Tail light replacement 75' Trilium

[4suresure]

Looked high n low but couldn't find replacements for my brake lights so I custom made these.
A local metal fab shop cut this 1/8" aluminum checker plate for me, $20 and I found these LED brake/turn/tail lights at hardware store, $50.

1975 Trillium 1300

[Newfie]

Hi Dave.

That's a fine job you did!

FYI, I have yet to buy a set of lenses for my Trillium, but when I do I'll be getting them from Fibreglass RV Parts, Repairs, and Service by Paul Neumeister.

It looks like yours is broken in the upper left corner of the lens which is exactly the same place where mine broke.

Shane

[David Tilston]

It should be noted that lenses that the OP had are not standard Trillium tail lights. These have a clear reverse section that I have only seen on motor homes. I suspect that is why Paul Neumiester could not source them.

[rjannunziata]

Hi Dave,
We have a trillium 1300 we are restoring and are looking for original tail/brake light assembly.they have been replaced with smaller ones and we would like to find the original size.
Do you know if they are still available?
Also our fiberglass body is oxidized and dull.I see some use a floor wax?
What is the best way to bring the shine back?

thank You,

Rich

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by rjannunziata

Hi Dave,
We have a trillium 1300 we are restoring and are looking for original tail/brake light assembly.they have been replaced with smaller ones and we would like to find the original size.
Do you know if they are still available?
Also our fiberglass body is oxidized and dull.I see some use a floor wax?
What is the best way to bring the shine back?

thank You,

Rich

floor wax is going to yellow eventually and leave an ugly mess, hard to clean off.

I would use a marine cleaner-wax on it, applied with an orbital buffer. if that doesn't bring up enough shine, then use a rubbing compound suitable for fiberglass gel coats, followed by a pure wax.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

floor wax is going to yellow eventually and leave an ugly mess, hard to clean off.

I would use a marine cleaner-wax on it, applied with an orbital buffer. if that doesn't bring up enough shine, then use a rubbing compound suitable for fiberglass gel coats, followed by a pure wax.

John, Eventually is after thee or four years, and the ugly mess is removed using the engine cleaner setting at the wand wash. The floor wax totally covers chalking, and makes scratches far less noticeable. Just clean it first. WAY less work, and good enough for most.

But hey after 51 pages of posting, there is still room for doubt:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ell-43004.html
The last post, #884 says it all.

Rich, Paul Neumeister is a valuable fibreglass resource. If you are in the neighborhood, he does axle replacement and other work. You can purchase the exact tail lights from his web site:
Fibreglass RV Parts, Repairs, and Service by Paul Neumeister

[John in Santa Cruz]

About 10 years ago, I resurrected a gelcoated hobiecat for my kid. The bright yellow hull was totally deep in chalk, it looked off white. it had been sitting in a back yard for 10+ years in the open, in a very sunny area. the fiberglass was solid (no bubbles), but every piece of nylon on that boat was crumbling to dust so it needed a new trampoline, all new rigging.

a hour with a small orbital buffer and some 3M boat polishing compound (recommended by the local hobie guy back then), and the twin hulls were gleaming like new. rubbed on a coat of marine paste wax over the top of that, and it still looked good after several years of salt water sailing.





after 2 years of benign neglect to the exterior and a bunch of road trips, our casita was starting to look a bit dull, washed it thoroughly, then went over it with meguiars marine cleaner/wax and it was shiny as when we bought it.

so, again, if its really bad, I recommend using a polish, then a wax.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...ting-Compound/
then this
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...ng-Polish-Wax/
and for a really high shine, finish with
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...t-It-Boat-Wax/

for maintenance, use the light polish/wax above, or much easier to find at your local car parts store,
https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-M503.../dp/B0000AY50X






if its just light, maintain it with cleaner/wax.

[David Tilston]

Nice boat! Lucky kid! I am fond of Hobie Cats. Is that a 16? I dream of one day restoring a 21SC, and take my wife on a tour of the Great Lakes, or The Straight of Georgia. It still fits on a trailer.

https://static.hobiecat.com/digital_...1SC_Manual.pdf

The kids will not be invited.

I think I will give Zep a try on that too.

I lived on a 45' mahogany on oak cutter when I was 11. #711. This boat in fact:
http://aldendesigns.com/cutter-sloop-keel-cb/d0711.html

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

Nice boat! Lucky kid! I am fond of Hobie Cats. Is that a 16? .

yup, that was a classic 1970s Hobie 16 I restored for my kid when he was high school... he sailed it in monterey bay here, or we'd go to one of the regional lakes. at one point, we had two H16's here, ahahahaha, the yellow one had good hulls and frame, while the beige one had good running gear but shot hulls, so we stripped the beige one and sailed the yellow hulls. was able to sell the trashed beige hulls because they had a good trailer under them, and the buyer was willing to scrap the hulls. the sail in that picture above actually came on the beige boat, that pattern was called 'espresso'. the yellow hulls came with 'tequila sunrise' but they were quite worn out and stretched.