would be able to get us into paint the next day.  Hurray!

So on Wednesday, paint day, Jan and I took off to explore and kill time.  We headed over to Clearwater, and made our way north to see if we could find Jan's parents, Viv and Vern's old house in Palm Harbor.  We did and it showed once again you should NEVER go back!  We had a good lunch in Clearwater Beach at Crabby Bill's.  After staying away most of the day, we came back and found.......the front all painted and looking good!

All painted!

So Thursday was buffing, polishing, and getting ready for the film going on the front.  After an hour or so, Jose and his partner started in on the film.  The film we had put on is LLumar Paint Protection Film, a very high end 6 mil film that almost disappears on the coach and also adds a shiny sheen where it is applied.  It is quite a process.  It is taken off a roll and applied wet, they spray the back of the film and the motorhome itself.

Measuring the film

The coach all wet down

Wetting the film

Getting ready to put it on

Then they together put it in place and then very carefully spread it out, working the air bubbles out and getting to exactly where they want it.

Getting it aligned

Lots of bubbles at first!

Jose working it
You can see where the bubbles are gone in front of him
Very shiny!

Then after carefully pulling and working with cloth covered scrapers or squeegees, they trim it to fit perfectly with razor blades.  There are about 6 separate pieces, as the front of the motorhome was constructed in several panels, including the generator door with 3 separate panels, each headlight bezel, etc.  So Thursday they completed about half the front and the rest was completed on Friday.  We are very pleased with the result!

Nice!

Looking good!

So it was too late on Friday for us to leave, so we spent our last night at Camp Creative Coach, and after saying goodbye to Lester, Keith, and everyone, we escaped Florida and are now in Elko, GA tonight, and will be on our way to Atlanta tomorrow!