Gel coat help!!!

[donavin629]

RV Gelcoat with heavy oxidation.
Im having an issue with these darn RVs again.
Would love to get your ideas and feedback.

1st Washed the vehicle

Tools used
· Makita high speed buffer
· Cyclo machine

Tried to use system one polish with a wool pad and it removed the heavy stuff and brought back the shine.. but when you look at it from an angle you can see blotchy marks and even patterns left from where I was buffing back and forth and up and down.
Went over it like 3 times still left with these shadows.

Turned to cyclo with yellow cutting pads with system 1… same issue.

Turned to compounding with wool pad… yellow cutting pad.. highest speed.. low speeds..white polishing pad with low speeds.. high speeds.. I tried it all. .. same issue.

Next went to a boat dealership and talked to the detailer… he had meguiars 44 color restorer and meguiars 45… same issues with the blotchy markings.

Next the shop foreman gave me some 3m 5995 Foam Polish Pad Glaze and a dewalt buffer.
He also was using a 3m white pad.. which he said was a polising pad.

He did a section using this method and it was not perfect but it came out a lot better.

Only thing I can think of is because he was running it at faster speeds.. so I started using this method with the 3 m polish and using the dewault at 2600 rpms… it was coming out a lot better.. but not perfect.. how can I get these markings out? The foreman said the customer wont probably see them.. and I cant expect to get an RV with Gel coat perfect if it has not been taken care of and is heavily oxidized. i wont accept that.. i need perfection .. it will drive me crazy lol

ANY IDEAS? FEEDBACK.. HELP????

Thanks everyone… .also check out my new site.. let me know what you think.



i know the images is hard to see but you can kinda see the zig zag marks in the circle
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/donavin629/P1040560.jpg

[Derrick]

Donovan,
How much are you charging for these RV details? If you want perfection, it's going to take a lot of work to correct a totally oxidized Rv's exterior.

Derrick

[donavin629]

No they are not paying top dollar…im giving the shop a discount and they are upselling to the customer.

But it just bothers me that I cannot get this the way I want… the newer RVs with automotive paint I have no probems.. just trying to get over this bump in the road… the shop manager says im to picky.. im HELLLOOOO im a detailer!!! Im supposed to be freakin picky lol

[Garry Dean]

No they are not paying top dollar…im giving the shop a discount and they are upselling to the customer.

But it just bothers me that I cannot get this the way I want… the newer RVs with automotive paint I have no probems.. just trying to get over this bump in the road… the shop manager says im to picky.. im HELLLOOOO im a detailer!!! Im supposed to be freakin picky lol

PM me. You will get better results on an RV gel coat with a D/A x2 passes.

[ryandamartini]

I remember Premium? having excellent luck with 4* compounds on the Gel Coat.

[Mike Phillips]

but when you look at it from an angle you can see blotchy marks and even patterns left from where I was buffing back and forth and up and down.


The patterns and the blotch areas are a visual difference of what's taking place on the surface and to some degree below the surface if like you say this is or was dried-out, oxidized gel-coat. Usually, chopping off all the dead oxidized gel-coat and then polishing with an oily polish will tend restore the richness of color, (even light colors can have a richness quality to them), and leave a uniform appearance.





Next went to a boat dealership and talked to the detailer… he had Meguiar's 44 color restorer and Meguiar's 45… same issues with the blotchy markings.


Normally, after you cut off all the dead, oxidized gel-coat, then applying a product like the M45 with a foam pad on a rotary will even out the appearance as this is what Meguiar's calls a pure polish, that is it's a non-abrasive polish that has a high concentration of the same types of polishing oils found in M03 and even M07

M03 Machine Glaze is a staple in the fiberglass mold production industry to polish molds up to a high gloss before applying mold release waxes, you might give this a try after the compounding/cutting step. Use a foam polishing pad with your rotary around 1500 rpm to apply it. Don't let it dry, just work it over the surface really well and then wipe off the leftover residue.





how can I get these markings out? The
i know the images is hard to see but you can kinda see the zig zag marks in the circle


These are also called Tiger Stripes and this happens on oxidized gel-coats and single stage paints.

You an also see this kind of thing when someone buffs a single stage metallic finish too much and starts buffing off part of the actual metallic flakes, this then shows up as Tiger Stripes assuming they're buffing in back and forth directions.

It's accentuated when you use a wool pad on edge with a rotary buffer.

Since you already have the M44, maybe try this again using a foam polishing pad and hold the pad flat and don't move it too quickly, let it the diminishing abrasives and polishing oils in the M44 have some time to work on the paint.

Don't know if any of these suggestions will help but if you have time maybe give them a try.

Also, your website is looking good, easy to navigate, nice color scheme.

:)

[donavin629]

thanks mike.. i will give that M03 a try on my next one... right now i have to finish this customers RV... the shop foreman is going to tell the customer its going to take some time to get it back to brand new condition.. like i said.. the #### in nice.. but if the customer looks at that thing on a rainy day from the angle im looking he may not be to satisfied... sucks.