RV graphics are great because they add some flair to your rig. Even a premium RV can come from the manufacturer with decal graphics (unless it has full-body paint, like ours did). However, the fact is that over time, UV light damages the typical vinyl decals applied as designs on RVs, causing them to age and fade. Dirt and grime from the road and even sap from trees can eventually cause permanent (and unsightly) damage to your RV decals.
Since an RV is a significant investment, keeping the graphics from fading and peeling not only preserves the cosmetic appearance of your rig but also contributes to a higher resale value should you decide to sell it in the future. There are ways to mitigate the damage that the sun can inflict on RV vinyl decals, potentially delaying and even preventing degradation for decades with the proper attention.
In this post, we offer our thoughts on how to maintain your RV’s decals in good condition over time.
How Can I Keep My RV Decals From Fading?
There are several steps you can take to protect your RV decals and prevent them from fading. Let’s examine each intervention individually:
Keep Your RV Decals Clean
This is a simple slice of RV maintenance, but it’s also an important one. When you wash your RV, cleaning the decals helps to prevent them from oxidizing due to chemicals and other contaminants that build up on the surface of your RV. Preventing this build-up from occurring is a great start toward keeping your RV decals from fading and peeling.
Protecting your RV decals starts with keeping them clean and free from a build-up of dirt, dust, grime, and contaminants.
As for how to clean your rig (and thus your decals) effectively, we strongly suggest avoiding any type of abrasive cleaner or dish soap. We’re partial to Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash , but any soap designed for use on automotive finishes should work fine.
The reason we’re partial to Meguiar’s products is that they’ve proven to work well for us over many years, they’re readily available, and they’re reasonably priced. The condition of our rig when we sold it is proof positive that they work as advertised. The most important thing, though, is that you wash the rig (and the decals) and use a soft microfiber towel to keep the rig clean and dry.
- Washes and conditions in one step
- Rich, luxurious suds
- ABSORBENT. Spend less time drying and more time enjoying life
- SOFT & SAFE. Easy on your hands and easy on your car
After more than 20 years on the road full-time, we got really good at keeping our 2005 Newmar Mountain Aire as ship-shape as possible. In fact, you may have seen our post on RV black streak removers. In that post, we had to use photos of other RVs because – well – we just don’t have black streaks on our rig despite its age.
Use a High-Quality UV Protectant
Next on our list of things to do to keep RV decals from fading and peeling is to use a high-quality UV protectant. Our choice, and the choice of many veteran RVers, is Aerospace 303 Protectant . This product is actually a multi-purpose detailing spray, and it offers what many consider to be the best UV protection available. It works well on vinyl and plastic, gel coat and fiberglass, as well as metal, stainless steel, and both natural and synthetic rubber.
As we recommend with every product you buy for use on your RV, we suggest testing it on a small area before proceeding. However, Aerospace 303 Protectant is our personal favorite UV protection product, and (using our rig as an indicator) it works very well to protect the RV’s surface and any decals that adorn it.
- ULTIMATE PROTECTION: Shield your outdoor products from harmful UV rays, dust, dirt, salt water, & staining with this 303 protectant. Prevents fading &...
- NON-GREASY: This 303 protectant also offers a non-greasy formula that dries to a smooth matte finish for a like-new appearance for both the exterior &...
Use an RV Cover When Your RV Isn’t Being Used
RV covers can be helpful for people who don’t use their rigs for an extended period but need to store them outdoors. Keeping the sun from baking the surfaces of your RV is a good idea, whether you cover the rig or park it in shade. RV covers can also help to protect the rig from snow, ice, and wind.
In a previous post, we examined the 5 best RV covers to protect your rig. However, before publishing that post, we also wrote one on the pros and cons of RV covers. RV covers can certainly be put to good use in the right circumstances. But they need to be high quality, and they need to fit properly.
Either way, though, keeping the sun off your RV’s finish and decals will go a long way to helping protect them for years to come.
Can You Wax RV Decals?
This is a good question! The answer is yes, BUT it’s very important to use the correct type of wax. RV waxes are NOT all created equal. Here’s why:
Unfortunately, many wax products on the market contain petroleum distillates. Most RV manufacturers discourage the use of products that contain petroleum distillates, since they can damage your RV decals and cause them to degrade prematurely.
RV decals can fade, crack, and peel due to damage from UV rays and other elements. But this can be prevented with proper maintenance.
You can use a good wax (either rub-on or spray wax) on your RV decals, but be sure to avoid any products that contain petroleum distillates. Even our favorite wax (Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax ) contains a small level of petroleum distillates, so it could pose a problem for aging your decals.
Some people prefer a cleaner/wax (which is a wash & wax in one product). If you’re so inclined, we’ve got a few of those listed in our post on the 5 best RV wash and wax products. Again, be sure that whatever you choose to use is free of petroleum distillates before applying it to your decals.
And, if you want to protect your decals but don’t have a wax that works, your best bet is to use a quality UV protectant, such as the Aerospace 303 we listed above.
I Give Up, My RV Decals Are Faded Beyond Repair!
If your RV’s decals are already deeply faded & peeling, and decal removal is on your list of things to do, don’t worry… we’ve got you covered. You can start with our article How to Remove RV Decals Yourself. Once they’re removed, you can read RV Replacement Decals: Keep Your RV Looking Good.
For more information on how we keep our rig looking sharp and running smoothly after all these years, feel free to have a look at our video on our annual RV maintenance and spring cleaning routine.
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Richard
Thursday 24th of July 2025
Also NEVER try to cost justify an RV or a boat…if thats your objective sell LOL
Richard
Thursday 24th of July 2025
Try REJEX ..REJEX proven to protect all RV finishes…was developed for airplanes…have used it for years on boats and RV read about it…easy on easy off
TheRVgeeks
Thursday 24th of July 2025
Thanks Richard! And you're right about cost... just like boats and planes are a place to toss money, respectively, into the water or air (and we've owned both boats and a plane, so we sure know!), an RV is a place to toss $ out onto the highway. But it's worth every cent! 😃
Jay
Thursday 24th of July 2025
"Since an RV is a significant investment..."
Respectfully, of course, you know it's not. It's a depreciating asset and a very expensive one at that since no RV ever increases in value.
Decals on an RV are going to eventually be a problem. They are a cheap alternative to a full body paint job. Other than avoiding RVs with decals to start with, garaging your RV helps, but for most of us, that's not possible or practical. When trying to sell or trade-in your RV, it's the first thing the dealer or potential buyer will see. It is usually accompanied by damage to the paint elsewhere. By the time this occurs (it takes about 10 years), the cost of professionally repairing this could be more than the value of the RV. You certainly won't recover its cost at resale. On our 2nd MH (we're on our 4th), I tried repainting it myself and it looked like it! Of course, that wasn't all that was wrong with it by that time. A 15 year old MH isn't worth much.
TheRVgeeks
Thursday 24th of July 2025
Good points, Jay. On the “investment” side of things, we were referring to a different meaning of the word. Investing also refers to devoting one's time, effort, money and/or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result, rather than looking for a financial return. Of course, that worthwhile result is getting to RV!
Rebecca
Thursday 24th of July 2025
Can you use the 303 protectant all over your rv or just the decals? I noticed you told someone else that 303 vs wax was an either or, not both. So is it ok to “spray and wipe” the whole rig? Whew! That’s gonna take a minute, lol!
Dave
Tuesday 7th of May 2024
RV geeks, Just bought a new Cedar Creek 5th wheel. Read your post on RV wax. Little confused about 303 application and McGuire wax. Both or just 303? If both which first? Thanks in advanve!
TheRVgeeks
Tuesday 7th of May 2024
Hi Dave! Sorry about that… we’ll need to revamp that text a bit to make it more clear. It’s an either-or situation. Either use 303 (preferred) or a wax that doesn’t have petroleum distillates (hard to find). Using both (in either order) is a bit self-defeating, since they both would prevent the other from being effective (wax would block the 303, and 303, being a little bit greasy, would prevent the wax from sticking/bonding).