Pro Detailing

[Rossue]

Like most of you I've been washing & waxing my trailer myself since bring our 21 home in 2014. At some point about 3-4 years ago I hit a wall with oxidation that just did not want to go away. I'd watched a lot of videos- mostly for boats showing techniques & products. One of the variables is which type of polisher to use: Dual Action or Orbital. Most of the boat videos show an Orbital with a large wool pad.

I had one weird 5 inch wide streak along the top of the Driver's side wall I call the Billboard because it is such a large expanse on a 21C. One boat maker tried to tell me it was a defect from the mould. The first Pro I hired just did a nice wax job but did not remove that streak.

The second Pro two years ago did remove that stubborn oxidation and I went back a year ago to get another exterior detail. He charged me $350 both times. He went out of business though and left town owing his landlord & others money.

Now, a year later I just had it done by another local Pro I had do window tint and ceramic coating on my Transit Van conversion. It came out great so I had him come over to do my trailer. There wasn't enough room at his shop so he showed up early AM with his wife, son & employee. It took them 12 man hours to do the job, however it was by far the best outcome ever. The bonus was I got to watch just how they did it and it was an eye-opener to me. Roman's Tint & Detail in Atascadero for those in the local area is highly recommended.

They used Dual Action polishers with 6" foam pads. They would do a roughly 3X3' area and then repeat. Then repeat & repeat & repeat. I calculated 4 man hours just to do the Driver's Side of the trailer- which faces south. The job cost $600, however in this economy with labor what it is that isn't any more than what gardeners charge around here to pull weeds. The way I figure it there are only so many hours in a day and at almost 70 I'm not doing everything anymore.

The product they used is P&S Kyle's Boat & RV Restorer; available on Amazon for $33. It is a one-step product that produced awesome results. The next step would be for me to have them put a ceramic coating on it. Maybe next year; I'll see how this holds up with regular washing and spray wax in the meantime.
https://www.amazon.com/Professional...fFUjPSnooMLbLG9FTkt38bkPPQBo9hPBoCDvwQAvD_BwE

https://romans-tint-detail.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral

 

[Bea]

Appreciate your great write up here Rossue. Tempted to try that P&S product out. So far I've been doing all our waxing by hand but at some point I think some sort of electric buffer/polisher may be in order. Not ready to hand that job to professionals yet and Santa's coming soon....hummmm

If I may piggy back on your thread here...would anyone here care to share what electric buffer/polisher works well for you? Would a dual action polisher be enough? Or would a random orbital one be significantly better? TIA -Bea

 

[BritCanuck]

I’d be tempted to do the ceramic coat now while the trailer body is pristine.

Regular washing will probably reintroduce microswirls in the gel coat which you will have to remove again before doing a ceramic coat.

I just ceramic coated our brand new trailer, looks awesome, and hopefully will provide UV and other protection against the elements for 18 months to 2 years.

 

[Rossue]

Would a dual action polisher be enough? Or would a random orbital one be significantly better? TIA -Bea

I mistated an orbital polisher in my post above. It is a variable speed rotary that many pros use, however it can be tricky to use. The next less aggressive tool would be the Dual Action polisher. Many here have used the Porter Cable. On Amazon it is $139. Had to go to the Mfg. website for the weight: 5.5 lbs. which is good.

 

[Rossue]

I’d be tempted to do the ceramic coat now while the trailer body is pristine.

Regular washing will probably reintroduce microswirls in the gel coat which you will have to remove again before doing a ceramic coat.

I just ceramic coated our brand new trailer, looks awesome, and hopefully will provide UV and other protection against the elements for 18 months to 2 years.

View attachment 71724

I know; thanks for reminding me of the microswirls. Been there, gone crazy over 'em.

 

[Bea]

I mistated an orbital polisher in my post above. It is a variable speed rotary that many pros use, however it can be tricky to use. The next less aggressive tool would be the Dual Action polisher. Many here have used the Porter Cable. On Amazon it is $139. Had to go to the Mfg. website for the weight: 5.5 lbs. which is good.

Thank you Rossue! The Porter Cable does look like a nice one. Much appreciated!!

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

for sure, you want to polish just before a ceramic coat. the ceramic stuff will just cast any flaws in.

 

[Fletch Dobbs]

Rossue, even from a distance and in the shade, your trailer looks like new. Nice!

About ceramic coating, what product and how much effort is required to apply that? My 2014 still looks pretty good (I keep it covered ...) but I think it may be time for a detailing like Rossue had done and the ceramic coating to preserve that seems like it might be time and money well spent.

 

[BritCanuck]

Rossue, even from a distance and in the shade, your trailer looks like new. Nice!

About ceramic coating, what product and how much effort is required to apply that? My 2014 still looks pretty good (I keep it covered ...) but I think it may be time for a detailing like Rossue had done and the ceramic coating to preserve that seems like it might be time and money well spent.

I used Glidecoat Marine Ceramic coating. Designed for gel coat fibreglass.

https://a.co/d/dYxvcjB

Not physically hard to apply, just takes a while as you do it in 2ft squares. Use a special applicator sponge to put it on, and then immediately wipe it off and buff to a shine with micro fibre cloths.

Took me about 7 hours to do my 5.0 with one coat.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

Rossue, even from a distance and in the shade, your trailer looks like new. Nice!

About ceramic coating, what product and how much effort is required to apply that? My 2014 still looks pretty good (I keep it covered ...) but I think it may be time for a detailing like Rossue had done and the ceramic coating to preserve that seems like it might be time and money well spent.

I think the compounding and polishing required prior to a ceramic coat on an older trailer is probably the most time consuming part.

 

[rmitch]

This is what I use. Did the trailer by hand the first two times. Then i switched to the random orbit polisher. This one is from Chemical Guys, an auto detailing company. I use a light cut foam pad. The product is 3M Marine Cleaner and Wax. It is a LOT of work but looks great! I do the trailer once a year. Thinking of hiring someone next time!