Front cap needs attention

Heres a pic of the Poli Glow product I am in process of putting on. Fairly easy to apply. Wash with their cleaner, then apply 5-6 coats , with each coat drying in a few minutes. Needs to be put on on cool days. It dries too fast even with the sun on the other side of the RV. Probably because the surface is still hot. I did the end cap 1st, came out real nice.The left side I have started on, doing a section at a time.

Thanks the the info. A lot of options here. But I thought of another. What do you think about wrapping the entire front cap in vinyl?

If I come up with a design a local print/ sign shop can make and install it for me

What do you think.

I used Poli-Glow two years ago and it looks great.
It actually is a water based urethane. was originally developed for boats.
If you visit their web sight they have a video to show how it works, comes in a kit with a cleaner (all waxes have to be removed) and applicator for urethane.
If you use it alter direction of application to avoid streaks. It will require four to five coats.
Milt

Depending how bad it is don't expect the restoration to be easy & cheap. Sure there are a bunch of one step cleaner/waxes out there which will give some short term gratification.

For a restoration to last it will require a multistep process as already given or, as also suggested, a 2 part epoxy marine paint such as Aul Grip. The paint will las far longer than any compound & wax process but it is also far more expensive.

Take your pick.

tvman44 wrote:
I used Meguiar's Marine-RV One Step Compound, it remove oxidation, stains, ect. and leaves a little shine. Follow that with a coat of wax and looks like new again. It is designed for Gelcoat on Boats & RVs. I love it. :)

X2
Don

I used Meguiar's Marine-RV One Step Compound, it remove oxidation, stains, ect. and leaves a little shine. Follow that with a coat of wax and looks like new again. It is designed for Gelcoat on Boats & RVs. I love it. :)

If you really want to solve the problem forever and make it look great too... just get it painted.
I had mine repainted with a two part epoxy paint and it looks better than new. Cost was $800 but I never have to worry about it again.

3 basic options:
- Buff and wax on a regular basis. If it's bad, you will need some heavy buffing. This can get you years of shinny surface. Eventually, you may buff thru the gelcoat and have to do something more significant.
- Polyglow or similar petroleum based surface. Those who keep it like it but if you let it go, it can start peeling and looks horrible. Then you have to completely remove it with significant work and start over or switch to a new system.
- Clean, dewax and paint. This is probably the best option. There are do it yourself products that produce a good result. We used interlux brightside on our last boat and 5yrs on it was still shinny with no buffing or waxing. Up front effort it probably a bit more but you don't need to spend as much ongoing time keeping it up. Eventually, the paint will need to be redone.

There are pro's and con's to all of the options and they all require some level of effort.

I tried waxing, hand buffing, orbital, etc. on my oxidized finish and nothing looked good for very long. Completed the Zep process (do a search) and its looked great for 3+ years.

Blue-Magic TR-3 Resin Glaze does an exelent job of removing oxidation and restoring/protecting the finish.
After the TR-3 I apply 303 protectant to help protect from UV.