Best products to renovate RV gelcoat

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fulltime_RV

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Hi all !

I own a 1987 34foot motorhome with gelcoat fibreglass panels with some vinyl graphics. The past owners have never bothered with polishing or buffing the finish so its very much a dull/flat beige.

Have tried some 3M marine/rv gelcoat color restorer which worked , but was a pain to buff off.

Any recommendations as to what products would work better/easier?

Have seen on the AG store the meguiars fiberglass restoration system and that sounds to be a very good combination of products suited to my kind of problem! Has anyone used this sytem of products on dull fiberglass before?

Also with over 68feet of fg to cut and polish was thinking of getting the PC7427XP kit to save on arm power! Any recommendations on combinations of pads to choose?

Thankyou in advance for any tips & help. Will get some pictures sorted out real soon.


 
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I use a 3M superbuff pad and a rotary. The latest round I just went thru I used Menz 85RD which did a good job of cleaning the surface, used about 3/4 of a bottle on the 32' 5ver. I have some tests going on now with the Klasse twins, Zaino and 303. The 303 has been on the longest (about 3 months) and appears to be holding up well. The 303 was sprayed on and rubbed around by hand then buffed into the surface with a wool pad and rotary. The Zaino and Klasse are going on 2 months and doing well. Over the years I have used Fiberglass compound and color restorer, Liquid Glass, 3M heavy duty rubbing compound, Meguiars carnuba waxes, Meguiars cleaner waxes with nothing lasting more than 3 months.
My goal for longevity is 9 months to 1 year as doing that much real estate for one person is a real workout. The Collinite products may work very well for what you are looking for. They may be my next test, especially if the present tests fail at my goal.

Dave
 
This is a response from Mike with Collinte when I inquired what their recommendation would be for the fiberglass problems.
Dear David:

What some people will do is apply a coat of our #870 Liquid Fleetwax first and then apply a coat of #845 Insulator Wax for extra protection. The #870 cleans and applies a light coat of wax all in one application whereas the #845 is a pure liquid wax that will provide a longer-lasting coat of protection compared to the #870.

Dave
 


Thanks Dave for the information and advice , tried regular auto compound at first just to see if that would work but no luck.

Longevity sounds perfect !!!! Seems like you just try different combinations to see what achieves the best/longest results with top up applications as and when.

Will look into those products, if I get the meguiars kit will report back with results.
 
fulltime_RV said:
Hi all !

I own a 1987 34foot motorhome with gelcoat fibreglass panels with some vinyl graphics. The past owners have never bothered with polishing or buffing the finish so its very much a dull/flat beige.

I can picture it now :(

Have tried some 3M marine/rv gelcoat color restorer which worked , but was a pain to buff off.

Any recommendations as to what products would work better/easier?

You have the right product, just the wrong technique :buffing:

Have seen on the AG store the meguiars fiberglass restoration system and that sounds to be a very good combination of products suited to my kind of problem! Has anyone used this sytem of products on dull fiberglass before?

I've never used it, but then again, I've never used a Meguiars product that didn't live up to its name :hungry:

Also with over 68feet of fg to cut and polish was thinking of getting the PC7427XP kit to save on arm power! Any recommendations on combinations of pads to choose?

Thankyou in advance for any tips & help. Will get some pictures sorted out real soon.
Click to expand...

While a DA would be much easier then by hand, I would recommend getting a Rotary. The Makita 9227c is a nice unit and relativally easy to use if you practice common sense. Here is the machine I speak of...

Makita 9227C Circular Polisher 8.5 inch Pad Kit


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Welcome to Autogeek :welcome:
 
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