Paint and Body
Custom Paint and Graphics
In short: Reproducing a discontinued factory graphics package usually means recreating it from photographs and surviving fragments rather than ordering it, because the manufacturer stopped printing that decal set a decade ago.
- Typical range
- $1,500 to $25,000+
- Labor hours
- 10 to 180 hours
- Updated
Custom paint and graphics divides into two jobs that look similar and are not: reproducing something that existed and creating something that did not.
Reproduction is the larger half of the work here, because every coach more than about ten years old has a graphics package the manufacturer stopped printing years ago, and any body repair that crosses a graphic means recreating it.
Reproducing discontinued factory graphics
The situation is always the same. A fifth wheel takes damage across a sweeping multi-colour stripe that runs the length of the sidewall. The panel is repairable. The decal set is not available and has not been for eight years.
What we do:
Document what survives. High-resolution photography with scale references, plus direct measurement of stripe widths, entry and exit points, and radii at every curve. If the damage is on one side, the opposite side is usually intact and mirrors.
Reconstruct the artwork. Redrawn to scale as vector art. Where too little survives, brochure scans and owner forum photography for that model year fill the gaps. The RV owner community documents these vehicles obsessively, which is genuinely useful.
Colour match to the aged original. Not to what the decal was when new. The surviving graphics on your coach have faded, and new material matched to the original spec will be visibly brighter than the run it joins.
Reproduce in the original medium or better. Vinyl cut and applied, or laid down in paint if the original was painted or if you want it to outlast the vinyl.
Custom design work
The other half is original work: colour changes, full custom schemes, airbrush, fades, metallics and pearls, and one-off designs on conversions and show vehicles.
The thing worth understanding about cost here is that complexity compounds rather than adds. Each additional colour is its own masking cycle, its own spray, its own cure and its own inspection, and every colour has to key correctly against every colour already on the vehicle. A four colour design is not twice a two colour design. It is considerably more.
Fades and airbrush work add hours that cannot be compressed, because they are done by hand and they are done once.
Paint or vinyl
| Painted | Vinyl | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifespan | As long as the paint | 5 to 7 years in California sun |
| Edges | No edge, cannot lift | Can lift and peel over time |
| Repairable | Cut and polish | Replace the panel run |
| Changeable | Requires repaint | Peel and replace |
| Relative cost | High | Moderate |
Factory coach graphics are almost always vinyl. High-end custom and show work is usually paint. Fleet work is nearly always vinyl for the reason that it needs to change when the branding does, which is covered under fleet graphics and vinyl wrap.
What it costs
| Job | Typical range | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe package or partial graphics | $1,500 to $6,000 | 10 to 40 |
| Full graphics reproduction, discontinued design | $4,500 to $14,000 | 30 to 90 |
| Custom multi-colour design | $12,000 to $25,000+ | 90 to 180 |
| Airbrush or mural work | Quoted per design | Varies |
Paint labor is $210 per hour with supplies at $55 per paint hour. See the pricing page.
What we work on
Class A, B and C motorhomes, bus conversions and skoolies where custom paint is close to standard, fifth wheels and travel trailers, toy haulers, custom van conversions, food trucks and mobile business vehicles where the vehicle is the storefront, show and event vehicles, and vintage coach restorations where period-correct graphics matter to the whole project.
Mobile business vehicles are worth calling out separately. A food truck or a mobile clinic is a rolling brand asset, and the graphics are doing commercial work rather than decorating. That changes the design conversation: legibility at distance, colour contrast in daylight, and durability against the pressure washing these vehicles get.
Working with your designer
If you have artwork already, we need vector files rather than a JPEG, at final scale, with colours specified as paint or vinyl references rather than screen colours. Screen colours do not translate directly and a design that looks right on a monitor can be flat on a 40 foot sidewall.
If you do not have artwork, we can work from a description and reference images, and we will produce a scaled proof against a photograph of your actual vehicle before anything is sprayed. Approving a proof on your own coach avoids the most expensive kind of surprise.
Estimates are $150 and credited back against an authorized repair.