Gel coat Stains

[marsman]

Jim,

I have frameless windows on my 2019 5.0; the stains thus spring were horrendous. It had been sitting in the snow and rain since fall, I'm going to try Ron's suggestion.

 

[Ron in BC]

I have a good testing ground. I live in a rain forest with twice the rain that nearby Vancouver gets. So I get a lot of rain running down the the edges of the front and rear windows and black streaks appear very often. The FSR works for me.

And for years before that it worked on boats both with black streaks and waterline grunge.

There are lot's of other stain removers and I've never done a comparison but I doubt that there's one that does a better job.

Ron

 

[splitting_lanes]

I just ordered this to clean and wax the new trailer....https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AY50X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

How long do people wait before the first waxing after picking up the trailer?

It’s been over two months, should we wax?

 

[cpaharley2008]

I wait until washing does not return that "new, shiny, from the factory" look....or probably in the fall to help with winter's wrath.

 

[Bobbito]

We just returned from camping in Golden Ears Park at Alouette Lake, Maple Ridge, B.C. The roof of the trailer is stained massively with orange and brown spots due to the seed pods from trees. I tried all my cleaners, waxes and even tar/bug remover, but nothing really worked. So after reading this thread, I went to Steveston Marine and bought 2 litres of Davis FSR Fibgerglass Stain Remover. It removes the stain with a simple swipe of the cloth. WOW! Great product! I will have to wax over it, but that shouldn't be too difficult with all the stains removed. I used to use Pro's Choice RV, Boat & Aircraft Wax to remove stains and wax at the same time, but it didn't touch these orange stains. Problem solved. Thank you Ron!

Bob K

 

[Ron in BC]

You're welcome, glad it worked for you.

Ron

 

[Fender]

How long do people wait before the first waxing after picking up the trailer?

It’s been over two months, should we wax?

I waxed the second day I had the trailer!

 

[Upfisk]

Another thumbs up for FSR, we used it on our sailboat for rust stains on the "snow white" deck, for bird poop stains, for waterline, etc. It did not destroy the finish as toilet bowl cleaner. Someone in Trinidad told us to use toilet cleaner to rid ourselves of waterline stains...worked great the first time and etched our finish. Then came the $5000 Paint job to repair the damage.

 

[Pauly D-ESC]

I know I'm reviving an old thread, but I wanted to share the recent joy I experienced in "discovering" Star Brite Instant Black Streak Remover for the first time. My experience with this product was even more rewarding than winterizing our trailer and pulling our lithium batteries, also for the first time, which D and I did this past weekend.

Our poor beautiful E19 had the dreaded black streaks under the front windows and black stains around the water, electrical, fridge, and a few random spots around the trailer. We even had weird fingerprints in random areas around the hookup side. Maybe it was all from the butyl putty when activated by water, or where residue had been on fingers at ETI, now activated by rainwater, if that makes any sense. I have no idea. I only know our trailer was spotless and glistening the day we picked it up in Chilliwack in July.

When I first washed the trailer after returning from Chilliwack, I assumed (very wrongly) that all these streaks and marks would easily come off. That was my experience with our old Trillium - easily to clean, very low maintenance, or maybe I just didn't care about a few marks on it as much as our new 19. I was horrified to wash our Escape with a good wash n wax and see that these ugly marks wouldn't come off at all.

Searching for help brought me to this thread. I was so hopeful to read about Davis FSR and I quickly ordered 2 jars. I know this product is highly recommended and loved by many, here and elsewhere. I tried applying and re-applying, giving it time to work. But unfortunately FSR did nothing at all to remove the black streaks and stains. I have no clue why, since it obviously works for many. More reading and re-reading at this forum and elsewhere and I decided to pick up a bottle of Star Brite at Canadian Tire as my next attempt.

Not having any experience with these black streaks and stains, I was actually starting to worry I'd have to take the trailer in for professional TLC or something. I couldn't understand why they were so hard to remove, or why FSR wasn't doing the job.

Anyway, I was so happy to see all those annoying and ugly marks disappear easily after only 1 or 2 applications of Star Brite. I'm so grateful and relieved I discovered this product.

Since FSR clearly works for many, I'm wondering if geography/location might have anything to do with how these streaks and stains adhere to the gel coat. Is there something about the air/sun/precipitation/humidity/temp etc in a particular location that might determine what product might work best? I have no idea. The lesson for me is keep trying to find what works. I'm so glad I didn't let my frustration lead me to try something abrasive (D stopped me from trying a "gentle" kitchen scrub pad at one point lol).

I'll keep the opened jar of FSR in case there are stains in future that this product might remove. As small token for the help we've received at this forum and for the spirit of generosity here, I'd be happy to send the unopened jar of FSR to anyone who might like it. PM me if interested, first come first served. I'll pay for shipping long as you live on Turtle Island (I'm assuming I can mail it to the US as well as here in Canada).

Cheers,
Paul

 

[Ron in BC]

I was horrified to wash our Escape with a good wash n wax and see that these ugly marks wouldn't come off at all.

or why FSR wasn't doing the job.

Anyway, I was so happy to see all those annoying and ugly marks disappear easily after only 1 or 2 applications of Star Brite. I'm so grateful and relieved I discovered this product.

Since FSR clearly works for many, I'm wondering if geography/location might have anything to do with how these streaks and stains adhere to the gel coat.
Paul

Since I've used FSR for many years, including Rhine river oil slick stains that would have turned your stomach, and it's always worked well I'll hazard a guess.

I've always stayed away from wash n wax products preferring to get the surface spotless before applying any wax. I think that there's a chance that the wash n wax ended up putting some streaks under some wax. Maybe the Star Brite is a better wax remover than FSR. At any rate, next time you have black streaks try the FSR before putting any kind of wax on them.

Too bad we don't live in the same city I'd be over in a flash. I almost emptied my jar of FSR today doing my pre-storage cleanup.

Ron

 

[Pauly D-ESC]

Thanks, Ron, that's an interesting hypothesis. I'll try some FSR next season before any product with wax. For now, our E19 is winterized, clean and shiny as the day we picked it up, and stored under cover for winter.

You're the first to show interest in this unopened jar of FSR - PM me your address if you like and I'll gladly send it to you.

Paul