Bodywork shine - Red Max Pro 3 no longer avail - ZEP is same product :-)

DoctorJohn said:

I found four gallon bottles of Red Max Pro #3! Actually, I have six, but I'm keeping two of them. Four are available for sale: $15 each if anyone is interested. From what I've read this is the best stuff in the world for RVs and since it's been relabeled as Zep Wet-Look Floor Finish the price has gone up to $25/gallon.

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Good luck at that price.  I bought two 5gal jugs of it on Lowe's close out at 4$ per.  I've been giving it away by the gallon to anyone who wants it.  I still have a life time plus supply.

EDIT - Just for clarification, I didn't mean to imply that the product was no good, I just meant to emphasize that I was NOT selling at a profit.  I'm a solid proponent of RMP-3 (ZEP) use on older RVs.

Lowes sell Zep at $16.97.  Red Max Pro hasn't been manufactured for some time, so I'm guessing you might have difficulty selling old stock for $15 plus presumably shipping?

Dougie.

Yep, That price is high. Plus the fact that a gallon will last a long long time.

Nice job and write up.

Hello Mr. Brown,

I enjoyed reading your post about using ZEP to restore shine to an oxidized RV.  I do have a few (possibly dumb) questions.

My travel trailer is fiberglass.  One side is new and shiny b/c I took it to the factory to have one side and the roof replaced (due to bad design.  They replaced both for me).  So now I?ve got one side that, of course, looks new and shiny while the other side looks dull.  I?ve tried various types of spray on and wipe on/off waxes? none of it did a bit of good.

1:  Does this ZEP product work on Fiberglass?  I?m not sure what your RV exterior is made from so it was difficult for me to tell if you were working on fiberglass or some other type of exterior; possibly aluminum? 

2: As my RV sits in the yard, and rain water eventually drains out of the gutter pouts and leaves black streaks down the side.  The only thing I?ve been able to find that takes it off is Bleche-White tire cleaner - http://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Magic-Bleche-Wite-Tire-Cleaner-32-oz/19417551 - but of course it?s horrible for a fiberglass finish.  But I usually give up using expensive ?RV Cleaners? that don?t work and use a couple of sprays of Bleche-White and it comes right off with little effort.

Thank you for your help.  I?m really looking forward to getting this stuff together and giving it a shot.  I can?t wait for my RV to be shiny again..!!

Jeff

Jemanat2000 said:

1:  Does this ZEP product work on Fiberglass?  I?m not sure what your RV exterior is made from so it was difficult for me to tell if you were working on fiberglass or some other type of exterior; possibly aluminum? 

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Firstly, I'm an RV user and not a professional.  My disclaimer here is that I'm not qualified to give advice on bodywork.  Our experiences as reported here are just that - our experiences, and I can only express opinions based on what I know.  That's limited to our research and experiences.

My coach as far as I know has fiberglass panels and aluminum locker doors.  Zep is not a polish; it's a sealant which applies coats to the surfaces you're working on.  I can't see why it wouldn't work on anything with perhaps the exception of porous material such as wood (pretty obviously).  In any event, the recommended surfaces will no doubt be on the bottle.  It worked on our RV bodywork as reported above.

I see you've amended what you asked in your email.  I take it you've sourced Barkeeper's Friend and TSP?  We got ours locally in hardware stores (and Walmart, I think).

Dougie.

Dougie-

I got started doing a test area on mine last night and it does look beautiful (more or less).  One question for you:  My coach is the same year as yours and also a Winnebago product.  The main portion of the sidewall has either checking or little scratches in it that hold dirt or dark staining.  It's only visible from up close.  The door and the lower fiberglass body panels do not.  Did you have this same problem?  I can scrub as much as I want with the BKF and I don't think the dirt (or whatever) is going to come out of these scratches and will just get sealed in when I put the Zep on.  It will still look shiny and much better than before, but not as nice as the lower panels or the door.

Did you have this problem and was there anything that helped?

We had the same thing.  I'm sure it's the fiberglass crazing as the door & locker doors are aluminum and don't suffer from it.  As you say, it just got sealed in but is hardly noticeable at all unless you get your reading glasses on & squint at it from 2 inches!   You can't put back what's not there, but it sure as hell made it look twenty times better (still does).  Glad it's working for you too.

Dougie.

Thanks for the reassurance, Dougie.  I'll post pics when I get it done.

Dougie, you making as much on this promotion as I did?



$000,000.00

Progress report:

Got one side completely done yesterday.  Man, it looks nice.  (Sorry, no pics yet, but I'll take some eventually. )  I'm learning a few things as I go.  First, I wish I would have only used the scrubbie and BKF on the bare fiberglass and the decals.  I didn't need to do it on the painted hatches, and it left some scratching.  The scratching disappeared with a few coats of Zep, but it's still there underneath.  I'll skip that step on the other side, which will save time. 

Second, I used the "spray bottle" method for applying the Zep, which I saw elsewhere.  The plus is that it keeps you from over applying and getting runs.  The downside is that I'm pretty sure it takes longer.  It was taking me 20-30 minutes a side to put on a coat of Zep.  As a result, by the time I got 4 coats on, I was bushed.  One more coat might make it look even better, but I didn't have it in me and darkness was falling.

Hopefully I'll finish up next week.  I think my neighbors are starting to think I'm some sort of obsessive RV detailer.

Ahh, but what were you using for liquid refreshment?  OOps, s/b on companion thread.

Heh, heh.  Actually, I got so into it that I didn't even take many refreshment breaks.  I did occasionally take a swig from the garden hose.  Made me feel like I was 12 again.  Nothing tastes better than hose water.  And even though it was not rated for potable water, I didn't die.  ;D  But then that's another thread too.

jagnweiner said:

Got one side completely done yesterday.  Man, it looks nice.  (Sorry, no pics yet, but I'll take some eventually. )  I'm learning a few things as I go.  First, I wish I would have only used the scrubbie and BKF on the bare fiberglass and the decals.  I didn't need to do it on the painted hatches, and it left some scratching.  The scratching disappeared with a few coats of Zep, but it's still there underneath.  I'll skip that step on the other side, which will save time. 

Second, I used the "spray bottle" method for applying the Zep, which I saw elsewhere.  The plus is that it keeps you from over applying and getting runs.  The downside is that I'm pretty sure it takes longer.  It was taking me 20-30 minutes a side to put on a coat of Zep.  As a result, by the time I got 4 coats on, I was bushed.  One more coat might make it look even better, but I didn't have it in me and darkness was falling.  I'll finish up next week.  I think my neighbors are starting to think I'm some sort of obsessive RV detailer.

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Sounds like you're succeeding.  Like you, the best bit for us was seeing the transformation suddenly start to appear with the 3rd coat.  The 5th was the deal-breaker.   Interesting re. the hatches.  Ours are in need of another coat or two after extreme Arizona storage & use over 10 months although the main body is great.

jagnweiner said:

Heh, heh.  Actually, I got so into it that I didn't even take many refreshment breaks.  I did occasionally take a swig from the garden hose.  Made me feel like I was 12 again.  Nothing tastes better than hose water.  And even though it was not rated for potable water, I didn't die.  ;D  But then that's another thread too.

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You sound suitably wacky enough to apply for British citizenship.

Dougie.

Dougie Brown said:

You sound suitably wacky enough to apply for British citizenship.

Dougie.

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Quite possible, Dougie.  I'll take that as a compliment.  I don't know if you had similar experiences to this growing up in the UK, but in the midwestern US, when we had been out playing all day in the hot sun, we would get a drink from the garden hose hooked up to the spigot on the outside of the house.  It always tasted deliciously refreshing.  Of course, today kids would probably grab a bottle of water or a sports drink from the fridge.  But again, that's another topic and to keep from starting another tangent that gets split off into the Shade Tree, I shall say no more.  (of course talking about drinking from the hose probably isn't as interesting as talking about beer)

jagnweiner said:

Progress report: I used the "spray bottle" method for applying the Zep, which I saw elsewhere.  The plus is that it keeps you from over applying and getting runs.  The downside is that I'm pretty sure it takes longer.  It was taking me 20-30 minutes a side to put on a coat of Zep.  As a result, by the time I got 4 coats on, I was bushed.  One more coat might make it look even better, but I didn't have it in me and darkness was falling.

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Scott, I used an old sponge mop with micro fiber cloth tightly wrapped around it to apply my RMP-3.  I just dipped the mop in the liquid, squeezed it out by hand to no-drip stage (wore vinyl gloves) and could reach from top to bottom of coach without ladder or steps.  On a bright day it's easy to see when the mop required more liquid.

I could go completely around the coach in less than 15 minutes.  The only thing that would slow me down was trying to be careful around the windows.  That stuff is a real pain (no pane pun) to scrape off glass. 

Lou-

I might try that when I do the rest of the coach.  I'm not sure if I've got an old sponge mop, though, so it might require an additional $15 investment.

jagnweiner said:

Lou-
I might try that when I do the rest of the coach.  I'm not sure if I've got an old sponge mop, though, so it might require an additional $15 investment.

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Hope you don't have to take that $15 out of the liquid refreshment fund.   I had better be careful or they will merge these topics back together again.

Scott,

You forgot to mention you had to let the hose run a little before drinking. otherwise it would have been extremely hot!  ;D ;D

I also pulled carrots and ate them from the garden without rinsing along with parsley!!

Jim Dick said:

Scott,

You forgot to mention you had to let the hose run a little before drinking. otherwise it would have been extremely hot!  ;D ;D

I also pulled carrots and ate them from the garden without rinsing along with parsley!!

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...parsley can be eaten? ??? :-\