Faded gelcoat

[Hooligan2]

Previous MH was a 2000 Georgie Boy Dp. At about 10 years, I used the ZEP high traffic wax and really had good results for the next 5 years. As the articles indicate, preparation is everything. The only area I had any peeling of the wax was above the windshield on the front cap. This area was very hard to reach and clean properly. After 2 yrs it needed to be redone and I spent a lot more time on prep. No more problems. Initial application took 5 coats before getting a high gloss, no streak result. But a coat only takes about 20-30 minutes and the area where you start is dry by the time you get back to it. (Don't let it run) Then, A good wash and a single re-coat after a year brings back the full shine.
I have not used it on my present Siesta, It still has a good finish. The front cap over the bunk had started to oxidize but I just buffed it out this week with very good results. Orbital buffer and Star Brite One Step Heavy Duty Cleaner Wax with PTEF for boats. It is for gelcoat.

[blw2]

for prep, I spent a lot of quality time scrubbing hard and used several cans of barkeepers friend. I read that suggested someplace.....

[KevinD]

Have a 2018 Windsport 35m bought new in September 2018. Paid dealer to apply paint protection from Resistall on partial paint scheme. A year and half later most all of the unpainted gelcoat areas are badly washed/faded out! Resistall says it looks like gelcoat delamination so its not their problem and they won’t cover it. Thor said without seeing it that it was probably oxidation. What do you guys think?

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by KevinD

Have a 2018 Windsport 35m bought new in September 2018. Paid dealer to apply paint protection from Resistall on partial paint scheme. A year and half later most all of the unpainted gelcoat areas are badly washed/faded out! Resistall says it looks like gelcoat delamination so its not their problem and they won’t cover it. Thor said without seeing it that it was probably oxidation. What do you guys think?

I think you got ripped off by your dealer and Resistall.

[MBHunt3r]

Originally Posted by KevinD

Have a 2018 Windsport 35m bought new in September 2018. Paid dealer to apply paint protection from Resistall on partial paint scheme. A year and half later most all of the unpainted gelcoat areas are badly washed/faded out! Resistall says it looks like gelcoat delamination so its not their problem and they won’t cover it. Thor said without seeing it that it was probably oxidation. What do you guys think?

Ours is doing the same thing. I attribute it to oxidation. It is worse in some areas more so than others. The front gets hit by the sun from sunrise to mid afternoon and the side that gets the afternoon to sunset shows the "frame" lines. We had it detailed once and now have an area where they left the orbital in place for too long and burned the gel coat. We are considering having the front ceramic coated but are having the person look at it first. They do this to boats as well. I have tried all of the marine grade items by hand and with an orbital buffer and it just soaks it up. It looks great until it dries. The water beads off of it but it still looks like crap. We are about 15 minutes from the ocean so it is hot here and it isn't under a cover.

[Hugh.vines@att.net]

I just used a product call optimum gel coat restorer don’t waste your money. Three coats nothing. Very expensive. Maybe I’ll try something cheap like Zep floor wax

[taylorbob1]

Just used ZEP Floor Polish on the front top & rear top end caps. Also along the front end on sides and below the front windshield.

As seen & recommended on other RV websites...pour the product into a spray bottle, spray onto a micro fiber cloth, then rubbed onto surface.
Just Wipe & Shine vs the Rubbing & Buffing with car wax
4-6 coats does the job.
I used very little, no more than 8oz.

I keep my rig parked under hard cover, so it does not bake in the sun.

If it does begin to show flaking after a year or two, use a Mr.Clean soft scrubber to get off the old material and re-coat.

[JJ151]

Has anyone ever applied ceramic coating to protect the fiberglass gel coating on their RV?

[ducksface]

Originally Posted by JJ151

Has anyone ever applied ceramic coating to protect the fiberglass gel coating on their RV?

I have.
I haven't been in any weather to check stability.
I suggest youtube for vids where guys park outside.
Beads well. Worked well on the windshield.
I don't think it's been on the market long enough for the tale to tell.

[blw2]

re-awakened an old thread here.....
I was in on the original conversation, and can give an update of sorts.

So i uses an acrylic floor polish and it looked great, jaw dropping really. It lasted a relatively short time....6 months maybe. I feel like it would have continued to shine if I would have kept after it with follow-up maintenance coats every couple months. It never did peel...just slowly lot the shine.

Long time later the rig was really looking bad, especially the nose cone.
I did a really quick rush job on the overhang nose cone with several rattle cans of clear automotive laquer. Looked less than perfect but only because the shotty job I did. From even just a short distance away it looked good. Held up for quite a long time too. This was a couple years ago now I think...I've kinda lost track.

It still has a little shine but it's not what I would call looking great anymore. Still, I've thought several times about getting a sprayer and doing a cobbled-up shadetree clearcoat job over the whole rig.

I little while back I'd read about a paint additive product called pentrol. Maybe 3 months ago I put a couple coats on the rig. Not as ja dropping as the floor polish...but that's mainly because I didn't prep as well + it's faded a lot worse now. Regardless, very similar results to the floor polish. The only real problem is that some of the mottled discoloration is showing through...it's shiny but looks bad. I'm not sure if better prep would have really helped since its so far gone. At least the rig doesn't look quite as bad. Seems like penetrol achieves full shine after about 2 coats and doesn't progressively get better and better with each coat like the floor polish.... I think because it goes on thicker.

More recently I've been researching on youtube about electric cars and have stumbled onto a few guys doing the vinyl wrap on these cars. It really has my wheels turning that IF I had more time I might look into just doing that to the RV...a DIY job. It looks like it would probably be relatively easy over most of the RV since it's just large flat surfaces.

Anyway, in my opinion the only real fix is paint. Probably just a clearcoat if you do it before the fading gets too bad, otherwise probably a full paint job if you want a rig that looks 'new' for a long time. I'm convinced that this junk they build with will not hold up with full exposure, and there's no easy fix.

[John & Diane]

Your post is very timely. Just this morning I started using Penetrol on our 2015 Windsport. Our fading is probably not as bad as yours. After putting one coat on and buffing it after about 5 minutes it looks pretty good. Years ago I bought a very faded blue boat just to get the trailer that it was on. Got a great price because of the oxidation and other issues, but once inspected, boat was a really sound boat. Two coats of Penetrol and a good waxing and she looked great, and stayed that way for the 4 years I owned it Did you wax your motorhome after you used the Penetrol?