Bringing back exterior fiberglass white color

[byekryam]

Hi,
I recently purchased an '86 Winnebago which has some exterior fiberglass yellowing. I'm assuming the original color of the entire exterior was white. I've been investigating\researching methods and products that can restore the exterior color of the fiberglass back to original color. I've read a plethora of articles but none seem to be able to fully restore the original finish. Is this correct, that I am left to settle for the faded coloration? Has anyone had any success with any type of a method and\or product that can make an older RV look newer? Otherwise my thoughts are down the line to potentially "wrap" the RV (if I keep it that long without buying a newer one) vs. painting because it appears painting is much more expensive than wrapping. What have your experiences been? Thanks

[tderonne]

Most models weren't "white" in that era. What model do you have?

1986 Brochures show a lot cream/tan.

[Hermes2]

Fiberglass can certainly yellow over time. As yours is 35 years old, it is to be expected, although as the above poster noted -- cream may have been the original color. My experience with both RV's and boats is to use a marine fiberglass cleaner, polish, and wax such as Meguiar's or Poly-Glo. It'll take a lot of buffing and elbow grease to get it back to a nice, glossy finish, but it is possible.

[byekryam]

I have the Chieftain (in pics it looks whiter than it actually is. In Real life it looks very yellow)

[byekryam]

Is there any way to find out what the original color was? Would the VIN have it?

[MadMaxWinny]

You can do a very long process of fine sanding (2000 grit) to knock off the worst of the oxide, rubbing compound (to remove the sanding scratches), polishing compound, finishing polishing compound (3M makes an excellent three products for this), then a good marine wax, like the excellent Meguiar's Flagship (which was already suggested). I can't tell the condition your graphics are in, but THAT is another can of worms to remove.

I skipped all of that and did Pettit EZpoxy marine paint, using their roll and tip method. It's not a finish you can use to shave in the reflection, but again, that can also be achieved with the above process. I call it my "five foot" paint job. Looks great from five feet away. Any level of quality can be achieved with enough elbow grease or money.

[danhannah]

This may not apply to you, but the yellowing on my rig turned out to be old wax. I used wax remover and found white fiberglass was okay.

Also, some people on this forum were sold on putting floor wax on the sides, so who knows what's on there.

Maybe soak a spot with strong ammonia and detergent, see if it helps.

The wax that yellowed on my rig, and built up badly, was NuFinish, which I used every six months for years. Never again!