Recommended Products For Restoring Fiberglass Shell

[Taffy_C]

My trailer has a seriously oxidized skin. A while back I got some great advice from the forum on recommended products for this but I'm having a difficult time finding the post now. Would appreciate recommendations on good marine/RV products to remove the oxidation and restore the luster.

Very much appreciate the help.

Daniel.

[Wishbone51]

MSchu wrote:
If you hate using gloves like I do, you'll find out how well this wax sticks to your fingernails and really shines them up! Hopefully I won't have to go out in public until it wears off.

Haha. Last time I ZEP'd my trailer, my daughter said my nails were pretty.

[MSchu]

I just did this to the front cap on my 25 year old Holiday Rambler, and it came out great. I used the Zep wet look wax.
One word of warning, though. If you hate using gloves like I do, you'll find out how well this wax sticks to your fingernails and really shines them up! Hopefully I won't have to go out in public until it wears off.

[BurbMan]

I used this 3M Marine Restorer and Wax and applied with this Harbor Freight D/A Polisher with a Polishing Pad. My orbital buffer wasn't aggressive enough to get the oxidation off.

One good coat removed a ton of oxidation and made the filon gelcoat look like new. Looked great for 2 years and just did it again before I sold the camper this spring.

[Taffy_C]

lol moebedick 🙂

Thanks everyone - great help and I appreciate it. Think I'm going to start by trying out the 3M Perfect-It Gelcoat Medium Cutting Compound + Wax on a section and see how it looks.

[chindog]

I used Poly Glow on my faded slideout sides, and it worked great. I tried all sorts of products before that, but nothing could bring back the color and shine. Poly Glow isn't cheap, but it works well.

[moebedick]

I’ve had fiberglass boats for nearly fifty years. After much trial and many errors, I’ve pretty much perfected my techniques. If I’m making pretty to sell, I strip it with wax remover and carefully apply several coats of floor wax in long horizontal passes being careful to have minimal overlapping. Do it correctly and carefully, and it looks like new and lasts several years. I’ve had multiple boats at the same time because they come out looking too good to sell. Surprisingly, I am still on the same wife...though she could do with a buffing. For my keeper boat (also known as my third, last boat), I use Collinite polishing compound and Colinite carnuba boat wax. I also use this wax on my F250 and my GTI. All three look like knew and draw lots of comments. Maybe I should try it on myself.

[harley4275]

If it is white, then Maguire's colour restorer then cleaner wax will work for a while , if any colour like brown or grey then only painting will fix if right.

[busterja21]

3M Perfect-It Gelcoat Cutting Compound

[ajriding]

Did you try "marine" wax? It is made for gel-coat fiberglass. You should be able to bring back some of the shine, but it will be a lot of work and take several coats. I had a 2005 fiberglass camper and after 4 coats it had a decent shine, but that was just working one 3x6 foot area and it was work, I never finished it before selling.
Zep will make it shine like a new penny, but then 4-5 years later it will start to look like an orange peel and need to be re-done. If you do not mind redoing it then use the Zep.

[rexlion]

+1 on the Zep. It shines up fiberglass like new and it lasts.

[gbopp]

Here is the instructions for the Zep/Red Max Pro Process.

Preparation is the key to a good job. Use the wax of your choice. Not everyone wants to use floor wax on their RV. (it works well on our 96 Southwind)