Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Give it your best shot but if you remove the graphics you will see where they were and you can only buff out the gel coat so many times.
I eventually had my front cap painted because it was just fading away and I could see material underneath. Eve though it was a little expensive at $800, it looks better than new and will hold up much better.

Meguire's is probably the best, check out their RV and Marine products
Meguire's

Gelcote is what most fiberglass boats are finished with. So any marine supply will have gelcote cleaners and waxes. Also in the marine section at WM, HD, Lowes and other big box stores.

To Really do it right, Hire a PRO.Detailer, makes world of difference...then , its upkeep.

I just got thruogh removing the vinyl decals from my rig. Used a razor blade to remove the decal, and gue gone to remove the glue. Bought a product called 'Buff Magic" and with a 6" buffer working small areas at a time, and with very little Buff Magic, buffed out the whole rig. Brought back the shine. This is the second rig I've done. Alot of labor involved. And when you get though, put on a coat of wax.

POLI-GLOW. I have a 12 year old trailer that has a front and rear fiberglass cap...the chalking that washed down the side when using the prep was amazing! After applying the Poli-glow the shine on the trailer is amazing!

Don't know about taking the graphics off, but then you would need to buff them out to get the same color. I don't know if the poli-prep will get the fiberglass all the same...might be a good question for the manufacturer.

Tim

You might check out this stuff. Another poster recommended it.
I will be trying it out when we get settled down for the winter,in AZ.
The website info sounds good,we'll see.

http://www.collinite.com/

Might want to read this thread, it is not about removing decals but could give some ideas to clean up after they are removed.

Red Max Pro

-Bryan

There are various grades of compounds available to remove oxidation. There comes a point however where no compounding & waxing is going to restore the surface. At that point painting will be the answer. How long it will last after that depends on primarily the paint used & maintenance. Might as well spend a few extra $ on a good marine epoxy product which will last for years because the labour is the same for budget of quality product.

RV builders, in the name of saving weight & costs skimp on gelcoat thickness so be very careful. Weight is not an issue for boatbuilders & boats have to endure much harsher conditions than RVs being exposed all of the time, being exposed to salt water & not being washed off.

There is no one product does all for restoration. Neither is there an easy way to restore gelcoat short of handing over the credit card.

Mequires & 3M each have a good line of marine products for restoring & preserving gelcoat.

I don't if this will help but last year I used the stuff called barskeeper friend that I got at walmart. This is the stuff people were using to clean their fiberglass walls prior to using the floor wax(Red Max Pro) on there walls. I used it on the one side of my trailer that is always in the sun and likes to oxidize on me. It took off all the oxidation and then I put a good coat of wax on it. It came out pretty darn good.