I'm thinking of using bartenders friend to clean oxidation off.Then NU FINISH polish outside. Has anyone tried this? Any unforeseen problems? I tested a small spot in the back of the scamp it realty shinned it up, I could see my reflection and it was as smooth as a babies butt.
Wed, 10/08/2014 - 13:13
#1
polishing fiberglass trailer
We have used the Bartenders powder on stubborn bottoms of our stainless steel pots and pans, but I would refrain from using such on the fiberglass surface. Also, RV stores sell the spray for trailers that show that ugly black streak coming down from the top. I used it and it works great!
<p>Doug Allen 2016 Ford F-150 2018 Lance 1575</p>
I ordered the Maguires fiberglass restoration kit from Amazon. Comes with a cleaner, a polish and a wax. Haven't started yet...it's going to be my winter project
Deb Staines
2016 16’, layout 4
'Rapscallion'
Love their products! I use them on my sports cars with great confidence. A friend of mine buys Adams products on line, a big rip,off! I like the fact we can buy premium products locally and they do a great job. I have waxed mine almost entirely with Maguiars products and shall continue to use them!
<p>Doug Allen 2016 Ford F-150 2018 Lance 1575</p>
I spent a week over my companies annual holiday closure, once the cookies and needles had left the house, to finally break out the Meguiar's M4966 Complete Marine/RV Fiberglass Restoration Kit
. Let me start by saying I'm NOT an experienced restoration professional, but I am adventurous ;-). I had also purchased an inexpensive polisher ($40 on sale) at Harbor Freight to make it a bit "easier".
First process: cleaner. I used the polisher on about half the trailer.I applied by hand along the center spine and those hard to get to spots. This left the glass nice and smooth and removed the oxidation and what looked like some old dirty water stains of some sort
Second process: polish. New foam pad for the polisher. Again about half and half with the polisher vs by hand. Now my girl is smooth AND shiny. Looking good
Third process: wax! I did the entire wax by hand. Baby looks amazing!!
Wish the above pix showed how smooth, clean and shiny she is again. What I can show is the new sealer. Before I cleaned the glass I removed not one, but two old dirty layers of caulk(thank you previous owners for applying latex sealer poorly over old filthy silicone sealer). After waxing her I reapplied a nice clean sealer with clean edges. The trick to this is blue painters tape, which is then removed before the new caulk dries.
Deb Staines
2016 16’, layout 4
'Rapscallion'
ps...also repainted the rear bumper and stabilizer jacks. It's was a busy vacation ;-)
)
Deb Staines
2016 16’, layout 4
'Rapscallion'
Debstaines:
Did you find any tricks to removing the old caulk? I've removed it from bathroom tile and using a knive to scrape it off. But, wouldn't want to use that process on the fiberglass. The blue painters tape trick is great, thanks. And thanks for the pics. More pics would be useful too. How many foam pads did you use for the whole refinishing? This job is on my list of "spring chores". Too cold here in Colorado to start it now!!
Thanks, great job!
piperjim
I carefully used a thin flat blade screwdriver to get under the old caulk , making sure any scraping was in the very corner where the new caulk would cover any scratches, which were minimal. I just needed to get under it enough to be able to get a grip and pull as much off as I could....then lift again. Once I got off as much as I could, I got 2 - 16oz cans of Goof Off at Home Depot (actually got one and had to go get another, but I had 2 layers and you can see how bad it was up the side and all over the aluminum strip, so I had a big job), a bag of rags and a cheap paper paint fume mask (Goof Off is VERY smelly and not good for you I'm sure, but the paper mask helped a lot..make sure it is for paint fumes (unless you already have a fancy respirator mask. this was a cheap alternative and did the job). I started at the door and made my way around, soaking a rag, wiping it on the trailer, soaking, wiping. for scraping at this point, I used a cheap plastic putty knife so it would not scratch the fiberglass. I had seen a video for removing decals from a fiberglass RV online and he used an old plastic credit card as a scraper...I got the plastic putty knife and it workd well also. It tooks 2 days but was well worth the effort. I am so happy with the way it came out!!
I got 2 foam pads for the polishing. One for the cleaning and one for the polishing. They are each specific to their use. the cleaning one is softer and did not hold up well to the occasional sharp edge, I managed to get it thru to the end of the job, but had to throw it away after. the polishing one is much firmer and was not damamged at all. I should mention that I used the polisher to apply the cleaner and polisher, but used rags to wipe it off by hand.
I'll post more pix in a separate post next. they did not all come out so great. My Scamp is garaged so the light was not great at all angles, but it is nice to be able to fire up the Mr Heater and work on her over the winter :)
Deb Staines
2016 16’, layout 4
'Rapscallion'
Deb Staines
2016 16’, layout 4
'Rapscallion'
Thanks, realy helpful.
piperjim
thanks for this information! very helpful. I hope to repolish my new used 1994 scamp soon. did you remove the old caulking before cleaning and polishing? theres lots of old caulk on my scamp i want to remove and replace. not sure if i should remove it and reapply a fresh layer of caulk and then clean and polish the shell or do it in a different order. thanks for any input!
Pages