I spent the weekend polishing the Trillium - Fiberglass RV
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Old 09-28-2014, 08:05 PM   #1
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Trailer: Former 1978 Trillium 4500 owner (now 2010 R-pod)
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I spent the weekend polishing our Trillium

Our 1977 Trillium 4500, which we purchased in July of this year, was oxidized and chalky like most trailers of the vintage. I bought a new polishing pad and compound for my old Makita polisher and thought I'd have a go at seeing if I couldn't get the old dear looking a bit better. I'm pretty pleased with the results, although my right arm is about to fall off after going over the trailer twice with the heavy duty compound, once with the lighter duty stuff and once by hand with wax.

Before


After










The tools I used

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Old 09-28-2014, 09:25 PM   #2
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That looks amazing, great job!
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Old 09-28-2014, 10:11 PM   #3
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Old 09-29-2014, 01:13 AM   #4
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It sure is rewarding to see the results of all your hard work.
Great job.
Dave & Paula
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Old 09-29-2014, 03:33 AM   #5
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Looks great Phil
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Old 09-29-2014, 04:27 AM   #6
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Beautiful!
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Old 10-12-2014, 07:15 AM   #7
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Nothing is sexier than a reflection! Great job, proud polisher.
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Old 10-12-2014, 07:38 AM   #8
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I went the acrylic floor polish (Zep/Red Max) route last year on my 1989 Bigfoot and while I was pleased in the beginning, it's already starting to look pretty hammered. I've been contemplating going this route with a proper polish and wax. I have everything I need except time. Your results have inspired me to pursue this further. Thanks!
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Old 10-12-2014, 09:55 AM   #9
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3M has a product called Finesse It that you can use after the compound - it takes all the swirl marks off and it takes it to a higher shine level again. It is a bit pricey but well worth the cost - need less than a small bottle to do most of our trailers. I helped a friend clean up there trailer a few weeks ago and it came out great. Of course one still needs a couple of good layers of wax on it to keep it that way.
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Old 10-12-2014, 10:51 AM   #10
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Looks great I did mine a couple of years ago with the same results.
Time to get some new wax on mine.
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Old 10-19-2014, 10:01 PM   #11
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Name: Walter
Trailer: 1976 Trillium 1300; Invertec Falcon 190 class b rv
Washington
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Keeping Trilly looking good

Phil,

Nice job polishing the Trilly. It really looks nice.

Like you, I like the shiny look on my Trilly and Class B RV . I wipe them off with warm tap water , then polish them every 3 mos ,as that seems to be the requirement if they are exposed to UV and the elements.

As far as the Trilly is concerned, I am hoping that with the new cover ( see neighboring thread and pictures ), I won't have to clean and repolish it so frequently.

I don't know if you are planning to cover your Trilly, but it has to help keep it clean and looking pretty.

Good luck!
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Old 10-20-2014, 03:51 AM   #12
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Question, what are the screws or rivets down the side of your trailer?

And, has anyone heard of internal moisture problem with the breathable covers? I have a cover and had it on for a month or so only to discover mold creeping over the ceiling of our trailer - had to scrub it out again.
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Old 10-20-2014, 07:42 AM   #13
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The snaps down the side of Phil's trailer are for the original "add a room".

For the mold, try using Concrobium after cleaning.

Great job Phil!
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Old 10-20-2014, 06:23 PM   #14
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Boy nice job. Now I don't know if I should polish or Zep next spring.
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Old 10-20-2014, 06:34 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Don ravinerat View Post
Boy nice job. Now I don't know if I should polish or Zep next spring.
I would just keep waxing unless your gelcoat is chalky all the time. I eventually used Redmax pro (Zep) and really liked the results in both shine and ease of maintance for the next three years that I owned it.
Dave & Paula
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Old 11-23-2014, 05:19 PM   #16
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That is an incredibly beautiful job! I will probably have to pay someone to do this, but now I REALLY want my Trillium to have this kind of shine. You're an inspiration, Phil!!!
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Old 11-24-2014, 03:35 PM   #17
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I need to show off my '81 Trillium 4500. MikMay and his son did a wonderful job on it. Looks like it just rolled off the assembly line. I love it! Thanks Mike and Bryce.
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Old 11-26-2014, 10:12 AM   #18
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That is an AWESOME looking 4500 Noreen. You inspire trailer envy.
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Old 11-26-2014, 02:27 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by Don ravinerat View Post
Boy nice job. Now I don't know if I should polish or Zep next spring.

They do two different things. Polish rubs off the surface material thus removing gel coat that has oxidized (chalky) and removes enough material to smooth out the pitting and leave a smooth polished surface.

Zep you clean off the oxidation first and then Zep wax coats the surface filling in the pitting of the surface and give a smooth shiny surface. While providing a protective seal.

Every time you polish you are making the surface coating thinner. Polishing compound is an abrasive. A very fine abrasive but still very much like sanding it down to a smooth surface. You don't want to do this too often or you will wear right through the colored gel coat. If you polish you need to wax afterwards in order to protect the surface. You can use many different protective waxes.

Zep is a wax so when you use that it sort of does both steps in one shot, but without actually smoothing the underlying gel coat. Just filling in the pitting that takes place over time to provide the smooth surface. You can do this as often as you wish since it removes no surface material.

My scamp is old enough that I would be reluctant to polish because the gel coat might be pitted enough that a lot of surface would have to be polished off to get to smooth and shiny. For me Zep works better, newer trailer a light polishing and regular paste wax a couple of times a year might be a good choice.
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Old 11-26-2014, 05:15 PM   #20
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Smile Great Job

Lift a beer to your sucess, if your arm works, yet.

This thread fully explains one of the reasons we all love molded fiberglass recreational vehicles so much.!
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