Just a couple of hours ago, I finished washing the outside of my 2008
Casita 17 FD. To save you some math, it is now 11 years old.
It had been left out in the hot Florida sun, rain, humidity, mildew, and algae for 11 months. Previous to that it had been kept under a canopy for 10 years, but I never got around to putting the canopy back up after the hurricane last
fall.
To get to the point -- after washing it, I was amazed at how the
Casita fiberglass looked as good as it did 11 years ago when we purchased it.
So I thought i would let others know what I have done (and not done) to it and yet have it look so good.
Over those years I NEVER waxed it. I know there are a lot of FG trailer owners who make a big deal out of waxing their trailer. They use the kinds of car waxes that would be used on a classic car, and usually wax with a lot of rubbing or electric buffing several times a year. Others wax infrequently, and I see their trailers looking like the color of an old dog's teeth -- ugly yellowish. My trailer is as white as it was when we picked it up in Rice, TX.
Plus, the gel coat is as smooth as then -- never have I used anything close to abrasive on it.
So, here is my secret -- well what my laziness has done. When I got the
Casita home from Rice, I applied a coat of Starbrite Marine Polish with PTFE (Teflon, but Starbrite can't use Dupont's registered name any more). It is the easiest polish to apply...just wipe it on, and wipe it off a couple minutes later -- no rubbing, let alone electric buffing.
After that I polished the trailer once a year or less on average for the 11 years. Before applying more Starbrite, I wash the trailer with strong detergent using a car-washing brush to avoid any abrasive effect that might happen using a cloth that might trap abrasive dirt particles.
The wax guys say to never use strong detergent -- because it will take off all the layers of wax that have been applied. But when those wax layers build up, they end up giving the gel coat a coating of yellowed wax that keeps yellowing year after year.
I use a strong high-phosphate electric dishwasher detergent (Bubble Bandit -- great for shiny, clean dishes form your dishwasher), but even strong laundry detergent works almost as well. I add some Oxyclean and Biz (enzymatic detergent) to my wash bucket. I slather the detergent water onto the rinsed, but still very dirty trailer, and try to let it set a few minutes before going back over with new detergent solution on my car washing brush. And yes, I am taking most of the old polish off that way.
I then follow up with the Starbrite Marine Polish (that is designed for
fiberglass boats that are subject to more extreme conditions that a trailer parked at your home. It is so easy to apply, and almost no rubbing is needed. After a first coat, I sometimes lightly pass the application cloth over any areas that seem to have a little less shine -- kind of like the spit-polish method I learned so many years ago in the Navy. But the point is that it is not a lot of work...and I do it once a year...and my trailer looks amazingly like new.
So, for those who do not want to apply fancy, expensive auto wax several times a year, I hope this helps keep your trailer looking as new as it has for ours.
By the way, I have no financial or other interest in Starbrite products. After writing all of this, they should give me a life-time supply for free, but I doubt they will. If Starbrite reads this, please reply, and I will give you my address to where you can send my free supply of polish, LOL.
Somehow, I doubt that I wil be getting any free polish, but I hope this helps other
fiberglass trailer owners.
Best,
Gator
Prairie Schooner
Charsara
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