How to remove spots / staining on older fiberglass RV?

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Hey Mike, been a while, hope you've been well and I'm sure you've been keeping busy.

I recently purchased a "project" RV -- a 2007 Winnebago View. The exterior has been maintained at an average or below average level so I'm looking to give it a thorough detail to give it a good fresh start and make the outside look its best.

(NOTE: I was just told that the previous owner used Zex floor wax on the RV as it sounds like a lot of people do, and I suspect it may darken / hold in dirt / be difficult to remove.)

Couple questions:

1) I've found small gray spots on the sides of the RV that aren't cleaning off, and they're not polishing off either.
I've just tried normal car wash soap and a mitt followed by an orange pad and M105 just on a test spot to see how it responded. The surface shined up but the spots remain. Any best way to try and remove these?

spots in fiberglass -- they get more dense higher up on the walls of the RV
View attachment 63987

polished area with spots remaining and my grubby hand for size reference
View attachment 63988



2) Also, on the roof there's a lot of noticeable discoloration. I suspect this is from the Zep. I was scrubbing with mild car wash soap and using a wash mitt as well as a pinnacle tar and bug sponge and Barkeepers Friend which does have a mild abrasive in it to try and get off some stray silicone and other spots of buildup. If I scrub enough, it looks like I lift the outer darker layer off and find a lighter layer beneath. Before I go further, I wanted to see if this is a stubborn layer of dirt/oxidation I'm removing, or an important layer of the fiberglass that I shouldn't be messing with.

this was after a light wash
View attachment 63989 View attachment 63990

closeup of an area that was scrubbed more with Barkeepers Friend where you can see a dirty layer coming off and a cleaner whiter layer being revealed
View attachment 63986

the front of the RV roof where it seems something was applied that resulted in a darker finish (Zep?)
View attachment 63992

(also some delamination and light cracking around the sides, which is probably a whole different thing to deal with)
View attachment 63991


I see that Zep has a "remover" chemical and I'm wondering if I need to do this step also, or if there's another way to be sure I'm stripping down to a clean surface that I can work back up from.


3) Bonus question -- is it time for me to get a wool pad before I dive into this? I'm polishing with a PC7424.

4) Bonus question #2 -- want to place any bets on whether I'd be able to remove the vinyl decals and be able to polish out any ghosting left behind? I don't have strong feelings about the decals so I can leave them, but they're in fair condition at best so I've thought about it.

Thanks!
Bryan

 

[TROLL]

Ok I had planned to wait for an answer but I was too curious -- did some reading online and found that others had luck with a diluted bleach solution so I tried that and it made just a tiny difference. They I used straight bleach (5.25% sodium hypochlorite) and in about 30 seconds it actually cleared up pretty much all of the spots.
I only did a test spot and will hit the brakes until I hear back from you now, but this may be the trick? I rinsed well and wiped, then rinsed again and wiped again. I assume I'll have to be very careful around all rubber, plastic, and decals.
Not sure how well the photos will show but I'll post a few that show the test spot, see if you can tell which is the bleached area.

View attachment 63994View attachment 63993View attachment 63995

 

[TROLL]

If anyone has any input I'm all ears! Hoping to spend some time on the exterior this coming weekend and am going to try to have my supplies lined up by then.
I did pick up a gallon of Zep floor stripper which is whats suggested to remove their floor wax -- going to see if that helps clean the roof and if it does anything on the sides, but other than that -- bleach?
Thanks for any input -- its going to be a big job start to finish so I'm trying to find the most efficient and effective approach.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Here's your picture, at least one of them, (I hate looking at attachments)

Here's what I would do, I'd get a quart of BLACKFIRE ONE Step and then get about a dozen Lake Country ThinPro foam orange cutting pads, slap one on your PC and go to town on this pig.

Instead of trying to bleach the RV back to it's normal color, abrade off all the junk the previous owner hacked-up the RV with.

Also - there are a lot of wool pad options for DA polishers but in my experience, when used with orbitals, they micro-mar the finish or cause what I call pad haze.

If you use a wool or "fiber" pad on an orbital and get pad haze, you then have to RE-Buff the entire project with foam to remove the haze. Now what should have ben a one-step project is two steps.

So take your time, get some good sharp foam cutting pads, ThinPros will ROTATE well on a PC, that's why I'm recommending them and the BLACKFIRE One Step is a very capable one-step cleaner/wax.

Wipes off easy too, something you'll appreciate when buffing out a HUGE project.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hey Mike, been a while, hope you've been well and I'm sure you've been keeping busy.

Bryan

Hi Bryan,

Sorry for the late reply, looks like you posted this on a Sunday morning,


06-17-2018, 09:52 AM


I used to work the forum 7 days a week but I don't do this any more. Not good for family relationships, can lead to divorce.

Monday through Friday, if I'm not teaching a class here or on the road, or detailing cars or making videos, then yeah, I'm usually working on or at least monitoring the forum.


Aren't you the guy that had the cool black Supra?


Trying to remember....

 

[TROLL]

Yup! I have the black Supra and the blue WRX (and now a Wrangler, a boat, and this RV :dig:

Thanks for the reply, I always wondered how you got so much done so no worries on the delayed response.
I had tried compounding using Meguiars M105 a a Lake Country orange pad and it didn't even make a dent in the marks, although it did bring back a shine to an otherwise very matte finish. Is the setup you're suggesting different where you do think it would do the trick to remove the staining? Its much worse at the top than the area I tested but yes its a lot of area to cover so finding the most efficient plan of attack will pay dividends in the execution.

Thanks!

Hi Bryan,

Sorry for the late reply, looks like you posted this on a Sunday morning,


06-17-2018, 09:52 AM


I used to work the forum 7 days a week but I don't do this any more. Not good for family relationships, can lead to divorce.

Monday through Friday, if I'm not teaching a class here or on the road, or detailing cars or making videos, then yeah, I'm usually working on or at least monitoring the forum.


Aren't you the guy that had the cool black Supra?


Trying to remember....