Polishing fiberglass

[azcummins]

Hey guys... new to the towing part of the TDR so go easy on me...



Just got a 3H Aluminium/Fiberglass Sooner GN Horse Trailer today and it needs a polish. Made in 95 so the fiberglass is oxidized a bit. I know you can wetsand boat fiberglass and polish it, but it really hard and you need industrial buffers.



What do you guys recommend I do? Should I pay someone or just let it go?

 

[Jammar9082]

I have been considering something like a clear coat on our RV that sounds good. I haven't decided which of two products would be best for me. They are "Nyalic" and "Vivalon" dot com. The literature is similar and there is some difference in price. Maybe a search would turn up something on the subject. I don't remember if it was the TDR or iRV2 forums that had a discussion on the products.

 

[Charley]

Barry, the moderator of this thread, wrote on this some time back. He prefers Nyalic and puts in on for his customers. Drop him a line.



Charley

 

[paccool]

How much needs to be done depends on how bad the oxidation is. If it is severe, rubbing compound and a buffer should get it cleaned up. If moderate, you should be able to get it by hand. Use a fine rubbing compound and rub it out using a sponge and a little water. Put compound on the trailer after rinsing it and start rubbing it out. The gel coat is pretty easy to clean up.



After rubbing, wash good and let dry. Wax with a good quality car wax. Should look pretty good.



Just remember that if it is real bad, a buffer will be needed to clean it up. I wouldn't wet sand it unless absolutely necessary. If you wet sand it, you will still need to buff it out with rubbing compound to get rid of the sanding marks.



My brother and I had a fiberglass shop back for a few years and we used to use a paste wax on the molds after sanding and buffing out. Been lots of advances since then for waxes and there are some out now that are easy to apply.



Like Charley said, Barry was sold on the Nyalic, this might work for this. I think I would still wash with rubbing compound first to get rid of the worst buildup.

 

[Barry]

OK, here is the latest dope. A friend of mine is working on a new product and he brought me 20 gallons of the stuff. It is nothing short of awesome! You have to be deaf, dumb and stupid to screw it up. You can wipe it on, roll it on or spray it on. If you miss a spot, you can go back and touch it up and it is self leveling. The shine and depth is unbelieveable. The product does have 2 drawbacks. First: It cannot be applied below 70 degrees. Second: It remains "tacky" for 20 to 30 minutes so you cannot use it when the wind and dust are blowing. Other than that, this stuff is unbelieveable.

 

[azcummins]

Barry-

Hook a brother up!

 

[Barry]

PM or call me as I have got to ship 2 gallons to 2 other TDR guys. 1 gallon will do 3 '30 RVs. So if 1 or 2 of you got together... ... ... .

 

[Wolfgang]

Maybe a stupid question. Windex make a spray on window cleaner, Can this be used to clean the whole coach. If so will it hurt the finish on a fiberglass coach.