steveo doggy Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 After having some bodywork repairs to my Autotrail Cheiftain 2009 I am trying to find a replacement stripe for the teal colour what runs across the passenger doors and around the edge of the bonnet. Autotrail are not very helpful basically saying because of the age they don't have the colour codes because they are made up with their supplier. You would of thought they could just tell me the supplier and i would deal direct. 60k + motorhome at the time guess that doesn't guarantee customer service 10 years down the line. So would be grateful of any help what people of had trying to find replacement vinyl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Hi Steveo, if you contact a vehicle vinyl wrap speaclist then they'll be able to reproduce a decal which best fits your van. Most companies will be able to choose a colour matched vinyl from their various vinyl catalogues so it'll match nicely once finished. Good luck, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo doggy Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 Like hen's teeth down here I have approached 4 local ones and some say its silk screened some say its metallic just wouldn’t of thought its so difficult for a 27mm stripe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtonwisher Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Hi Steveo The good news is that there is a solution to this, however it takes some effort. I had exactly the same problem with my 2010 Autotrail Apache, where I had to have the bonnet resprayed and lost the teal decal in the process. I spent many, many hours speaking to various vinyl wrap companies and going through all the catalogs that exist, and the bottom line is that this particular metallic teal colour vinyl doesn't exist anymore. It used to be made by an Italian company for Autotrail, but they discontinued it a few years ago and there is none left anywhere in the world. However I did manage to find a solution which has left me with an absolutely perfect decal on my bonnet. Here is what I did.... Firstly I found the colour. The company I work for has a vehicle repair division that uses electronic spectrophotometers for colour matching. I borrowed one, and it told me that the colour is a perfect match with 'Vauxhall Caribic Blue'. Hycote sell this in spray cans and you can buy it from many places on the internet. I also purchased some Hycote grey plastic primer and clear laquer at the same time. I got all of them from Wigley DIY for about £15. Then I got hold of some plain white printable vinyl stripes from a local vinyl wrap company. They sold me 6 pre-laser-cut stripes at exactly the right size for £10. I got 6 in case I messed some up... but only ended up using 1. Then it was a case of first spraying the vinyl with a coat of grey primer, then 3 coats of colour, then 2 coats of laquer. All done in my garage. After 24 hours when it was fully cured I cleaned the bonnet and stuck it in place. The result is an absolutely perfect decal that matches the original and looks as good as new. It's now been on for a while and still looks as good as the day I stuck it on. So it took me some effort but the end result is definitively worth it, and the cost was only about £25. I hadn't spray painted anything before but I didn't find it difficult, it just took some patience. I suppose I could have sprayed directly on to the bonnet but I felt doing it with the vinyl would give a better result and also be easier. I've attached a photo, although I appreciate it's not easy to see the colour well in a small image, but the stripe across the bonnet is the new one, the parts under the headlights are the originals, so you can see the match. I hope that helps..... please let me know if I can be of any more assistance. All the best Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo doggy Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 Hi Kevin Spot on and thanks very much for your detailed description am now on my way to a mates bodyshop with sometape for him to spray he has a mixing setup so your info on the colour match will be perfect Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtonwisher Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 No problem, and good luck with it. For your info the full 'official' reference for the colour is: Vauxhall Caribic Blue 33L, 33U, 277 All the best Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo doggy Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 Hi Kevin Just want to say a big thankyou perfect result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtonwisher Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Happy to hear it worked, glad I could help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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