2017 Winnebago Vista 29VE Dull Paint

[WandaWinnie]

We bought her about six months ago and are noticing that the paint looks super dull. There's virtually no shine at all. It's almost like there's no clear coat on the paint.

We had an experienced detailer come out to polish it in hopes they could bring the shine back but they had no luck.

Has anyone else had this issue?

[bigb]

Originally Posted by WandaWinnie

We bought her about six months ago and are noticing that the paint looks super dull. There's virtually no shine at all. It's almost like there's no clear coat on the paint.

We had an experienced detailer come out to polish it in hopes they could bring the shine back but they had no luck.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Does your rig have full body paint or are you looking at fiberglass with gelcoat?

[WandaWinnie]

Originally Posted by bigb

Does your rig have full body paint or are you looking at fiberglass with gelcoat?

Fiberglass with gelcoat.

[bigb]

Mine was polished by professionals just before I bought it but in the right light you can see some swirls and some dull spots. I am going to try a DA polisher myself one small section at a time to see if I can improve on it.
What did the experienced detailer say about yours? If there is gelcoat you should be able to compound it till it shines, maybe the detailer wasn't aggressive enough with his machine or compound choice. There are several good You tubes out there about different machines and compounds.

[bigb]

Note if the graphics are dull those are decals and I don't think they can be polished, mine were replaced when they buffed out the rig.

[thataway4]

When we have vinyl graphics we coat them several times a year with Aerospace protectorate 303 for vinyl/fiberglass. It does not last long on the fiberglass, which we wax.

I buy the 303 in gallon containers from Amazon, or whom ever is the cheapest.

[Venner5]

We have the 2019 Vista 29VE and it was also dull. I hated that.
We washed it and then applied the 303 Aerospace protectant....
Love it,, It is now smooth and shiny.

[Westy67]

I own one of the first 29ve with the brown nose front. The sun in Florida fades the brown and fades the fiberglass gelcoat. I use polyglot once a yea to make it new and shiny. It is a pain. I would consider full body paint now. I was against it before but might be worth it now. It is a full day effort. The polyglot goes on easy enough. Just be cautious on cleaning the oxide off the decals. Polyglow ok for the decals also. I love the layout and the coach now that it is dialed in. Good luck

[MovingMann]

Just a quick tip to eliminate swirl marks on full body paint, fiberglass, gelcoat...lightly sprinkle corn starch on your buffing pad when buffing and it will eliminate your swirl marks. Lightly is the key to the corn starch as well as the buffing.

I would not use this on any graphics or decals !

Later,
MovingMann

[Westy67]

One thing about polyglow. No buffers! You squirt on the prep, a light scrub with the scrubby brush they provide. That removes the oxide on the gelcoat. After it dries apply polyglow with a microfiber towel working in 3 ft x 3 ft areas. Take 6-10 coats of wiping it on letting it dry a couple of minutes. Apply until you like the shine. Good for about a year. No buffers for me. No issues with decals either unless you really leave the prep on too long

[deucehotrods]

Ahh, the curse of the gel coat! Before I got my Winnebago Adventurer 38R with full body paint, I owned a Monaco La Palma that had been in the sun for years and its gel coat was very dull. I stripped the decals off and had the graphics repainted on in their place. I also had them buff all the gel coat. They didn't do a very good job either, so I decided to do it over again myself. I am experienced in paint and body work so I first used my 9" buffer with a wool pad and various rubbing compounds with a little improvement. Using that combination worked but it was a mess and hard to be consistent. I then went to Harbor Freight and bought this orbital buffer with the orange coarse pads. You'll spend less than a $100 and mines buffed the La Palma three times plus waxed my Winnebago a couple of times, plus automotive work. I just bought another one for a backup if I ever burn this one up. So far its been bulletproof.

https://www.harborfreight.com/power-...der-64528.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-c...pad-63291.html

There are grey and blue pads are for polishing and waxing too.

Then I finally found a compound that really worked, Presta Gel Coat Compound. It;s not cheap, about $40 for 32 ounces.

https://www.prestaproducts.com/GEL_COAT-details.aspx

You might find it locally at an auto body paint and supply store or online at Amazon, Ebay or many other places.

https://www.amazon.com/Presta-138532.../dp/B01LXT9D1V

I suspect your professionals used a cleaner/wax with no results. The problem is your gel coat needs to have the top dead layer of it buffed off and smoothed. It can then be waxed to protect it. It is a tedious time consuming process and if your coach is exposed to the sun 24/7/365, it will need to done yearly. Do a small area at a time, (3' X 3') until it shines deeply. You'll notice your pad will turn white and be caked with compound and the dead gel coat. You can switch to a new pad while that one dries, then blow it out with forced air and use it again. It will take several days or more and you'll probably use up a pad and half the compound each time you do it. Like anything, the more time you spend doing it and the more experience you get, will make it worth it in the end.

[thompwil]

Our 2018 Sunstar has one small area just above the passenger window that has faded. I keep the coach waxed and the rest of it looks great. I saw a video about this product and was thinking of trying it in the spring.

Has anyone tried this?

https://optimumcarcare.com/product/o...lcoat-restorer

Video: There's a lot of discussion about the product, but the actual application begins around minute 9:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbpouVBtftk

[Kjoy]

The best tip that I got in buffing out my 2016 destination was to use the foam waffle pads. They work so much better and are easy to rinse out and reuse over and over. Just stay away from sharp objects. I used polar shine 10 as my finish and it shines like new.

[dsruth]

I have a2011 via. Dulled paint and gel coat. Had a professional aircraft detailed polish the entire RV and then coat it with ceramic. Trust me. These jet owners are very demanding. It came out great. 3 days of work

[Tony D]

Heard Maguiars one step is the way to go

[Kjoy]

The Meguiars one step is a great product and I that was my first step it saved lots of time and lots of buffing but it only got me about 75% of the Finish that was attainable. That's where the polar shine 10 and foam waffle pad finished the job.