ZEP wet look...need UV protection?

Someone wrote there is no free ride with RV maintenance. I think Zep comes pretty close. I used Zep on my RV a year ago. Cleaning the RV took some work and time, but 4 coats of Zep went on pretty quickly and was not much work.

A year later, most of the RV looked like I had just waxed it. I did have to clean on lots of bug splatter and dirt off the nose of the RV. I ended up stripping the Zep off with wax stripper and reapplying 4 fresh coats to the nose area. I gave the rest of the RV another coat even though it did not seem to need it. Even with the stripping and work on the front end the entire job was easier than waxing the truck. I may end up using Zep on the truck as well.

BTW, no sign of yellowing after a year exposed to sun and elements. I also did not have those nasty black streaks due to water running off the roof. There was another benefit. In addition to a year of weather, I drove 10k miles through bad weather, dust and lots of bugs. Typically I would wash the RV several times. I never washed it all year and the Zep helped keep it clean. This Spring it quickly washed clean except for some remaining bug splatters.

I would say that Zep is pretty close to a free ride.

JaxDad wrote:
Huh, 3 replies, 2 from people who seem to have never tried this method, 1 who has.

The 2 that have never tried it condemn it, the 1 who has used it said worked.

Seems about par for the course around here.........

I never "condemned" it.

Just stated that after a few years that the "allure" of a cheap, easy fix has lost it's shine..

Slapping a liquid wax that IS designed for indoors might be a quick fix to put an artificial shine, but it is a temporary fix to a long term problem and eventually you will be faced with removing the old and reapplying once again.

Kind of like putting lipstick on a pig, don't you think?

I look for LONG TERM fixes that tend to last.

Repainting with REAL AUTOMOTIVE PAINTS while is expensive can easily result in no need to wax ever again and last well over 15 yrs.

I HAVE done that with modern day automotive Epoxy paints on autos AND RVs..

But then again, I am not a slave to my RV and would rather spend time camping instead of primping a pig.

I did the Zep floor polish on our old fifth wheel. At the time, a good buffing and polish would fade in a few weeks. The zep made it shine like new. I would reapply the zep with just one coat about twice a year. Around year 3, I could not control the flaking. Used Zep floor stripper and redid the finish. Traded it after 7 years so who knows what it looks like now.

JaxDad wrote:
Huh, 3 replies, 2 from people who seem to have never tried this method, 1 who has.

The 2 that have never tried it condemn it, the 1 who has used it said worked.

Seems about par for the course around here.........

Sorry, used the expensive clone. Could not wait to get the **** off after two years.

Huh, 3 replies, 2 from people who seem to have never tried this method, 1 who has.

The 2 that have never tried it condemn it, the 1 who has used it said worked.

Seems about par for the course around here.........

To answer the OP’s question... Yes. I used a floor product on my sun damaged 2000 Hurricane and it made things shine quite nicely. Adding a UV protectant like 303 will help delay the time between reapplication. I would not use ZEP on a finish that is in good shape though.

x3 on Don’s post. Don’t paint over rust either!

As donn0128 mentions you ARE dealing with INDOOR FLOOR WAX..

Nothing more really needs to be said but folks have insisted on using it, with spotty results. Some folks seem to think it works fine and others have regretted using it after it starts to peel or yellow.

I remember my Mom having to remove old floor wax then rewaxing the floors.. Floor wax even indoors WILL YELLOW, some more than others.

Sure, it will bring an artificial temporary at best "shine" with nearly no effort..

When the floor wax craze started, there was plenty of talk, now, fast forward a few years and zilch, no talk.. The silence should speak volumes..

You need to look realistically at what you really have, an old, worn out paint surface that is degraded. Nothing short of a brand new paint job is going to give you back any real shine for a LONG period of time.

Even auto waxes are a short term, temporary fix..

Wash your RV then if you have the energy, use a good auto wax and forget about using something that was never designed to be used outdoors.

Sorry, IMHO using floor polish will be a mistake. All your doing is putting a shine over the old finish. Instead use good polishing compound to restore the finish followed by quality paste wax. Fiberglas exterior, use McGuires RV Marine or Colinite Fleetwax. Metal siding, any good automotive wax will yeild good results. There is no free ride to maintaining an RV. It takes work, but the results are worth it.