want to make yellowing gelcoat white again

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Ok, here is my first post. I have a 2005 27' class C Motorhome with a white Gelcoat finish and vinyl decals on the side. The finish on it is in good condition but if I stand back and look at it the white Gelcoat color on the coach is noticeably yellower than then the cab white. The cab is your typical ford 450 chassis with a bright white finish. The gelcoat has yellowed a little bit. The surface is not chalky and it still has a glossy finish but the slight yellowing kind of bugs me. I’ve experimented with Meguiars no 49 on a small section (just hand rubbing) but it did not make a noticeable difference.

In reading though the various posts on this forum I see there is lots of info on restoring heavily oxidized and damaged surfaces but mine is not really that bad. I just want to make the slightly yellow gelcoat and nice bright white again. We store the motorhome inside now but before we bought it last summer, it was stored outside in the hot Arizona heat.



Do you think I need to go more aggressive like a no 67 or no 91 and use a DA polisher? Or maybe just using a polisher (that I don't have yet) would make the difference?

Thanks in advance for any advise.

Rich

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Re: want to make yellowing gelcoat white again

Welcome Rich.
Not sure if I can help but I'll try. I have been living fulltime in a Beaver MH for 12 years and it is also white gelcoat with vinyl graphics. It is my understanding that the amount of yellowing will vary from mfgr of the sidewalls, caps. Their processes are different. I have had to stay on top of the finishing and using a machine is a must. I recently threw out my 3rd Sears orbital and ordered the G110. The difference is night and day! I have used many products and am a recent convert to Megs. The #50 cleaner/wax works well and is easy to use, especially with the DA. Do you know if the gelcoat is clearcoated?? If not, it can take several applications with a machine to get improvement and you may have to do it about 3 to 4 times a year. You may also want to check with the manufacturer regarding the vinyl graphics. Some approve waxing them, some approve a vinyl treatment and some say to apply nothing...especially wax as it will dry them out and cause cracking. The front and rear caps are made by a different process than the sidewalls and typically require a lot more work to keep them from oxidizing.

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Re: want to make yellowing gelcoat white again

Thank you. We have a Born Free Motorhome. I'll call the manufacturer Monday to verify if they put a clear coat on it not. I have a G110 on order so I'll experiment with that in the next couple of weeks. I kind of thought a machine polisher was going to be necessary to make any progress. For pads I just got a set of the new soft buff 2.0's (1 of each kind). If I can ask what kind of pads do you use? I think the factory had told me before that it is ok to wax over the vinyl graphics but I'll ask again to be sure. I would think I'll have to be very careful around the graphics decals with the G110. Thanks again, you've given me a couple of good things to check into. Rich

[Poki]

Re: want to make yellowing gelcoat white again

Great! You'll really be pleased with the G110. I use the new washable pads. Apply polish/cleaner with the yellow pad W87207, apply wax with the grey pad W9207. Use the maroon pad W7207 with a micorfiber bonnet to remove the polish & wax.