Polishing

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by mfschu

What Zep product do you use? Thanks

It's a floor wax. You have to take your shoes off when around the trailer.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by mfschu

What Zep product do you use? Thanks

Last summer, after three years of ownership, with the 5.0 sitting outside 24/7/365 and no wax ever applied, I first car washed the camper, then hand washed (especially needed for the roof), applied two coats of High Traffic Floor Polish and then applied one or two coats (don't remember) of Wet Look Floor Polish.

Each Zep product should go in a separate spray bottle. I spray the glove, not the camper, and then apply with the glove. Takes 20-30 minutes per application on the sides. The roof was applied separately before I added three 100 watt panels to the roof. All the Zep had to be removed before using VHB tape for the panel mounts.

Do not spray Zep directly on the camper or it will run. Again, use a mitt like shown in the picture below.

Zep needs no buffing. It goes on as a thin coat and dries into a hard wax in less than an hour on a 75-80 degree day, so an hour after starting you can start the next application. Five to seven years from now it may need a stripper, but I've done that on our Bigfoot and it was an easy, quick process.

We arrived home on Sunday from our winter in Arizona/Utah. Yesterday I took the camper to the car wash and it's still bright and shiny. I doubt I'll need to apply any more Zep this year.

Enjoy,

Perry

[mfschu]

Thank you Perry for the information. That's amazing! It sounds attractive but I have to say I'm a little hesitant applying floor polish to my new Escape. I need to give this some time to get used to the idea. Right now it's in the garage so I don't think it's getting too much oxidation. Thanks for sharing the information!

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by mfschu

Thank you Perry for the information. That's amazing! It sounds attractive but I have to say I'm a little hesitant applying floor polish to my new Escape. I need to give this some time to get used to the idea. Right now it's in the garage so I don't think it's getting too much oxidation. Thanks for sharing the information!

Being somewhat new, I doubt there is not much oxidation to date.....

[Doug2000]

If polishing with a powered buffer, be extremely careful especially around any edges or radiuses. I would only use a powered buffer on the flat sections, not on the corners and definitly not near roof edges. You'll take the gel coat off if you don't know wheat your doing.

Personally, I waxed our trailer when it was 8 months old with Maguires Marine Wax and always wash with Maguires premium car soap. I only wax by hand, never with a polisher. The only time I would use a polisher is if the surface was a mess.

Floor polish

[gbaglo]

If Zep was such a miracle product, I'd think Zep would be marketing it as a trailer polish for more profit.

[John in Santa Cruz]

hmmm. what I thought I knew about buffer pads is pretty obsolete. wool pads were mostly for the big rotary buffers, but microfiber pads have pretty much replaced them, for both rotary and orbital. pads come in 'compound', 'polish', and 'finish' grades, you use each with different goo... . there's also foam pads, they too come in compound, polish, finish grades, but tend to be a bit coarser. compounding is only needed if the finish is seriously marshmallow dull, and sometimes you do two stages of compounding if its bad.

re a buffer taking the gel coat off a edge, that is only going to happen if you're using a coarse compound, and you press way too hard on that sharp edge. gel coat is far thicker than most any car paint. use the buffer gently, you should be fine.

[Doug2000]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

hmmm. what I thought I knew about buffer pads is pretty obsolete. wool pads were mostly for the big rotary buffers, but microfiber pads have pretty much replaced them, for both rotary and orbital. pads come in 'compound', 'polish', and 'finish' grades, you use each with different goo... . there's also foam pads, they too come in compound, polish, finish grades, but tend to be a bit coarser. compounding is only needed if the finish is seriously marshmallow dull, and sometimes you do two stages of compounding if its bad.

re a buffer taking the gel coat off a edge, that is only going to happen if you're using a coarse compound, and you press way too hard on that sharp edge. gel coat is far thicker than most any car paint. use the buffer gently, you should be fine.

Well the gel coat was pretty this in my 2007 17B. The black awning strap got loose and was flapping in the wind and took off the gel coat on my door, just a small spot but it didn’t take long.

[Perry Butler]

Out of the box thinkers should read Check this out NOT Poliglow… time will tell on the Fiberglass RV Forum. It started in 2010 and has over 900 posts, the last being in 2021. Another result of out of the box thinking is Viagra was developed to treat hypertension? Where would we be if people still believed the earth was flat?

Enjoy,

Perry

[mfschu]

It's hard to argue with the pictures. The Zep sure does put a shine on!

[Upfisk]

We used Zep on our crappy Casita. It had the marshmallow finish and Zep gave it a great shine. 10 months later is was still shiny but had turned yellow. Cleaning the Zep off was a major chore, but we reZeped it, then sold the Casita.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by Upfisk

We used Zep on our crappy Casita. It had the marshmallow finish and Zep gave it a great shine. 10 months later is was still shiny but had turned yellow. Cleaning the Zep off was a major chore, but we reZeped it, then sold the Casita.

In 2017 we purchased a 2003 Bigfoot 25RB that looked like it has never been waxed. While it was clean, the oxidation was extremely heavy.

We followed Zep’s instructions and first stripped the Bigfoot using their stripper. After stripping we saw a whole new camper, and the gel coat had some shine. Only after stripping did we apply Zep High Traffic Floor Wax. It shined like a new camper, but was sold in 2018. Two years later the buyers wife called to inform me her husband had passed away and would I sell the Bigfoot for her. The camper still looked bright. shiny, and needed no waxing. The buyers were impressed with the gelcoat..

You should have used Zep Stripper to remove any oxidation for an even better shine and to eliminate the yellowing. Had you used the stripper after it had yellowed the Zep wax would have come off easily. I applied Zep to our 5.0 last June and it still looks wonderful with no yellowing, but decided to not use the stripper because I felt it was not necessary.

Most here seem to wax/buff once a year. We’ll see how our 5.0 looks a year from now, but I’d be waxing and buffing again if I’d used conventional wax products. I have other things I want to do besides yearly waxing/buffing.

Enjoy,

Perry

[huskersteffy]

My rig is always parked outdoors and I think I am going to try the floor polish approach. Highs next week in Lincoln, Nebraska look to be in the lower 90's (so much for spring) with full sun on Monday / Tuesday.

Will a hot, sunny day make any difference with the ZEP products? My concern is application on a relatively "hot" trailer in direct sunlight. Will the product harden too quickly I wonder. Perhaps it would be best to aim for a cooler and more cloudy day.

[Escape_19]

Use the Cyclo Pro 5 and you wont worry about burn through.

You will need to use marine polishes

https://youtu.be/y2Uo8Ymuvwg

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by Escape 15a

Use the Cyclo Pro 5 and you wont worry about burn through.

You will need to use marine polishes

https://youtu.be/y2Uo8Ymuvwg

The only thing you will be burning through is your money.

[Escape_19]

I have to chuckle, the polisher is $350 and that is very inexpensive for maintaining a $40,000 plus trailer. But to each their own.

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by Escape 15a

I have to chuckle, the polisher is $350 and that is very inexpensive for maintaining a $40,000 plus trailer. But to each their own.

You don't have to spend $350 on a polisher. This Porter Cable variable speed polisher costs $125.

[Escape_19]

Originally Posted by Telescopist

You don't have to spend $350 on a polisher. This Porter Cable variable speed polisher costs $125.

Well Hell...looking at the pictures in that link..that darn thing is only good for Ferarri's and I hummer...lol

[bristol5.0]

I have been using Collinite 845 Insulator Wax for a long time. It was developed to protect electric transmission line insulators from UV damage. It has an excellent reputation in the marine industry and that’s what I used to wax my fiberglass catboat. I then used it on my Casita for 8 years and use it on my 2021 5.0. It is very easy to use and does not require buffing. It is applied as a thick liquid and dries to a haze in about 5 minutes. As soon as it does, I wipe it off with a microfiber cloth with a circular motion. After washing the trailer, I also use the Collinite 920 fiberglass cleaner which is applied in the same manner and wiped off then the 845 wax. You can find it at most marine supply stores or at Amazon.
More info on all Collinite products: https://www.collinite.com/
Hope this helps,


PS I use it about 2x yearly.