Hello everyone!In my search for a new van, I am thinking of getting one with a high fiberglass top. Or having a top (used or new) put onto a van.I'm reading up on restoring fiberglass and have a few questions. - Is washing off the oxidation of, say, a 35 year old unmaintained top an itchy process? It seems like it would be! But I see no mention of that. I'd like to know before I start.- Someone on another forum said that once the original gelcoat breaks down, fiberglass becomes porous and leaky. Is this true? Sounds like a disaster. What do I do about it?Thanks for helping me scope out my options, :)-

Do a search for ZEP on this site or IRV2.com. Zep is a floor care product that many have used including me to "restore" fiberglass/gel coat surfaces. You have to get the surface really really clean then apply numerous coats of the floor product 5+ but it makes it really shine.

#1: Can't say on "carwash" issue but I doubt. FG is normally covered with gelcoat that already contains a pigment. There is no need to paint it, thus there is no "oxidation". Though I have to admit I didn't work with campervan FG tops.#2: Doubt about this either. There are 2 or 3 different types of resin used in FG. Epoxy is the best, polyester is the worst. Poly resin is normally used in sacrificial gel coat - it's just a resin with pigment, no fibers. Low-end FG structures are often made with poly resin too, even small dinghies (that are supposed to save your life). In any event, when resin deteriorates. the whole chunk of FG breaks down - usually on seams. Haven't heard of "leaking".

I own vintage conversion with 43 years old fiberglass cap. It shows aging, but holds, while I keep the coach protected from UV. Gellcoat can be resprayed and this is a project I am planning for my canoe, but would hesitate for RV as the surface might not come perfectly smooth. I think it would take extreme deterioration for fiberglass to leak, but with gellcoat chalked out - automotive painting is valid option.Advantage of paint v/s gellcoat is that for paint you can prep/prime the surface, while gellcoat is more like 1-time application.

Paint does protect the resin (of gel coat) from UV deterioration, but manufacturers don't paint new gel coated structures as this coat is considered sacrificial. Users don't usually paint their new vans or boats either, but apply a UV spray like 303 to prolong the resin life (not below the waterline of course). By the time the gel will have deteriorated, there is no sense painting it, you need to re-coat it with gel again - nothing complicated but it's a messy and dusty work. I would imagine painting the gel coat, at some point between it being brand new and totally gone. Not when it's new, and not when it needs re-coating already. Keep in mind that painting the gel will make re-coating more difficult.Any product able to really restore FG or gel, has to be a 2-part resin again. Otherwise it's a cosmetic restoration only.About "leaking" - not totally impossible, but this wouldn't be caused by porosity of FG structure. Gel wears out from abrasion or deteriorates from UV, then resin in FG structure deteriorates, FG cracks along stress lines, and then it may leak. At this point it's literally falling apart, and leaks will be the least of your problems. Should take many years.

Paint a coat of clear resin over the top,...sure wouldn't pass up a good deal because of oxidized FG !

Fiberglass questions | Good Sam Community

33 Replies

Kayteg1
Explorer II
Apr 14, 2016
I own vintage conversion with 43 years old fiberglass cap.
It shows aging, but holds, while I keep the coach protected from UV.
Gellcoat can be resprayed and this is a project I am planning for my canoe, but would hesitate for RV as the surface might not come perfectly smooth.
I think it would take extreme deterioration for fiberglass to leak, but with gellcoat chalked out - automotive painting is valid option.
Advantage of paint v/s gellcoat is that for paint you can prep/prime the surface, while gellcoat is more like 1-time application.
Almot
Explorer III
Apr 14, 2016
#1: Can't say on "carwash" issue but I doubt. FG is normally covered with gelcoat that already contains a pigment. There is no need to paint it, thus there is no "oxidation". Though I have to admit I didn't work with campervan FG tops.

#2: Doubt about this either. There are 2 or 3 different types of resin used in FG. Epoxy is the best, polyester is the worst. Poly resin is normally used in sacrificial gel coat - it's just a resin with pigment, no fibers. Low-end FG structures are often made with poly resin too, even small dinghies (that are supposed to save your life). In any event, when resin deteriorates. the whole chunk of FG breaks down - usually on seams. Haven't heard of "leaking".
wildtoad
Explorer II
Apr 14, 2016
Do a search for ZEP on this site or IRV2.com. Zep is a floor care product that many have used including me to "restore" fiberglass/gel coat surfaces. You have to get the surface really really clean then apply numerous coats of the floor product 5+ but it makes it really shine.

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Fiberglass questions

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