Faded Paint on Camper

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metalli445

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Hello,
My GF's father just gave us his old camper. The original owner must have had decals on the trailer and then removed them after a few years but now you can see the lines where the paint has faded around the decals. I currently have Super Intensive Polish PO83, Super Finish PO106FA, Wolfgang Paint Sealant and
Collinite 845 at my disposal along with orange, red and white pads that go with my 3403. It's been about a year since I've used any of these products and I literally just brought the camper home so I haven't tried any of these products on a test area. I'm wondering if there is a product better suited to restoring the finish of this camper other than what I have? Also, what should I use on the diamond plate or metal areas? Thanks






Pat
 
After reading more threads it appears campers have a gelcoat and not a clearcoat so I'm assuming the products that I have are not the best for the job. What does everyone recommend for this? I can't find the thread now but someone said a wool pad on the 3403 on setting 1 (1100 RPM) is a good combination for heavy oxidation. Do you agree?
 
Unfortunately I can't edit my previous post but I have a Flex 3401, not the 3403 as previously mentioned.
 
I would start with what Mike does on old cars that have oxidized. Megs Old #7. See if that helps before you start polishing. Sometimes these finishes on the small trailers are not the thickest and you can go right thru. They seem to get soft over time.

Start easy and then move up to a little more aggressive. An all-in-one would seem to work.

HUMP
 
Is Megs Old #7 more abrasive than menzerna super intensive polish? I did a spot test with Menzerna super intensive polish on an orange page without much success.
 
metalli445 said:
Is Megs Old #7 more abrasive than menzerna super intensive polish? I did a spot test with Menzerna super intensive polish on an orange page without much success.
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Zero abrasiveness. Think of #7 as you would think about hand lotion. Nice oils for the paint to (hopefully) revive it from being dried out.

7 is more for single stage paints, but it will help out 'old' clear coat also.

Bill
 
I really hate to bring up an old thread but it's still relevant in the fact I'm just getting back around to working on the trailer. I'm looking for Meg's old #7 at the autogeekonline store but I'm only able to find this product. Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze is a final step auto glaze to enhanced the gloss prior to wax application. Get a show car shine with Meguiars #7 Show Car Is this what you mean?

Also, when I do my truck I use these products in this order.


1. Super Intensive Polish PO83
2. Super Finish PO106FA
3. Wolfgang Paint Sealant
4. Collinite 845

When I work on the trailer do I apply the Meg's #7 right after washing it? What pad should I use to apply #7 if I'm using a flex 3401? Can I apply collinite 845 as a last step? I guess I'm basically looking for the best order of operations to follow. Thanks for the help!

Pat
 
I think you want to apply #7 by hand. It's not supposed to polish the paint, but rather "bring it back to life" by containing a lot of polishing oils. Mike Phillips has a thread on here about preserving original paint where he goes through the steps to take when using #7 on a gold Lincoln Town Car. Once you get the paint conditioned, then you can use a polish to get a higher gloss. I think you can use whatever products you want following the #7.
 
MIsnowman said:
I think you want to apply #7 by hand. It's not supposed to polish the paint, but rather "bring it back to life" by containing a lot of polishing oils. Mike Phillips has a thread on here about preserving original paint where he goes through the steps to take when using #7 on a gold Lincoln Town Car. Once you get the paint conditioned, then you can use a polish to get a higher gloss. I think you can use whatever products you want following the #7.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I've tried using search terms to find the thread but I haven't had any luck. Do you happen to know what section I can find the thread?
 
Are the exterior panels in question fiberglass or metal? If they are metal, you're not dealing with gel coat; you're dealing with paint that is most likely extremely thin.
 
Brody said:
Are the exterior panels in question fiberglass or metal? If they are metal, you're not dealing with gel coat; you're dealing with paint that is most likely extremely thin.
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They could also be Filon, which is essentially FRP and has the color molded in. Common camper construction material these days.

Meguiars #7 will appear to work because of all the oils in it, but has no durability. But as Brody said, if aluminum that paint will be very, very thin.
 
I googled the model (2004 Work and Play 18lt) and many sites list it as having a smooth fiberglass exterior. After reading the link that MIsnowman posted it appears the longer the #7 is left on the surface, the more oils will get absorbed into the paint. I basically just did a quick wipe on and wipe off as a test.
 
If it is fiberglass and is gel-coated it will take some abrasion, quite possibly a lot, to get it to look nice and even and to stay looking that way. Here, most recommend a heavy cut compound and a machine, preferably a rotary.

To me, the oils in #7 would just be absorbed, and sitting in the oxidation and will quickly wash or fade away.
 
metalli445 said:
I googled the model (2004 Work and Play 18lt) and many sites list it as having a smooth fiberglass exterior. After reading the link that MIsnowman posted it appears the longer the #7 is left on the surface, the more oils will get absorbed into the paint. I basically just did a quick wipe on and wipe off as a test.
Click to expand...

If it's fiberglass it's quite possibly NOT paint and what you're seeing is an oxidized surface, either FRP or gelcoat. In that case leaving #7 on isn't doing anything.

First rule of thumb is to know what you're working with ( it sounds like you don't) then approach the job based on those facts. You're chasing after this as if it's single stage paint at this point and by all sounds of it it's not. And what I see of the pics once that #7 dies in a week or two you're going to have a lot more unsightly mess than you had to begin with. Glazes like #7 provide ZERO longevity over a longer term, they're just a masking agent.
 
First and foremost...
...find out from the manufacturer what material you're working on. It's good to know. Is it necessary? That's your call. You are either going to be able to continue with a product more aggresive than M7, or you are not.

That said...
I would agree that M7 won't last long, but I fail to see where it "dyeing" will cause "a lot more unsightly mess than you had to begin with".

The quick wipe on and off worked...even a small amount as in the pictures, but the oxidation in that spot will reappear, or it will not.

I think M7 will be gone in hardly any time at all if washed any time soon, but I don't feel the oxidation you seen removed will come back as soon as M7 is gone...as in a few days. Will the oxidation eventually reappear on that spot? In my opinion, in time (many weeks or months), yes. In a week or two, no. I think the oils have already allowed some of that oxidation to be removed on that spot.

I could be wrong, but in my opinion from looking at that small test spot, I'd wipe it all down with M7...even apply it by machine if you want...maybe do it a couple of time in a small area to see if it would benefit from multiple applications, then hit it with a quality all-in-one product with a good sealer in it like XMT 360 corrects, cleans, and seals auto paint! XMT 360 is more than a cleaner wax, its a swirl remover, polish, and paint sealant in one. or Duragloss Marine RV Polish #501 cleans, polishes, and shines gelcoat fiberglass boat and RV finishes. Duragloss durable boat and RV polishes., then stick a fork in it. A few weeks or months from now hit it again with the all-in-one.

If you find out, or discover, that the paint is NOT thin, you may benefit from something like this as well Duragloss Marine & RV Surface Renewer Polishing Compound #561, marine compound, gel coat compound, boat polish , but for now find out what you're working with, then proceed with small test spots using the least aggressive method to achieve the desired the results. M7 is the least aggressive product you could have started with, which is a good thing.
 
I wrote an email to Forest Rivers who makes my toy hauler to ask them about the details of the camper as far as what the walls are made out of and what kind of paint they use. I received a response saying the following: "The walls are made of fiberglass but there is no paint as it is color made. You can use a buffer and compund to buff it. When you get it back to looking good you may want to consider using a protective sealant. There is a product on the market that many people have boasted about. It's kind of expensive but from what we have heard it's works great. You can go to their website Permanon USA and check them out."

It seems like this opens up a lot of options for me since they say it can't be buffed out with a compound.

Pat
 
Permanon is reported to make a great product though I'd think it's a bit overkill on the price side of things for a project like this, but that's a decision that is ultimately left up to you.

Nothing wrong with going the compounding route if that's what you want just keep in mind you may be talking a minimum of going around that trailor twice...once with polish...and possibly 3 times. Twice with compound and once with a polish/sealant, or a 4th time if you use a sealant other than Permanon.

Compounding that much oxidation, though I've seen and worked on worse, is going to eat up a lot of compound because you'll likely need to keep things on the wet side in order to get and maintain a decent working time, otherwise when using only drops of product on the pad the working time will be very short.

You may still want to think about using an All-in-one product and using it wet like in this article. http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/36237-wet-buffing-technique.html and this article too that also talks about using an AIO product wet as well showing what kind of oxidation removal can happen... http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...se-one-step-cleaner-wax-maximize-profits.html

Hope this information is valuable to you.
 
Hoytman said:
Nothing wrong with going the compounding route if that's what you want just keep in mind you may be talking a minimum of going around that trailor twice...once with polish...and possibly 3 times. Twice with compound and once with a polish/sealant, or a 4th time if you use a sealant other than Permanon.
Click to expand...

You were pretty much going to have him do the same thing with #7 then a sealer weren't you? And #7 was NEVER going to "remove" the oxidation as you stated, just the oils would have masked it. The trailer weathered consistently to get where it is, but #7 is going to be gone in a few weeks leaving a streaky mess behind.

As I thought, the trailer is most likely FRP/Filon. Treat it pretty much like gelcoat; compound and seal.. 3M among others makes a few marine products that are compound and wax together. One shot, done.
 
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