SOB Paint

danemayer

Well-known member
This morning I saw this paint scheme on a brand new SOB coach. Starting to see coaches where the paint is somehow also applied to the windows.

Can LM 365 be far behind?

Of course the pictured coach probably cost enough to buy 15-20 LM365s.

Prevost Paint.jpg
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
This morning I saw this paint scheme on a brand new SOB coach. Starting to see coaches where the paint is somehow also applied to the windows.

Can LM 365 be far behind?

Of course the pictured coach probably cost enough to buy 15-20 LM365s.

I'll bet the paint alone can almost buy a Landmark :)

I think they paint perforated vinyl and and then apply the vinyl to the windows (my guess). DRV at some point (or maybe still) applied a paint scheme over some windows that was see-through. Pretty sure it was some sort of vinyl.
 

LBR

Well-known member
I would guess it is simply a wrap.....racing team cars, support vehicles are wrapped nowadays. When they have a major sponsor change in off season, a wrap with new colors, schemes, sponsor names, etc is tossed onto their rolling stock easily and quickly.

This one could easily be paint also.
 
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cookie

Administrator
Staff member
I've seen the same. Its either a matched color perforated vinyl wrap material or a painted perforated vinyl.
That's my guess anyway.

Peace
Dave
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Dan, below is a pic of perfed vinyl over the window of a DRV we saw at the Dallas show earlier this year.

I agree your pic looks more like a wrap than a paint job with all the blends/shading going on there.

I have the ability to design and print perfed adhesive vinyl for outdoor window application.

I had posted a while back asking if anyone would consider the perfed vinyl for their coach, and the majority said "no" due to cost, decreased light in the coach, and durability/removability.


cd9ce3a4967e8568467d6d4575052b65.jpg



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BigGuy82

Well-known member
Luxe is also doing this already. I LIKE IT

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It's called "bus wrap". It is perforated stretch vinyl that is adhesive backed. It is removable. Ever see a bus where the ads are over the windows? Hence the name bus wrap. When applied, the passengers can see out but outsiders can't see in during daylight. At night, people can see in if the interior is lit.

The print is done by an ultra-wide ink jet printer, just like the one on your desk only huge. The inks are a special formulation.

I don't know how it holds up to long term UV, but I am pretty sure the fade rate is different than paint.



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BusManRG

Well-known member
Hubby works for a charter bus company. They have a few buses that are wrapped for some of that corporations they do work for. He said the fading isn't usually a problem but they do get pretty beat up out on the road. My first thought when I saw the coach was it it was a wrap also
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
I love the look of the perf vinyl on the windows but I'd fear the repair cost if a window got scraped by a tree or a sign (don't ask) and how long the scheme would be stocked at the OEM. But again, I think it looks great.
 

BigGuy82

Well-known member
I love the look of the perf vinyl on the windows but I'd fear the repair cost if a window got scraped by a tree or a sign (don't ask) and how long the scheme would be stocked at the OEM. But again, I think it looks great.

Shouldn't be too big of an issue. The stuff peels off (a little heat may help) and it is applied over the existing tinted factory windows, meaning that the worse that could happen if it became "ugly" and couldn't be replaced is that you would peel it off. You'd then have a coach that looks like it did before they applied the optional vinyl. However, I'm guessing that the original investment is at least a couple grand and that would be lost if you couldn't purchase replacement panels and decided to remove all of it.

I kind of list this as "nice to have" but really, who cares? I'd personally rather spend my bucks on upgraded brakes or suspension.
 

DirtyMax88

Well-known member
Shouldn't be too big of an issue. The stuff peels off (a little heat may help) and it is applied over the existing tinted factory windows, meaning that the worse that could happen if it became "ugly" and couldn't be replaced is that you would peel it off. You'd then have a coach that looks like it did before they applied the optional vinyl. However, I'm guessing that the original investment is at least a couple grand and that would be lost if you couldn't purchase replacement panels and decided to remove all of it.

I kind of list this as "nice to have" but really, who cares? I'd personally rather spend my bucks on upgraded brakes or suspension.


You are correct, it's a $2,300 option, according to an Augusta RV - Luxe build sheet. They call them window silks....
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
You are correct, it's a $2,300 option, according to an Augusta RV - Luxe build sheet. They call them window silks....

The material itself is not that expensive, but installation has got to be a bear.

I have also read where it's hard to keep the perf holes clean/clear.

If someone is interested in experimenting, PM me.


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IronJ

Well-known member
Perf vinyl...we use it all over our windows and also on my business demo bus....super neat stuff!!
8e9466fada4f2ebadce0604d5465fc07.jpg


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sengli

Well-known member
I have been in a couple of those LUX wrapped fivers at shows here in indiana. They were very dark inside due to the windows being wrapped like that. Kinda looks neat from the outside, but honestly it was too much. You could hardly see anything inside on a sunny day. Plus I am sure it was expensive.
 

IronJ

Well-known member
Wonder what the diff is then?..we have ours professionally printed specifically for the perf vinyl...we get constant comments about how nearly un noticeable they are from the back...ill snap some pics of our entry door....hardly blocks the incoming light at all..

I was actually hoping on the bus that the vinyl would function as tint and give us shade....it did pretty much nothing and I had to have the windows limo tinted anyway....

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BigGuy82

Well-known member
I have been in a couple of those LUX wrapped fivers at shows here in indiana. They were very dark inside due to the windows being wrapped like that. Kinda looks neat from the outside, but honestly it was too much. You could hardly see anything inside on a sunny day. Plus I am sure it was expensive.

There are different manufacturers and varieties of this stuff. Light transmission depends on the percentage of perfed area vs solid area, the way it was printed (screened or inkjet), the opacity of the inks used, etc., etc. Talk to vendors who do this stuff and they can walk you through it. My main coincerns would be durability and UV resistance.
 

Oldelevatorman

Well-known member
I knew I had seen it before. My son in law has it on his truck. They put a clear laminate over it to help protect it but he took that off because it was more difficult to see thru. He has a sign business and it’s on the rear side windows of his truck.


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