renew exterior finish

gjw319 · 11-26-2010, 05:02 AM

HI we bought a 1994 winnebgo vectra motor home .my question is I would like to renew the exterior of the body .The sides are fiber glass .when I wipe my hand on the side I do not get any resadue on my hand.Do I use a rubbing compound or a good wax .If just a wax what kind? Do I use a buffer?Any help sure would be nice.She is a little old but we want to make her look like new .thanks

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tims52ford · 11-26-2010, 05:46 AM

There are a lot of products on the market you can use, depending on your situation, I use a product called gel gloss. It works really well for me.

Brave-r · 11-26-2010, 06:06 AM

We just bought a 2001 Brave; the dealer uses a product called Poliglow we paid extra to have him apply. Saw an RV he had just finished and it looked great. We pick ours up Sunday, can't wait to see how it looks. Here are a couple links I found, I plan to get some and re-apply in 6 to 12 months.

Welcome to Poliglow Products - The Manufacturer for Over 15 Years!

PoliGlow - An End to Boat Wax 800-206-3305

paulrtaylor · 11-26-2010, 09:24 AM

The poliglow looks like it works great. I saw some pictures on here from a guy that used it and his looked new. I plan on using it on my 95 when I get the time.

Lt46 · 11-26-2010, 09:30 AM

I use poliglow on my 1997 Adventurer. Before using, I tried numerous wax's to bring back the shine and nothing really worked. I followed the instruction for poliglow to the letter and the results were spectacular and remains so 7 months later. I will reapply each spring in order to keep her looking this way. Should you decide to go this route, I'll forewarn you...the 1st few coats that go on are unimpressive, however by coat # 5 you'll be dazzled.

Wanabee FTer · 11-26-2010, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt46

Should you decide to go this route, I'll forewarn you...the 1st few coats that go on are unimpressive, however by coat # 5 you'll be dazzled.

Here's what I did. I used cheap bottles of soft scrub kitchen cleanser to clean and remove the oxidation first before applying gel coat restorer. This easily removed the oxidized coating over the gel coat without scratching it. Since the RV is fiberglass, similar to household tubs and showers, I figured it would be OK to use this product. I also used a brush attached to a broom handle, which made it quick and easy to clean. Then I used Meguiars Boat/RV gel coat gloss. The Meguiars products are awesome. One coat replenishes oils back into the gelcoat and makes it shine like new.
Using this combo of products gave we the easiest way to clean and restore the gel coat finish on my MH.

Adams Family · 11-26-2010, 11:11 AM

HI,
I just stumbled on this forum and lots of good info, so I thought I'd share too. I have an RV (Coachmen Santara 335MB 1997) that was very oxidized - the rear cap was like a chalkboard.
I tried Thetford, Gel Gloss, electric buffer, etc to no avail - The storage compartment doors were to worst too.
I found a product called New Glass2 - It looks very similar to the stuff mentioned above.
Let me tell you, it was amazing to say the least! Friends can't believe it! They also had a cleaner that you dilute, spray on, scrub lightly and wash off and all the oxidation goes away (even used both on window frames, Refrig cover, etc).
One note, be careful of the cleaner as it did eat some painted surfaces (fenders that had paint over glass) - I'll fix this later.
I used two large bottles to get the initial coats on and have ordered a third to finsh it off (I have put about 5 or more coats on as per directions). It is self leveling, so you don't have to worry about overlap, easy to fix mistakes, runs, etc. Not a lot of hard work, just some time.
I am very impressed!

forest · 11-30-2010, 01:56 PM

Just be aware the Poli Glow looks like crap after a year or 2. Having to reapply regularly will be necessary, or the finish starts to streak and fade horrible. And if you ever need to remove the Poli Glow, have fun. It is horrible stuff in our opinion. Great stuff for dealers who are looking to make a old unit shine on the sales lot, but that is about it.

Brave-r · 11-30-2010, 06:07 PM

Hmmmm..... Had a boat I tried all kinds of stuff on, had to reapply every couple of months. Every year or two sounds like an endorsement to me.

pjtaxi · 11-30-2010, 06:43 PM

This Poliglow sounds like a great product and will investigate more this spring, can you coat over the vinyl graphics?

Midniteoyl · 12-01-2010, 02:24 AM

poliglow vs vertglass vs new glass application:

Poli Glow Review - Practical Sailor from MyBoatStore.com - Your #1 Source for PoliGlow Products

And follow up 3 years later:

http://www.poliglow-int.com/images/h...rer_update.pdf

Brave-r · 12-01-2010, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjtaxi

This Poliglow sounds like a great product and will investigate more this spring, can you coat over the vinyl graphics?

Yes, they ran the poliglow over the graphics too. I watched them prepping our coach and the guy used a razor blade to carefully trim parts of the graphics that were peeling. Made for a nice smooth finish.

Yellowboat · 12-08-2010, 08:44 PM

I used PolyGlow on my 1973 boat about four years ago. It needs another coat especially on the top surface. The sides still look good to me. I'm thinking about using PolyGlow on the front of my RV.

JD

slick60 · 12-09-2010, 05:33 PM

COAT 5...my gosh how long did this take??

Bug512 · 12-09-2010, 08:41 PM

I was just talking to my Nephew about detailing cars and RV's. As a part time hobby / money maker he details cars. He gets his supplies from Detailers Domain.

You might want to give a place like this a call to see what they recommend.
There is a place here in New Jersey that details RV's and Boats, they charge by the foot. I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,500 for ours to be done. That was inside and outside.