Fiberglass camper ?

[Joe's detailing]

I'm, scheduled to detail the exterior of a (OLD)camper, it's all fiberglass body. that hasn't seen a cleaning, other than the occasional wash. Whats the best product to bring back the gleam and what's the best wax protectant if any ...
All info is welcome..

[tguil]

If the topper is gelcoat rather than paint, you should use one or more of Meguiar's marine products. Check them out on Meguiar's website to see which might be best for you.

Tom

[gb387]

Now I don't know the condition of the surface but we use #49 - Heavy Duty Oxidation Remover regularly where I work to remove oxidation then follow up with #45 - Boat/RV Polish then we apply #26 - Hi-Tech Yellow Wax as a LSP. Again I don't know the condition of the gelcoat but this combination works quite well on heavily oxidized gelcoat surfaces.

[Joe's detailing]

Well, here's a better view of the ugliness...

[gb387]

By no means an I an expert on gel-coat/fiberglass.... several years ago Mike Phillips suggested the products I listed above and we have been able to get very good results on some heavily oxidized surfaces. The surface in the photos doesn't look great, plenty of stains its a little hard to tell since its white.

There may be something less aggressive to get the job done, #49 is rather aggressive, there is #44 - Color Restorer a less aggressive cleaner.

As for a LSP, Meguiars recommends you use something in the marine/RV line on a gel-coat/fiberglass but we have had good luck with #26.

Wait just a little longer and see what others chime in with.

[tguil]

I think that I'd check at an RV supply store to see what products are available that are designed specifically for RV's. I know that Camping World has a ton of cleaning products.

Tom

[Joe's detailing]

Thanks for the feedback, I'll check into multiple products...
The owner of camper suggested, I use bleach white and scrub the whole thing down.. ...I think the owner of camper is misinformed in detailing procedures ....

[Mike Phillips]

Here's some suggestions...

If you're not making a ton of money on this job, a simple yet safe approach would be to use our M50

M50 Cleaner/Wax

A non-abrasive formula that cleans, polishes and protects all boats and RV's in one easy step. Removes light oxidation and haze, minor scratches and swirls. Provides long-lasting protection against salt air, corrosion and the sun's ultraviolet rays. Available in liquid or paste.

The key to a detail like this is to do a super wash job at the very start, get the entire van as clean as you can including the wheels, tires, glass, mirrors, bumpers, etc.

Then clay anything on the exterior that's smooth as it looks like this rig has been neglected for some time and chances are good there are plenty of above surface bonded contaminants than need to be removed.

After claying, vigorously and thoroughly apply the cleaner wax working a small section at at time, no larger than about 12 to 18 inches square and when you move on to a new section overlap into the previous section. Your goal is to thoroughly clean the finish and by clean we mean deep clean as in remove the oxidation and the staining that shows up as black streaks.


How are you going to do the work?

• By hand
• Using a Dual Action Polisher like the G100
• Rotary Buffer

You'll want to be careful around those stripes as they are old and they won't take well to being buffed, chances are good if you try to use a cleaner/wax on them you'll see color come off and if you work them too long you could see all of the color come off.

Instead, after washing the van, take a foam wax applicator and rub them out gently using Trim Detailer. While this product is intended for plastic, vinyl and rubber, it works well for graphic like you have on this Van, the key is to work the product into the graphic well like you would apply a skin lotion to dry skin. After you have rubbed out the entire set of graphics, move on to applying the cleaner/wax. Allow the Trim Detailer to penetrate as you're doing applying the cleaner/wax.

After you're done with the cleaner/wax step on the paint and gel-coat, wipe the graphics down using a clean, dry microfiber to wipe any excess product off and you should see a more vibrant color has been restored to the graphics.

Remember when using a cleaner/wax part of the cleaning comes from the chemical cleaners and the diminishing abrasives in the product but some of the cleaning power comes from --> you <--



If you do a good jog of really working the cleaner/wax you will get dramatic results and you'll have only went around the Van one time, not 2, 3, 4 times etc, like you would with most multi-step procedures. (That's a lot of surface area to work on.


Please be sure to take some good after pictures.

Trim Detailer

[Mike Phillips]

Good speaking on the phone with you Joe and here's some extra information...


While we don't recommend using our W-7006 Foam Cutting Pad for applying chemicals to automotive clear coats because cutting pads on dual action polishers tend to haze or scour the clear coat, they do a great job when used to remove oxidation from a gel-coat finish using our Marine Cleaner Wax.

Remember to work a small section at a time and have a couple of terry cloth towels on hand to clean the removed oxidized gel-coat off the face of the foam pad after working each section.

Remember, snag some good before and after photos.