Getting the shine back on fiberglas.

westend wrote:

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
This isn't trying to be a smart Alec answer, but shade is the only thing that is going to help keep a new finish, new. The problem arises when solar panels are chosen and a rig needs to be kept out in the sun. Do "they" make "in-use" custom covers that would expose the roof, cover the sides but leave windows are doors free? This would seem to be the most intelligent way to protect a tupperware finish. In Mexico I hired the kids to build a palm frond enclosure. I had the only Crown 10-wheeler with appliance white DuPont Imron on it. I guess that paint is illegal to use now. It laughed at ultraviolet light.

Mex, agree with you 100% about the effects of sun, UV degrading is the #1 cause of oxidation for most resins. Boat users that clean their hulls after pull out see the difference under the waterline.

Imron is till sold but anyone that's used the three part primer will advocate it's removal from the marketplace. Chemical masks need cartridges specially formulated for the toxic brew and skin absorption will still make you sick, if not totally protected. After priming, no one can approach the surface until it's cured for a week or has been top coated. I've painted with Imron and never want the experience again. Then again, maybe it's been recently reformulated and isn't the toxic soup I encountered.

I have performed tests on unprotected composite structures and have seen the epoxy matrix erode from the woven fibers be it carbon, Kevlar or fiber glass. We built a all composite fuselage and left it out in the elements for 10 years and the surface resin was almost gone. Painted surfaces stopped this erosion. If the surface is just gelcoat repeated waxing needed to stop this erosion.