Customer with oxidized 5th wheel trailer question

[brondondolon]

On July 12th I have a job to do on a 5th wheel trailer. Its a 2002 33' trailer and its white. Some spots are worse then others but id say it ranges from mild-heavy oxidation. I licked my finger and then rubbed a spot and it actually shined up. I know this might be an unorthodox little test spot lol but I had no supplies on me when i was doing the quote. The customer is selling the trailer so he doesnt want it looking brand new again he just wants it looking a little better. Now before i take advantage of the sale thats going on today i have some questions.

Using a PC will an orange pad and megs D151 work well on this? I have a rotory but it weighs an absolute ton and it would kill my arms after probably 5 feet of polishing. Im going to use the D151 as my AIO on this but what pads would be best suited for this? Thanks guys.

[brondondolon]

No one?

[longdx]

Should work. D151 is a pretty good AIO and with the right pad will correct some paint imperfections.

[brondondolon]

Yeah ive had great results on paint but on a gel coat i have no experience. I imagine it will work pretty good but im wondering what pads i should be using for a gel coat.

[BillE]

I would look at Meguiar's Oxidation Remover (M-49) as a start. It available 'OTC" at many locations. Follow up with wax (your choice).

Plan on doing about a 16"x16" max at a time Cleaning the pad (on the fly) after each section. Pads are gonna load up quick, and do mean QUICK! Having fresh pads at the ready will help.

Using a DA is gonna be a long process, but it can surly be done with one.

When I was still doing RV's...I would borrow scaffolding and use a rotary. Trying use a rotary on a ladder is just plain SCARY! If not dangerous. That said...a DA on a ladder is MUCH safer...but some scaffolding would still be a good bet.

Bill

[davidc]

Unless your DA is a forced rotation it will take a very long time to do a 33' Gel coat RV. The pad may not even spin on a traditional DA as the oxidation when mixed with compound/cleaner wax etc. gets very stiff. As for the pad wool is the best. If using foam I would use the most aggressive you have.

Dave

[Just02896]

Unless your DA is a forced rotation it will take a very long time to do a 33' Gel coat RV. The pad may not even spin on a traditional DA as the oxidation when mixed with compound/cleaner wax etc. gets very stiff. As for the pad wool is the best. If using foam I would use the most aggressive you have.

Dave

I agree. Your going to struggle using foam pads and you will probably need quite a few pads to complete the job without burning them up. Do you have any wool or MF pads on hand? You'd be much better served using those and compressed air to keep them clean and cool.

[JAF06SE]

I would stick with wool and a rotary personally. Will go faster. I would probably look into Meg's Marine/RV line for something that will work faster and easier honestly. Most of it you can pick up OTC at a boat or RV store. I know Bass Pro had them as well. Was going to reply last night but got a call and couldn't find the thread again.

[brondondolon]

Well the customer isn't looking for it to be looking brand new. He initially just wanted a wash on it. The gel coat on this RV is strange. Like if you take your finger and rub it it kinda shines up which made me think it's not going to be too difficult. However, I have very little experience with gel coats so I could be wrong. I will say this though. It's different then the gel coat on a boat. It's not smooth it's very chalky. But like I said if you moisten your finger and rub it it shines up.

My DA is a PC I do have a rotary but is weights way to much for me to even want to consider using it on something this big.

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[JAF06SE]

Then I would go with a more aggressive pad and keep up on cleaning it throughout the job. I would still check I to the marine line as there might be a AIO that will better suit the job. I don't have a ton of experience with the line but do know there I suite a bit of differs products in it.

[brondondolon]

Do you think the LC yellow flat pad will be safe enough to not leave swirls or anything? I was thinking of using an orange.

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[scrubs147]

With heavy oxidation, a wool pad and some good compound is the only way to go. Second choice would be the yellow pad and some Meg's 105, I would probably try the Marine 31 all in one with the yellow pad and go from there.