Silicone based paint protectant products

[John Stephens]

I have searched the forum for information regarding what to do when you have completely lost your clear coat finish on non painted or non decaled fiberglass surfaces on a coach due to poor maintenance and found little that can help me out short of either repainting the areas or doing a vinyl wrap, neither of which is in my budget. I bought my coach when it was ten years old and the original owner apparently didn't realize you needed to wax it now and then if you wanted to keep it looking sharp. So now at the age of 14 years, not only am I losing the decals from curling up, I also have no clear coat remaining on the outside of the coach on the areas that were not painted. I have had a professional wash and wax the coach for an exorbitant sum and following their lead, I bought an orbital polisher and some good liquid wax that will remove the oxidation and leave the surface with a satin finish, but no shine. Now, some of what I thought was oxidation (black spotting) isn't coming off and I've been told I'm into the fiberglass. I don't think that's correct because if so, I would probably be seeing fiberglass threading occurring. But in any event, the situation is getting worse.

I have seen advertisements on the internet, specifically Facebook, touting new products using a SiO2 base that essentially creates a barrier for the paint on a car and am wondering if it would take the place of repainting the fiberglass with a new clear coat. Sounds too good to be true and I'm wondering if anyone on the forum has had any experience with these products. I don't mind putting in some elbow grease to make the coach look better; I just can't afford $12K to get it repainted. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Hanr3]

I'm not a fiberglass expert, however I believe what you need is a fiberglass top coat. Both the Marine and RV industries utilize fiberglass outer skins and there are hundreds of products available. That is the extent of my fiberglass knowledge. I have an aluminum boat and my RV is brand new. Sorry, Wish I could help more. 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I don't think any coating you can rub on is a replacement for painted clear coat.  Besides, the aftermarket products are just sealants, designed to keep dirt and stains from clinging to the surface.  All that stuff about it being "ceramic" or "glass' is marketing hype. Yes, silicon or silica is a component is many hard finishes. e.g. concrete, glass, quartz, etc.  Sounds like it ought to be real hard & shiny, right?  But Silicon is also the main ingredient in beach sand, microchips and even food products.

 

[8Muddypaws]

I?ve seen pictures of older neglected rigs that have been rejuvenated with Zep High Traffic floor wax. 

Might even be some mentions on this site.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Yeah, The Zep treatment may be best here.  if the objective is to restore gloss on a badly oxidized rig, a coarse polish to remove as much oxidation as possible, followed by several coats of a thick wax (Zep Floor Wax in this case) can put a nice shine on it. It's a lot of work, most all manual labor.

There are numerous topics here about the Zep treatment - use SEARCH to find them.

 

[donn]

Zep is not going to cure your problem.  I understand a professional paint job is not in your budget, but.....  consider a trip to Mexico and have it done right or buy some paint specally designed for your situation and paint it yourself.  For a few hundred dollars and a weeks worth of your time you could possibly get a decent 20 foot paint job.

 

[zmotorsports]

It's hard to tell by your description and without seeing it but if in fact the clear coat is gone, there is nothing you can put on the finish to bring back the shine.  The clear coat over the basecoat was in fact what provided the shine and protection for the base coat.  The only way to repair that is going to be repaint and re-clear the surface because by now the basecoat is exposed and will not properly accept the bond needed for new clear.  When clear coat is applied over new paint it has a fairly narrow time window in which to apply because it not only relies on a mechanical bond but also a chemical bond for proper curing and life expectancy.  IF that time expires neither the mechanical nor the chemical bond will be able to provide the proper protection for the paint and it will fail rapidly.  When I was painting show cars and bikes I generally tried to get the clearcoat onto the basecoat within a 24-hour period @ approx. 70*F.  If the previous owner used silicone based sealant that could have expedited the deteriorating process as silicone can plug up the pores of the paint and the paint has to actually breathe or it will oxidize and decline rapidly.

Now if you sidewalls are NOT actually clear coated and merely gelcoat, they can be polished back to life by using a micropolishing polish followed by a finer glaze to bring the shine back but you won't be able to do anything about the decals at this point.  Gelcoat finishes are like boats and were very popular on many of the RV's up through the mid-2000's until full body paint began trickling down from the higher end models to the lower and mid-level coaches.

Mike