Delamination is the fiberglass skin separating from the wall structure behind it, almost always because water got between them. It shows as a bubble, a ripple, or a soft spot in the sidewall. Repairing the skin without finding and stopping the water source guarantees it comes back within a season.
What this covers
Fiberglass on an RV is not structural on its own. It is a thin outer skin bonded to a substrate, usually luan plywood or Azdel composite, which is in turn bonded to the aluminum or wood framing. When that bond fails, the wall loses its stiffness even though nothing has visibly broken.
By the time a bubble is visible from the outside, water has usually been sitting in the wall for a year or more. The repair is about the water path first and the cosmetics second.
The work in this category
Each of these is its own repair with its own failure modes, its own parts, and its own price band. Follow any one of them for the detail, or call (714) 909-1444 and describe what the vehicle is doing.
RV and camper fiberglass repair: Cracks, punctures, and impact damage in gelcoat and laminate on caps and sidewalls.
Delamination repair: Skin separated from the substrate, injected and clamped or reskinned depending on how far it has gone.
Crack, hole, and impact repair: Structural laminate repair with proper taper and layup, not filler over a hole.
Full fiberglass panel replacement: Sidewall or cap panels replaced when the substrate behind them is beyond saving.
Fiberglass restoration and refinishing: Oxidized, chalked gelcoat cut back and refinished, or repainted where the gelcoat is too far gone.
Why owners bring this work to us
We open the wall. An injection repair on a delaminated panel that has rotted luan behind it is money thrown away, and the only way to know is to cut an inspection port and look.
We fix the water source. Nearly every delamination we see traces back to a failed window frame seal, a bad clearance light gasket, a roof to sidewall seam, or a slide out corner. If that is not corrected, the new skin fails the same way.
We finish it so it matches. Fiberglass repair is only as good as the refinish over it, and full body coaches need panel blending to keep the repair from standing out against 15 year old sun faded gelcoat.
What it costs and how we quote it
Our labor rates are posted publicly: $210 per hour for body and paint, $260 for mechanical and electrical, $285 for diagnostics with a one hour minimum, and $95 for detail. Paint supplies bill at $55 per paint hour and body supplies at $5 per body hour, both calculated automatically on every estimate.
Almost no shop in Orange County publishes an hourly rate. We do, because it is the fastest way to prove an estimate is honest. If you know the rate and you know the hours, you can audit every line we write. A shop that will not tell you its rate is asking you to trust a number you have no way to check.
Where your specific job lands inside a published range is decided at teardown rather than over the phone. On these vehicles the visible damage is consistently smaller than the actual damage, which is why we photograph what is behind the panel and submit it as a documented supplement before proceeding.
Working with your insurance carrier
We bill every major carrier direct, so you cover your deductible and nothing else up front. On a repair that runs into five figures that is not a convenience, it decides whether the repair happens at all.
Under California Insurance Code section 758.5 your insurer cannot require you to use a particular shop. They may recommend one, and they have to tell you the choice is yours. That protection matters more here than on a car, because the pool of shops that can physically handle this work is small and a network shop with no relevant experience will underwrite the claim on the wrong assumptions.
Serving Buena Park and the surrounding Orange County cities
We are at 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887, about 13 miles and 20 minutes from Buena Park by way of the 91 and the 5. The shop runs 35,000 square feet under one roof, which is what lets us keep collision, structural, paint, interior, and systems work in house instead of subletting pieces of your repair to three other vendors.
All work is performed in shop. We do not run route service. A written estimate is $150, credited against the repair when you authorize it.
What this work typically costs
Real ranges from our posted catalog, not a marketing number. The spread is wide because the scope is wide, and where your job falls is determined at teardown rather than guessed at over the phone.
| Work | Typical range | Shop hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fiberglass cap repair, front or rear | $750 to $12,000 plus | 4 to 60 |
| Aluminum skin and sidewall replacement | $2,500 to $25,000 plus | 16 to 120 |
| Delamination repair, sidewall, roof, or slide face | $1,500 to $20,000 plus | 10 to 100 |
| Water damage restoration and subfloor replacement | $750 to $15,000 plus | 4 to 60 |
Sales tax of 7.75 percent applies to parts and materials. Labor is not taxed. See the full posted rate card.
Frequently asked questions
What causes delamination on an RV?
Water intrusion, in almost every case. The common entry points are window and door frame seals, clearance light gaskets, the roof to sidewall seam, awning rail fasteners, and slide out corners. Once water sits between the fiberglass and the substrate, the adhesive lets go and the skin separates.
Can delamination be fixed, or does the whole wall need replacing?
Both are possible. If the substrate is still sound and the separated area is contained, we can inject adhesive and vacuum clamp the panel flat. If the luan behind it has turned to pulp, injection does nothing and the panel has to come off so the substrate and any rotted framing can be replaced.
Will insurance cover fiberglass delamination?
It depends on the cause. Delamination from a sudden covered event, for example hail, a collision, or a tree limb that broke a seal, is usually covered. Delamination from years of gradual water intrusion is normally treated as maintenance and excluded. The documentation of the cause is what decides it.
Do you work directly with my insurance company?
Yes. We bill every major carrier direct, including Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, AAA SoCal, Mercury, Allstate, Wawanesa, National General, Foremost, Liberty Mutual, Good Sam, and The Hartford. We write the estimate, photograph the damage, submit supplements when hidden damage turns up, and deal with the adjuster so you do not have to.
What does an estimate cost?
A written estimate is $150 and it is credited back against the repair once you authorize the work. An in depth diagnostic is $285 for the first hour and is credited the same way. We charge for estimates because a proper one takes real shop time, and that keeps our schedule filled with actual repairs.
Do you come out to Buena Park, or does the vehicle need to come to you?
The vehicle comes to us. Everything happens in shop at 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887, about 13 miles from Buena Park on the 91 and the 5. We do not run route service. Frame work, structural repair, and refinishing need the equipment and the booth, and nobody can do that job correctly in a parking lot.
What are your posted labor rates?
Body and paint is $210 per hour, mechanical and electrical is $260 per hour, diagnostics and programming is $285 per hour with a one hour minimum, and detail is $95 per hour. Paint supplies bill at $55 per paint hour and body supplies at $5 per body hour. Sales tax of 7.75 percent applies to parts and materials. Labor is not taxed.
Related pages
Last reviewed by the OCRV Center shop team.