Ok, so you know from my previous posts we are in countdown stage to fulltiming - Sept 17 to be exact.
The house is pretty much packed up and working on the dreaded basement (crawlspace). I now know why they have crawlspaces - a great place to hide all the junk you can't bare to get rid of at the time and then when you need to get rid of it you wonder why the heck you ever kept it!!!. Next sticknbrick - no basement or crawlspace!!
Anyways, back to my question. We have had our rig for a little over 2 years and were always busy doing something on the inside, the outside has become neglected, so we decided to take two days and really give it a good cleaning and polishing. It is a 1999 30' Class C, fibreglass, white with decals. The shine is gone! So the question is how to give it a good cleaning and what to use to give it a really nice shine. Have been told not to use car polish but fibreglass polish, however, my son (a mechanic) has said it is a nightmare to work with the fibreglass paste.
Also read that 409 Spray Marine Cleaner is awesome to use on the awning and also Tilex. Thoughts on that?
As it is an older unit, the slide as a rubber seal all around it and it has become covered in black marks (almost like mildew) - how to get that out without damaging the rubber.
As usual you all are great with advice - so please shoot away
VanMar said
03:58 AM Aug 19, 2012
Is the fiberglass painted or gel coated? I bought a fiberglass boat with gel coat that was five years old and badly oxidized. I used a buffer and rubbing compound first followed by wax. It turned out pretty good. If it is painted, I would use a polishing compound as rubbing compound sometimes damages the paint....it has coarser grit in it and is fairly aggressive. What ever substance you use, you will definitely need a buffer of some kind. Buffing and then waxing that much surface by hand would wear me out!
Vance
Alie and Jims Carrilite said
03:05 PM Aug 19, 2012
Here's what I did on our 1996 Carrilite. This 5'er had spent most of its life in Florida with little exterior maintaince. It was oxidized, chalky, faded beyound belief. First we washed it with Dawn dish detergent- cleaned off all the grime. Next we scubbed it with Bar Keepers Friend- its a soft cleanser like comet but no bleach and doesn't scratch. Put some on a soft rag, wet into a paste and wipe on/ lite scrub. This will remove all the oxidized surface. Then I used Red Pro floor wax. There are other brands of this, relabeled as store brands for Lowes, Home Depot etc. It took 4 coats for it to bring an even shine back. The liquid soaks into the gelcoat/filon and seals the surface. Yesterday I washed our 5'er after a 5 month non-cleaning, used every weekend, pull thru rain on several dirt roads stretch. It looks great for a 17 yr old rig. I'll put a regular paste wax on it this fall just to keep the water beading on the surface. I like Meguirs myself.
Rosie RV Thumper and Dog Dog said
04:40 PM Aug 19, 2012
My only offering is that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will safely take off just about anything. Love those things! You might try that on the slides where you mentioned the black marks.
mjlitz said
06:15 PM Aug 19, 2012
Thanks once again to you all!!
Thought someone might ask if it is gel coated or painted - no idea!!
I need know to see if I can get the Red Pro Floor wax up here in Canada (I am a little skeptical) but if I can - the next questions is WHEN ARE YOU ALL COMING UP HERE TO HELP!!!??
Thanks. Will let you know how it all turns out
flyone said
06:44 PM Aug 20, 2012
Rosie---does the Mr. Clean magic eraser take off the Gel-coat? I have a few black marks and I know the magic eraser does a good job but have been reluctent to try it on a Gel-coat surface.
Flyone
VanMar said
03:54 AM Aug 21, 2012
flyone wrote:
Rosie---does the Mr. Clean magic eraser take off the Gel-coat? I have a few black marks and I know the magic eraser does a good job but have been reluctent to try it on a Gel-coat surface.
Flyone
Actually, gel coat is very durable. I think it would take sandpaper to remove it. I have found that if you use a Magic Eraser too long in one spot though, it will take the shine off of some surfaces. If that happens on gel coat, just buff it out.
On my boat (gel coated) I once used 2000 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper (wet) followed up with rubbing compound and wax...looked good.
Vance
Lyman said
08:43 PM Aug 29, 2012
I've used Nu-shine on my car it lasted over a year.
Ok, so you know from my previous posts we are in countdown stage to fulltiming - Sept 17 to be exact.
The house is pretty much packed up and working on the dreaded basement (crawlspace). I now know why they have crawlspaces - a great place to hide all the junk you can't bare to get rid of at the time and then when you need to get rid of it you wonder why the heck you ever kept it!!!. Next sticknbrick - no basement or crawlspace!!
Anyways, back to my question. We have had our rig for a little over 2 years and were always busy doing something on the inside, the outside has become neglected, so we decided to take two days and really give it a good cleaning and polishing. It is a 1999 30' Class C, fibreglass, white with decals. The shine is gone! So the question is how to give it a good cleaning and what to use to give it a really nice shine. Have been told not to use car polish but fibreglass polish, however, my son (a mechanic) has said it is a nightmare to work with the fibreglass paste.
Also read that 409 Spray Marine Cleaner is awesome to use on the awning and also Tilex. Thoughts on that?
As it is an older unit, the slide as a rubber seal all around it and it has become covered in black marks (almost like mildew) - how to get that out without damaging the rubber.
As usual you all are great with advice - so please shoot away
Is the fiberglass painted or gel coated? I bought a fiberglass boat with gel coat that was five years old and badly oxidized. I used a buffer and rubbing compound first followed by wax. It turned out pretty good. If it is painted, I would use a polishing compound as rubbing compound sometimes damages the paint....it has coarser grit in it and is fairly aggressive. What ever substance you use, you will definitely need a buffer of some kind. Buffing and then waxing that much surface by hand would wear me out!
Vance
First we washed it with Dawn dish detergent- cleaned off all the grime.
Next we scubbed it with Bar Keepers Friend- its a soft cleanser like comet but no bleach and doesn't scratch. Put some on a soft rag, wet into a paste and wipe on/ lite scrub. This will remove all the oxidized surface.
Then I used Red Pro floor wax. There are other brands of this, relabeled as store brands for Lowes, Home Depot etc. It took 4 coats for it to bring an even shine back. The liquid soaks into the gelcoat/filon and seals the surface.
Yesterday I washed our 5'er after a 5 month non-cleaning, used every weekend, pull thru rain on several dirt roads stretch.
It looks great for a 17 yr old rig. I'll put a regular paste wax on it this fall just to keep the water beading on the surface. I like Meguirs myself.
Thanks once again to you all!!
Thought someone might ask if it is gel coated or painted - no idea!!
I need know to see if I can get the Red Pro Floor wax up here in Canada (I am a little skeptical) but if I can - the next questions is WHEN ARE YOU ALL COMING UP HERE TO HELP!!!??
Thanks. Will let you know how it all turns out
Rosie---does the Mr. Clean magic eraser take off the Gel-coat? I have a few black marks and I know the magic eraser does a good job but have been reluctent to try it on a Gel-coat surface.
Flyone
Actually, gel coat is very durable. I think it would take sandpaper to remove it. I have found that if you use a Magic Eraser too long in one spot though, it will take the shine off of some surfaces. If that happens on gel coat, just buff it out.
On my boat (gel coated) I once used 2000 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper (wet) followed up with rubbing compound and wax...looked good.
Vance
I've used Nu-shine on my car it lasted over a year.