Removing oxidation from gelcoat

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Removing oxidation from gelcoat

July 18, 2012, 11:19:46 pm

I am in the process of removing the oxidation and refinishing the exterior of my coach. I have started with the Meguire's 3 step process Marine RV Fiberglass Restoration product, along with a Makita rotory buffer. I have progressed from that to 3M products. I have never before worked with fiberglass/gelcoat. I am finding this a difficult job. How easily is it to burn through the gelcoat? Can i work this surface aggresively? I have been taking it cautiously, but I just can't seem to get the finish that I would like to have. I have removed all of the graphics, and the surface under the vinyl is near pristine, and I realize that I will not be able to restore the old finish to that condition, and I have accepted that I am going to have some shadow lines of the old graphics. Has anyone been down this road? And can you give me some advice, suggestions, techniques, encouragement?
Thanks, Mike

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #1 – July 18, 2012, 11:37:51 pm

Try using Poli-Glow, worked great on our 87 GV it's like new, does not require a buffer. Several sellers on Ebay.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #2 – July 19, 2012, 12:43:07 am

Mike,

I have been trying to remove the old decals one stripe at a time. What a job. Am using a common household iron with teflon coating and setting it on low to soften the decal. About half comes off with the adhesive but the really sun damaged parts need lacquer thinner to clean the surface afterwards. Any better ideas?

Have used a variety of machine rubbing compounds along with a big Milwaukee slow speed buffer. Can't get beyond a semi-gloss finish no matter what I have tried. The old finish just chalks and runs down the sides each morning when it has been sitting out. Perhaps the Poli-Glow may do some good. Other than that, paint is my next step. The gelcoat sure is nice under the decals.

Poli-Glow reviews at: topside restoration - poli-glow vs wax - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Pierce

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #3 – July 19, 2012, 01:01:42 am

To quote Steve Snow: "Try using Poli-Glow, worked great on our 87 GV it's like new, does not require a buffer. Go to E-Bay and type in Poli-Glow, several sellers there"

I have been usin PoliGlow for about 4 years and am very satisfied with the luster and shine that it gives. You have to understand, this is a liquid polymer that is applied with a synthetic chamois provided by the company. Once you have the surface entirely free of oxidation, that is an ideal time to apply the Poli-glow. It is used routinely on fiberglass boats. This is not a polish. It isn't a wax. The first time one applies it, it will take 6 coats on the entire coach. The first three coats are absorbed (sucked up) by the fiberglass; by the 4th coat it goes on quite quickly and will begin to shine. About once a year two quick coats on a clean coach is all that is needed for a like-new finish. I buy mine directly from the Poli-Glow company. It takes less than two quart bottles to coat the coach 6 times. By the time you coat a 3' wide section from top of the rain rail to bottom of bay doors it is dry and you can begin coating again. It's not difficult; just a bit time-consuming and tiring climbing up and down a step-ladder.

PM me for details if you so desire.

I have pictures if you want to pursue this route.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #4 – July 19, 2012, 01:39:25 am

Pierce,
I used a hair dryer on the decals, and they came off fairly easily, adhesive also. What little adhesive remained, I used Goo-gone and it works very well.
Mike

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #5 – July 19, 2012, 02:15:06 am

Old dull gel coat is full of open oxidized pores. Buff with gel coat compound, follow up with gel coat fine cut polish, then finish with gel coat sealer and your finish will be as good as new. Much cheaper than painting.

Gel coat that has been sealed doesn't oxidize anymore. Cindy wrote a 'white paper' 4-years ago, on how she kept our coach shinning for 10 years. It is attached.
After the fine cut, surface will shine, but will not be sealed.

Since the paper was written Proper RV Care is no longer in business and their Gel Coat Labs products maybe are sold by the company that took over their web site business.
This is not about just using one product. It is more about not using wax and using the right buffer and processes.

The secret is seal not wax. There is no short cut for compounding, polishing & sealing for looking great.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #6 – July 19, 2012, 08:57:18 am

We purchased a Wagner model 905 steam-cleaner. Not real expensive and gives me assurance we don't get the gel-coat "too" hot, which can cause sepeartion of layers. We used the wall-paper removal head (comes with several) - I steamed and DW followed behind pealing the softened decals. Most came off in large pieces; some areas where the decals were cracked-checked it was a bit more time consuming. Very pleased with ease of use and effectiveness, plus the assurance we weren't going to damage the surface.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #7 – July 19, 2012, 09:26:34 am

Quote from: Steve Snow – July 18, 2012, 11:37:51 pm

Try using Poli-Glow, worked great on our 87 GV it's like new, does not require a buffer. Go to E-Bay and type in Poli-Glow, several sellers there.

I don't see anyone mentioning this so I have a caution to mention.
A word to the wise from personal experience!
One passes a GO/NO GO point when one uses Poli-Glow on a gel coat.
If you think that you may someday want to paint the gel coat, either full body or partial, DO NOT use Poli-Glow before you do some careful research.
It is imperative that you understand the extensive process that you MUST undertake to remove the Poli-Glow product from the gel coat prior to painting. Poli-Glow works by building up layers of (what becomes) an aggressive paint contaminant in gel coat pores. Check with the manufacturer to make sure you understand (and are willing to follow) the right steps for removal of Poli-Glow, or else all prepping for the paint will be a waste of time.
I like Poli-Glow and have used it on boats. If you stay with it , it looks great. I have also also religiously followed the Poli-Glow guidance for removal of the Poli-Glow product, using their one-on-one advice, procedures and solvent product combined with several careful applications of paint prep solvents to TRY to remove all traces of Poli-Glow and the Poli-Glow solvent, all to no avail. The Poli-Glow owner will claim easy removal with their product and solvents, but my experience has been otherwise, even with very careful attention to detail and professional Marine (Awlgrip) painting help.
FWIW,
Neal

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #8 – July 19, 2012, 12:40:12 pm

I'm surprised that no one has picked up on Red Max Pro floor finish. It has a big following with all the egg trailers. Started out with a thread at Check this out NOT Poliglow...Time will tell.. - Fiberglass RV back in July of 2010 and that thread has continued up to this day. Some there make the claim that Red Max Pro is the formulation for Poly Glow, and available in its original form at much cheaper prices as a floor finish. Others say it is even better than Poly Glow. It was sold at Lowes as a exclusive product and was made by Zep which is marketed at other stores as ZEP Wet Look 3 Floor Finish. Lowes has appeared to drop its exclusive RMP and is currently carrying the ZEP Wet Look 3. Go over to RV.net and you can find many threads with happy comments about the stuff being used to re-finish old RVs, making them look like show room new. And both the Red Max Pro (if you can find it) and the Zep Wet Look 3 are much cheaper, and more locally available, than the Poly Glow.

And I do agree with Neil about removing the stuff when when required.

As to removing the oxidation - a good washing with Dawn dish detergent, to remove wax buildup, and a thorough scrubbing with Bar Keepers Friend. The Bar Keepers Friend should cut the oxidation. You can follow up with TSP (Trisodium phosphate) to finish up and insure the surface is clear and clean.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #9 – July 19, 2012, 03:41:24 pm

I had my whole coach done in Mexico. Here's what they did. First they wet sanded the gelcoat with 1200 paper. Then they machine buffed with a compound until it shined like new. Total time....2 guys, 4 days.....$250. Boy am I happy.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #10 – July 19, 2012, 03:54:56 pm

Quote from: Twig – July 19, 2012, 03:41:24 pm

I had my whole coach done in Mexico. Here's what they did. First they wet sanded the gelcoat with 1200 paper. Then they machine buffed with a compound until it shined like new. Total time....2 guys, 4 days.....$250. Boy am I happy.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #11 – July 19, 2012, 10:32:14 pm

Quote

I have been trying to remove the old decals one stripe at a time. What a job. Am using a common household iron with teflon coating and setting it on low to soften the decal. About half comes off with the adhesive but the really sun damaged parts need lacquer thinner to clean the surface afterwards. Any better ideas?

Pierce,
I've posted several times on this subject. And there are other things to try:
faded decals
Decals
Back to Life
I still have more decals to remove. I'm going to try Vinyl-off followed by the pressure washer next.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #12 – July 19, 2012, 11:10:13 pm

Have you tried a hair dryer or heat gun? Put the heat on the area in front of where you are pulling it off. It worked for me.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #13 – July 20, 2012, 10:42:13 am

Both the heat gun and the iron work OK on the side where the sun didn't weather it too badly. Still a nasty job. The other side and front are looking pretty Steinbeckish. They just disintegrate no matter what I do. After the decals are removed, the area below is a few thousands higher than the surrounding gelcoat. Will have to be sanded flat before painting. Think it will be just a little work each day until it's decal free.

Thinking about a Deco design for the body with the top and most of the body white but a bit of a passenger train look out of the 1930's for the sides and maybe front and back. The U300's body already has a lot of that era in the design. Anyone have any links to some good Art Deco vehicle paint design/photos?

Pierce

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #14 – July 20, 2012, 11:04:29 am

I had some trouble getting off some of the glue from my vinyl stipes (that were removed). I had an old tank of outboard gas and used it with one of those scotch brite green scrubbers. It took it off pretty well, wore nitrile gloves (not latex) to protect my hands. Then came back and scrubbed it with dawn and lots of water. Looked a lot better. There was an obvious difference in luster where the decals were (little if any uv degredation of the gelcoat). I then had it compounded and waxed. Looks a lot better. I like the idea of a heat gun to remove the decals too.
FWIW, the glue came off pretty well, and the cost was minimal to do that.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #15 – July 20, 2012, 01:49:55 pm

I just spent the morning on the early states of decal removal from my 1992 U240. They are pretty ragged and faded/stained. Do not yet know what I will do after I get them off but initial planning is to have the exterior buffed out and some sort of protective sealer put on, but not sure about that yet.

In any event, here is what I have learned about removal.
1) Put the decals to be removed directly into the sun (in Colorado today that means HOT).
2) Buy a cheap plastic putty knief ($0.98 at Lowes) and use it or a fingernail, but nothing harder, to start an edge of the decal so you can get ahold of it with your fingers
3) Patience
4) More Patience
5) SLOWLY peal the decal back almost against itself, pulling gently and SLOWLY and working the whole sheet SLOWLY. Did I mention SLOWLY and WITH PATIENCE!
6) If a tear starts, try to recover by working up a small amount decal from the tear and pulling it until the tear dissappears into the main sheet you are pulling.
7) The objective is to pull off whole decals at a time, and amazingly it can often be done just that way.
8) IF there is lettering on the decal, expect to use a lot more patience. Those decals seem to be thinner than the ones without lettering and are more likely to come off in pieces.
9) Once you get the decal off get that area out of the sun and when it has cooled take off the adhesive residue with something. Gas works but it has its problems (as in fire) but 3M makes a spray on remover for both the decal (not much impressed with that function) and the adhesive (very impressed with that function).
10) DID I MENTION PATIENCE???

This morning I removed all of the decals on the rear end in about 45 mintues. I figure each side will be a several day job with lots of Blue Moon at the end of my patience each day.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #16 – July 20, 2012, 02:23:42 pm

Tried the plastic blades, so I consulted a pro that I know and was instructed to use a good ole razor blade scrapper and drag it backwards on a piece of glass at about 45 deg. angle several times with sufficient pressure to put a micrscopic upturn on the blade, remember which side you have the upturn on, then apply the instrument to the edge of the decal at the 45 deg angle, upturn up and you will learn quickly the process. I have done 70% of the decals so far and maybe only got 3 shallow 1/4" long marks in the gel. Heat from the sun is all the heating I had, also to remove any glue I used gojo hand cleaner, probably the lanolin was the factor. jc

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #17 – July 20, 2012, 04:36:46 pm

Sorry if I was't clear. The only thing I use the scraper for was to turn up enough of the decal to get a grip on it with my fingers. After that the scraper went in the pocket and I just grab ahold and pull. No more scraping.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #18 – July 20, 2012, 05:59:53 pm

The razor blade works great except it will almost certainly dig some holes in the glass. Been there, done that. I would consider the nylon scraper, heat, whatever else you could to avoid the razor. It is do-able but try something else first. If you do elect to do the razor method, change the blade frequently. Truly the sharp ones are better controlled. I got a box of 100 at habor Freight and they will break frequently. I agree with arwilson, just get it elevated to try to lift off with your fingers (to minimize the use of the scraper/razor). This tends to pick up the residue with the tape. With the residual residue, use the gas or some other organic solvent. Then wash that off promptly as it is easier to do this while fresh. Take your time (patience is noted above and agreed to here).

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #19 – July 20, 2012, 07:31:57 pm

Of course you could win a free inside/outside detailing at the Pamona show last fall. It worked out great for us. We even had them remove the original straight graphics from our '96 U295 and replace them with similas colors and widths for $950. Regal Boats in Carona, CA did the work. Prior to that I'd been using Poly-Glo and will begin doing so again when needed. It's available in a kit form with cleaner (note: mix it 2 to 1), scotchbrite like cleaner, the PolyGlo finish and applicator. One kit did our coach the first time with plenty of the cleaner left for future needs. I think the kit is about $75.00 and well worth it.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #20 – July 20, 2012, 08:49:18 pm

Are they solar panels on your roof-sure look like . If so what wattage have you got and how many?
John h

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #21 – July 20, 2012, 09:02:48 pm

It is interesting that almost all the postings under this topic have been on decal removal.

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #22 – July 20, 2012, 09:13:19 pm

Berry,

Late 80's to early 90's Foretravels are such fantastically styled machines. I always thought the decals took away from the possibilities that paint affords. They could star in a 1930's Buck Rogers science fiction movie.

Unless they have been stored indoors, the decal life has just about run out now. Probably the reason so many are removing them.

Pierce

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #23 – July 20, 2012, 09:19:06 pm

Unless they have been stored indoors, the decal life has just about run out now. Probably the reason so many are removing them.

Pierce
[/quote]

Shucks, I've lost almost all my hair, my DW has a head full of grey hair, I don't mind if our coach shows her age a bit, gosh she's earned it.

Roland

Re: Removing oxidation from gelcoat

Reply #24 – July 21, 2012, 12:00:04 am

Been thinking about putting a Southwest Airlines Smile on our 87 GV.

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