Washing the trailer

[Don W.]

Just washed and waxed our 21.

Pole brush is a must! Then we used Gel-GLoss products. They have a cleaner wax and then a super poly wax. The second one went on super easy!

Plus we paid a 12 year old to help us all day. Then beverages were needed

[Vermilye]

I use Meguiars wash & a painter's mitt to wash the trailer. I keep a spray bottle of LA Totally Awesome Orange for stubborn bugs, tar, etc. After washing I usually add a coat of wax - usually Meguiars Marine Wax. More expensive than their premium auto wax, but they say it holds up better on fiberglass. No idea it that's true, but that is what I use.

[padlin]

Originally Posted by Losangeles

do you have a favorite wash mitt?

I just use whatever they have at the store when I go looking. I always end up with grease on them or they turn black with brake dust.

[Losangeles]

Originally Posted by Zardoz

Trust me, it's well worth the money. I had the cheaper knock-offs and got one of these; at least twice as good.

cool - thanks.

[Greg A]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Even if you could get on the roof it would be a bad idea. These things are slippery and once you'd start sliding, your fingernails would never be long enough to stop the fall. Gives me the willies thinking about being up on top of Ten Forward and falling off.

Thats what those scratch marks are on the roof of my Scamp 5th wheel. Never could figure it out.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by padlin

I use a quality car wash, happens to be Meguiar's at the moment. A mit for anything I can reach and a soft multi sided brush on a telescoping handle, a Carrand 93072 to be exact.

I use the same wash, and the same wand even. Once a year follow that up with two coats of Starbrite, applied with my Porter Cable buffer.

[kstock11]

When traveling, I use a microfiber towel and plain water to keep the trailer clean of road grime. I save the waxing for when I'm home.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Even if you could get on the roof it would be a bad idea. These things are slippery and once you'd start sliding, your fingernails would never be long enough to stop the fall. Gives me the willies thinking about being up on top of Ten Forward and falling off.

At least on ours putting in new bath fan , our roof thickness was not consistent down to less then 1/8 .Too thin on ours . 2013 . Pat

[float5]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Good luck with that. Ten Forward hasn't been washed since October and is a mess. I expect to be out in the rain washing. Should save some water on rising.

I always figure that but it is usually cold and windy and I am sure that the only thing that will really get wet and washed is me.

[Ian G]

I use Meguiars Marine Wax so I use their wash detergent also. I also use a small folding scaffolding which works great and is much safer than a ladder.

[gharper]

I think a new trailer should just need a good wash with a marine or automotive wash detergent, clean buckets of water, no power washing, a quality carnauba marine wax (3M or Meguiar's) and lots of buffing.

Cleaner and wax combo products remove old wax, some are quite abrasive and can strip the gel coat if not careful, and I think the wax does not last as long and looks duller over time. They are OK for touchups/stains but I wouldn't use it on a new trailer or one that has no oxidation.

[Ian G]

Originally Posted by gharper

I think a new trailer should just need a good wash with a marine or automotive wash detergent, clean buckets of water, no power washing, a quality carnauba marine wax (3M or Meguiar's) and lots of buffing.

Cleaner and wax combo products remove old wax, some are quite abrasive and can strip the gel coat if not careful, and I think the wax does not last as long and looks duller over time. They are OK for touchups/stains but I wouldn't use it on a new trailer or one that has no oxidation.

Also avoid waxes designed for automotive use, many contain pigment (i.e. Turtle wax green) which can stain the gel coat

[Mandomary]

So for a new Escape - does it come already waxed? And if I wanted to use the Aero 303 product ( I understand it is not compatible with wax products so I assume I need to strip wax off), how does it apply? I looked it up and could not find instructions - is it easier to apply than a wax product? beside the UV protection are there other advantages to using this instead of waxing?

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Mandomary

So for a new Escape - does it come already waxed? And if I wanted to use the Aero 303 product ( I understand it is not compatible with wax products so I assume I need to strip wax off), how does it apply? I looked it up and could not find instructions - is it easier to apply than a wax product? beside the UV protection are there other advantages to using this instead of waxing?

The trailer is new gelcoat. It is not waxed at the factory.

303 is a UV protectant, and it can be used on the gelcoat, but it won't enhance the shine. I use 303 on all the plastic bits on the trailer, particularly the Maxxfan cover on the roof, which will prevent oxidation and so forth. It's applied by spray bottle.

But for the gelcoat itself, I prefer a high quality marine wax or polish. I use Starbrite, but there are several good choices.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[gocamp]

Originally Posted by Mandomary

how does it apply? I looked it up and could not find instructions

https://www.youtube.com/user/GoldEagle303Products

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

The trailer is new gelcoat. It is not waxed at the factory.

While ETI doesn't wax the trailer, there's plenty of wax on the trailer because wax is what's used as a mold release.

[Jim Bennett]

The mould release wax is not a protectant for the trailer though, and a super thin layers lasts for a few mouldings of the shell before being reapplied. Reace kinda showed me that on time when I was there, but I was busy taking in all the neat new stuff they had.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

The mould release wax is not a protectant for the trailer though, and a super thin layers lasts for a few mouldings of the shell before being reapplied. Reace kinda showed me that on time when I was there, but I was busy taking in all the neat new stuff they had.

Truth. I just didn't want people to think it was absolutely bare gelcoat and oh my stars, first day of ownership gotta get wax on it. When I asked Tammy about waxing, she said not to worry about it "for a while."

[gocamp]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

At least on ours putting in new bath fan , our roof thickness was not consistent down to less then 1/8 .Too thin on ours . 2013 . Pat

Wow very thin. What does escape advise we tell any rv techs for roof a/c maintence? Kneel on a plywood piece?

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gocamp

Wow very thin. What does escape advise we tell any rv techs for roof a/c maintence? Kneel on a plywood piece?

Work from the side. I have had the opportunity to see a few different moulds with windows cut and not installed, and the thickness looked good on all shells, though I did not measure there. I have measured in 3 places on my own trailer, and 3/16" was the minimun thickness I saw. This is actually very stiff. I have a few more holes to cut in my shell for various things, and will check the thickness out there as well.

This is a thread I did showing a chunk I cut out. The other two penetrations I made were just holes with a spade bit on the bottom of the trailer. You can see the shell is a bit over 3/16".
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...ness-9998.html

Plus, when I drilled with the sharp spade bit it went through the plywood like butter, but had to grind its way through the shell.