Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

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Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

October 19, 2021, 04:28:40 pm

Just power washed Ol Furry and cleaned the roof cap w/ the washer as well. My question is, how can one deal with the constant chalking of the exterior? I have scrubbed it from stem to stern and have mostly brought the shine back, but, it doesn't stay. Its like the older car finishes that were Dulux or some other paint.
I know I could spend 7 or 8 coach bucks in Mexico and have it painted all over, or at least have the stripes painted on and then have the entire coach clear coated. Any ideas short of spending all them bucko's?

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #1 – October 19, 2021, 04:44:50 pm

I use Marine31 products on the gel coat (polish compound and gel coat sealer/wax)

Marine 31 boat care products, boat detail products, best boat wax

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #2 – October 19, 2021, 04:45:40 pm

Floor wax. Someone around here will remember the name - maybe Future? I did a previous FT with the gel coat, and it came out surprisingly good.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #3 – October 19, 2021, 04:47:34 pm

I used Mequiar's 3-step with an orbital buffer. The job really sucks!

Meguiar's® Marine/RV Fiberglass Restoration System, M4965, Kit | Meguiar's

I didn't buy the kit though, I was able to source some of the individual compounds in bulk. Off Amazon if I recall correctly.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #4 – October 19, 2021, 04:48:36 pm

Quote from: oldmattb – October 19, 2021, 04:45:40 pm

Floor wax. Someone around here will remember the name - maybe Future? I did a previous FT with the gel coat, and it came out surprisingly good.

ZEP...but I would not use it...will turn yellow on you and then your up SH^&*T creek.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #5 – October 19, 2021, 04:51:59 pm

WrapFor 5-6k
But how old are ya. ?

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #6 – October 19, 2021, 04:54:04 pm

Don't put floor wax on your coach because then you have 2 problems with the original issue covered in a mess to remove.. one member spent a lot of money getting rid of the floor polish that could have been used toward a real solution. There are no QUICK in the bottle fixes for dull gellcoat.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #7 – October 19, 2021, 04:54:13 pm

Actually, you need to REMOVE the chalked gel coat before anything will work.

No first hand knowledge on the 1989 coaches, but if gel coated FG, you need to find the grid of wet-dry sand paper that will remove the chalked stuff, and not go too deep.

Then continue to use finer and finer wet-dry sand paper until 2000 grit or so. Then to rubbing compound then polishing compound.

Said another way-- if you have chalk, NO polish will "fix it". You need to get down to good gel coat.

Yes, LONG, SLOW PROCESS.

If headed to Mexico, having them do this is not a bad idea if you have verified that there is enough gel coach to get down to good gel coat. If not, and in Mexico, repainting may be the best option.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #8 – October 19, 2021, 05:08:30 pm

I used 3M cutting/polishing wax on our 1997 when we had it. Took a long time as I did it in steps but was well worth it. Roof first in sections then the sides in sections plus front and back.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #9 – October 19, 2021, 05:42:44 pm

If you have a compressor, head to Harbor Freight and buy their "Jitterbug" sander. Excellent product that lasts and only about $25. Order 400 and 1500-2000 wet or dry and with a very fine water spray every few seconds, start on the sides. Only do a 5x5 area with the 400 and then use the fine W/D. It will polish the gelcoat up nicely but you will need a shop polisher to bring the last 10% to where you want it. The buffer should be a HD model with 1200-1400 rpm.

The sides of the coach are rock hard and are a LOT of work. I don't mean just a day either. The front and rear cap on ours are a much softer gelcoat and don't take quite as long. But, the nice shine won't last as long on them either. Use 3M cutting compound to see what it looks like followed by a polishing compound. Decals are hard to remove and you will get many cuts on your hands. I use a HF heat gun with a single sided razor blade. A hair dryer will also do. Box of 100 blades at HF and the tool to slide the blade into. Good to round the ends of the razor blade or it will catch and dig into the gelcoat leaving a mark.

After removal, the area under the decals will stick up a bit and you will need to sand it down to the level of the rest or it will show, especially if you paint it. You will need at least 220 W/D for where the decals were followed by 400 and then the fine paper. You don't want to leave circular scratch marks so you need to experiment to see what works best. Buffer can use a wool pad or foam. I grew up with wool but lots of people use foam.

If you are close to the border, don't hesitate to have the Mexicans do it. Plan a trip if necessary. Labor is MUCH less expensive down there and they really good at it. They can do in a couple of days what would take you weeks to do. I like Puerto Peñasco better than the border towns as there is so much to do and the ocean is right there. Lots of shops right on the border that do RVs but the towns are not as much fun. RV parks like Playa Bonita can arrange any kind of work you need but the shops have to kick back some Pesos to the park. Best to make arrangements ahead of time.

The roof should be left to pros as it's really easy to fall off and you only do that once. Getting all the terrible Dicor off to do a neat job is really a lot of work. If you do get up there, use a HD ladder and with the rungs about head high standing on the roof. The elevation in feet over 5 plus 2 gives you the proper distance the base of the ladder has to be from the coach to be safe. Example would be 15 foof ladder divided by 5 equals 3 and adding 2 more feet so 5 feet away from the coach at the base.

Pierce

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #10 – October 19, 2021, 06:25:53 pm

I bought into the ZEP floor finish approach, HUGE MISTAKE!!!!!!!!
It looked great after I applied about 7 coats after scrubbing the RV with Bar Keepers Friend.
That lasted about 1 year.
After that the coach was turning yellow. I called in a detailer to address the problem. He could not sand off the ZEP finish. He wanted a extra $1500 just to remove the ZEP.
I found that ZEP makes a stripper. I applied the stripper over and over again and scrapped off the goooy ZEP finish with a plastic scrapper.
The detailer inspected it and pronounced he could now sand and detail the gel coat.
NEVER AGAIN!
There is NO FAST WAY to do the gel coat and only so much gel coat to be sanded down.
Like chasing your tail.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #11 – October 19, 2021, 06:29:08 pm

I had good results on my 280 using 3m 06060 and a variable speed polisher. Keep the area your working wet with compound and keep the polisher moving with light pressure. This is assuming you have no machine experience.. The wet sand steps Bret described is another way and as he said results depends on how thick the gelcoat is you have to work with. Which ever way you go start on a small sample spot that wouldn't be as noticeable if results are not what you want. I ended up painting my 270 because there was no other way to get the level of shine I wanted. If you use a variable speed machine setting 18 is a speed to start and the speed I use most often.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #12 – October 19, 2021, 07:16:42 pm

How can I put this ?
I Gave Up
yes I said that, after 4 years of outside parking the shine is off the ..........never to return without unrealistic investment.
I've decided to just drive the wheels of the old girl and settle for clean if not shiny.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #13 – October 19, 2021, 08:01:48 pm

Quote from: Hans&Marjet – October 19, 2021, 04:44:50 pm

I use Marine31 products on the gel coat (polish compound and gel coat sealer/wax)

Marine 31 boat care products, boat detail products, best boat wax

Plus 1 for Marine 31 products, my coach had some very chalky gelcoat, brought it back to life with a Porter Cable random orbit polisher using wool pads, a pad cleaning bucket comes in handy to keep you pads clean.
6 in. Variable-Speed Random Orbit Polisher - 7424XP | PORTER CABLE
Lake Country Thin Foamed Wool Pads
Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer,Dual action orbital pad washer, foam and...
https://www.marine31.com/compound-for-painted-boats.html
Marine 31 Gel Coat Carnauba Wax + Sealant, best boat wax, gel coat wax,...

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #14 – October 19, 2021, 08:02:08 pm

The attached is Cindy's writeup on how she kept our gelcoat looking like new, before we painted.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #15 – October 19, 2021, 08:56:18 pm

Quote from: Olde English – October 19, 2021, 07:16:42 pm

How can I put this ?
I Gave Up
yes I said that, after 4 years of outside parking the shine is off the ..........never to return without unrealistic investment.
I've decided to just drive the wheels of the old girl and settle for clean if not shiny.

There's nothing wrong with that. Considerable effort and money to make an older rig shine again. Your enjoying the rig is what matters.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #16 – October 19, 2021, 10:34:52 pm

Again, thanks to all for the info. Got to make some serious decisions on this. Looks like nothing much has changed since 1966. I've been associated with the automotive world professionally since then, and it all comes back to someone who can handle a good buffer/polisher and using the right products make her shine like a diamond in a goat's behind. In the past, I could do that work, but with the onset of RA, that ship has sailed. Guess I will need to give one of my grandson's some OJT and some greenbacks and get this done. OR, Antonio, here I come!!!!!

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #17 – October 19, 2021, 11:31:01 pm

I used a medium cut, Then a fine cut cleaner polish and a random orbit buffer/polisher. It took two days and came out very shiny. Then I used some Meguiars ceramic coating (ultimate fast finish). One 8 once bottle of the ceramic spray did the whole coach. One key ingredient is to buy the proper foam pads by lake country pads. You wouldn't think so, But the proper foam pads makes the job easier The buffer is a Porter cable 7424XP variable speed. I got the foam pads and Porter cable from Auto Geek In addition. Auto Geek has a ton of how to instructional videos.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #18 – October 20, 2021, 10:42:44 am

How a about this ?

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #19 – October 20, 2021, 11:09:57 am

Quote from: Protech Racing – October 20, 2021, 10:42:44 am

How a about this ?

NO,... gracias.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #20 – October 20, 2021, 12:32:39 pm

Looks like the airport shuttle at LAX.

Pierce

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #21 – October 20, 2021, 12:55:13 pm

Wet 600 then wet 1200 then rubbing compound then Aqua Buff 2000 and finally Rejex. Lots of work and time.

What did you do to your coach today VIII

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #22 – October 20, 2021, 12:58:31 pm

I like the concept of the paint, but hate the black top section.
Any colors that work with the green awnings? I want to go two tone blue with pure white upper . But I have green awnings.

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #23 – October 20, 2021, 05:54:42 pm

Mike, I posted that coach a while back. The real thing I liked about it were the frenched headlamps

Re: Chalky Exterior and what to do about it

Reply #24 – October 20, 2021, 06:24:59 pm

Quote from: Bill and Marsha – October 19, 2021, 08:01:48 pm

Plus 1 for Marine 31 products, my coach had some very chalky gelcoat, brought it back to life with a Porter Cable random orbit polisher using wool pads, a pad cleaning bucket comes in handy to keep you pads clean.
6 in. Variable-Speed Random Orbit Polisher - 7424XP | PORTER CABLE
Lake Country Thin Foamed Wool Pads
Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer,Dual action orbital pad washer, foam and...
https://www.marine31.com/compound-for-painted-boats.html
Marine 31 Gel Coat Carnauba Wax + Sealant, best boat wax, gel coat wax,...

My exact method....!

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