Eggshell clean and shine time

[Steve n Donna M.]

OK, time to clean up the egg shell of our recent purchase--'99 Scamp 16 footer.

It was sitting in a driveway under an oak tree the past couple years at the time we purchased it. Steve scrubbed it quite a bit, mostly on top, and moved it to covered outdoor storage nearby to continue cleaning and prep. I was thinking Spic N Span solution or Simple green, car wash soap etc. might work for general cleanup on the white gelcoat. We are hearing that Bar Keepers Friend works good ---in what form-- powder, cream, spray, foam? Do you use that over the whole thing or just blemished areas.

So then once it's really clean then you apply something for shine. ZEP is mentioned quite a bit in the care threads but we welcome suggestions.
This might be the time to look for replacements for original rusted door hold catches, etc before the shine goes on. I'm wondering if those pieces are specific to Scamp or if most RV stores would have some universal pieces.

Somebody tell us about these rivet attachments for curtain hardware. Do those just go thru the rathair mat only? I guess we are not so rivet-savvy. Just one of those to repair--I hope. Come on Spring weather!

[Mikmay]

Donna on a 99 I would defenetly go with the zep.would not waste time or money on any other product

[mary and bob]

I used the barkeepers friend liquid to clean our '84 Uhaul and it worked good. Scrubbed it with a small sponge or rag. Washed that off with lots of water and a car wash sponge. I'll stay out of the wax discussion as there are several opinions. From pictures I've seen looks like the door hold is a common part. Looks like what we used in the trucking industry.

[Wallo]

There is alot to read but the thread
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...light=poliglow
is extremely informative. I personally used Zep wet look floor polish on my Scamp this spring and it transforms it from an ugly duckling to a swan. Before applying Zep, I used barkeepers friend to clean, followed by a rinse of TSP.

[Steve n Donna M.]

Thanks. We did look at the post about the floor finish stuff there and from several others.

But Steve's a car guy and he can't quite convince himself to go with the floor stuff. So far he's using a Macguire's color restorer product so he might just stick with that system. He's going to know every inch of the thing, rubbing a few years of grit off the gelcoat. Still just working on the top so far. We have a pretty scuzzy belly band to redo also I think. Then wax...or something shiny

I've about decided to try using a spring tension curtain rod for the back window instead of fixing the bad curtain rod bracket/rivet---at least for now.

All that talk about Missouri Ozarks on the Rally threads has me thinking about a shakedown trip but probably not till June for us.

[RRJR]

I used KIM household cleaner, it has a very mild abrasive that won't harm the gel coat, but will clean the chauky stuff off. Rinse it very well and then applied 5 coats ZEP, WET LOOK FLOOR FINISH. Did a fantastic job. If you use a wax you may run into problems later if wanting to touch up some paint spots.

[David B.]

Donna, I'm with Steve on this one...only if it lasts. I used to have to polish & wax our Scamp every 3 or 4 months due to the dullness coming back. I finally gave into the floor finish method and was very pleased with the results. It shined better than ever, adhered well, and sloughed off dirt & road grime better than any product I've ever used. The original coating was still working well without yellowing after 3 years.....I have since sold the Scamp
Dave & Paula

[Carol H]

3M Marine Restore and Wax will take off all the gunk and leave it nice and shiny.

[Gilda]

Chances are a tension curtain rod will not hold up while under tow. It could be a good temporary solution while you are in camp until you rivet in the new rod holder. 'Thought I'd just take a minute to show off my curtain and black out shade solution (see photos).

I kept the original Scamp curtains because they are light in color, letting in sunlight during the day. I simply change the decor by sewing side panels in a novelty fabric. (I find a pattern all around the FGRV interior is too overwhelming in the small space.) By making panels I use little fabric thereby saving on cost. These photos show my fall foliage theme. I made a hand-rolled shade out of Ron-Loc black out fabric (available at most fabric stores). It has Velcro on the bottom to "stick" to the rat fur. I use the regular curtain rod holder for the curtain as it keeps the rod firmly in place while under tow. The black-out shade is on a narrow cafe curtain rod which simply rests on top of the curtain rod holders. Note: I am thinking of tying the regular rods to the rod holders because they do sometimes fall off in transit. I found that the original Scamp curtain rods were too narrow for the holders so I purchased thicker rods that fit more snugly in the rod holders.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Steve n Donna M.

Somebody tell us about these rivet attachments for curtain hardware. Do those just go thru the rathair mat only? I guess we are not so rivet-savvy. Just one of those to repair--I hope. Come on Spring weather!

The rivets do go all the way through the fiberglass shell of the trailer. Go outside and pop the cap off the rivet and drill out the old rivet and pop in an new one.

[BuddyLee]

Scrub the whole trailer with bar keepers friend. Then wash it with dish soap to get it preped and clean, let it dry then apply 3 to 5 coats of Zep wet look floor polish, trust these folks it works wonders.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by Carol H

The rivets do go all the way through the fiberglass shell of the trailer. Go outside and pop the cap off the rivet and drill out the old rivet and pop in an new one.

Or if you are unsure about placing new rivets, some have gone the route of using Stainless machine nuts and bolts with lock washers.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by BuddyLee

Scrub the whole trailer with bar keepers friend. Then wash it with dish soap to get it preped and clean, let it dry then apply 3 to 5 coats of Zep wet look floor polish, trust these folks it works wonders.

The Op's trailer isn't all that old only a 99 so it should clean up nicely using a more traditional approach to shining up fiberglass as they have suggested their partner wishes to do. I know my 92 did .

[Steve n Donna M.]

Thanks, Gilda. I did find lots of your photos in the gallery already---liked the memory foam casings idea and window treatment ideas too. I hadn't thought about the tension rod wiggling loose in transit. We'd have to go with the 60' size because the space is just over 48". I think it could be installed with quite a bit of tension on it since it can cover alot bigger space than needed.

Rivets maybe aren't as big a deal as they seem at the start. We'll see. We are missing several caps outside and found spare caps in the trailer but think we may need the washer pieces or something. Donna

[Steve n Donna M.]

Thanks Ron (and everyone for advice)

I assume you might have to remove the floor polish coatings too if you had to touch up paint?

We do have one little tiny boo-boo in the SCAMP decal graphic we might patch before shining. Doesn't seem worthy of replacement for sure.

[multi-task]

Originally Posted by Carol H

3M Marine Restore and Wax will take off all the gunk and leave it nice and shiny.

Where would you normally find that in Canada? Thanks.

[Carol H]

Our local Canadian Tire sells many of the 3M fiberglass cleaning and waxing products - found in the boat section. Any marine supply store as well will have it - although I appreciate you might be a little short on those in Alberta ;-) I have even seen some of the 3M products in the boat section at Walmart as well.

BTW I am pretty sure the automotive parts shop Lordco had some 3M fiberglass products as well.

[multi-task]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Our local Canadian Tire sells most of the 3M fiberglass cleaning and waxing products - found in the boat section. Any marine supply store as well will have it - although I appreciate you might be a little short on those in Alberta ;-) I have even seen some of the 3M products in the boat section at Walmart as well.

Thanks! Looks like a few of our local Canadian Tire stores carry it.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by multi-task

Thanks! Looks like a few of our local Canadian Tire stores carry it.

They have a Clean and Wax consumer product - looks like the same bottle as Restore and Wax but its not - the Clean and Wax is very light duty and may not take off all the gunk you described. If you have a trailer with heavier caulking on it they also offer a fairly light consumer grade straight compound as well.
One of the small bottles of any of those products sell for about $16 & should do the whole trailer.

If you end up using the straight compound product they have another product called Finesse It II which will really make it pop!

All of it works best if you have a good power polisher and wool bonnets - just like the car guys use

Of course once you have it all shiny and new looking again you will need to put a good wax on it. I did the Restore & Wax using a buffer six years ago on my trailer - the fiberglass was pretty caulking as the trailer had sat out in the sun in Idaho for 16 years. Since then I haven't had to do the whole trailer again just a good waxing every spring & if I have time I *might* do it again in the fall before leaving it out for the winter. I do keep a bottle of the Restore and Wax on hand for getting rid on some of the tough black streaks and road grim that needs a little extra help to get off though.