Removing Zep/Red Maxx coatings - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-04-2019, 09:20 AM   #1
Member
 
Ramsey's Avatar
 
Name: Ramsey
Trailer: 16' Scamp
Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Removing Zep/Red Maxx coatings

Good morning Forvm,

I like many others on the forvm (what Not Polyglow) applied Zep finish to my '94 Scamp several years ago. Due to several circumstances, the camper sat idle in the sun for the most part during summers and was put in a clean covered barn over winters. As i am now once again in a position to use the Scamp i want to refinish the Zep finish. The finish is now very uneven or spotty with some retaining the gloss while other areas with little or no gloss evident.

I have applied the Zep Heavy Duty Remover and BarKeepers Friend products to remove all shine and start from scratch however with only margnal success. QUESTION: for those who have refinished their previously ""Zepped" finish to what extent and effort did you go to remove the entire old Zep finish Did you leave some of the previous good finish intact applying the suggest 4-5 coats over the now spotty looking Zep finish?

any input would be appreciated, thanks Ramsey
Ramsey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2019, 09:47 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Name: bill
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
The Mountains of North Carolina
Posts: 4,137
Registry
Search via google is your friend.

Two good answers I have seen others post:

From Jack L: "Zep makes a liquid wax stripper that will take the old wax off. Use a spray bottle and spray it on a wet trailer full strength to let it soak and cut thru the old wax. Do this on a cloudy day, or in a light rain. On a sunny day things dry too fast. A good scrub pad and warm water help too."

From Borrego Dave: "use the Zep stripper full strength, cutting it to what Zep calls for will take 3 or 4 go arounds at least. I used a spray bottle and one of those green/blue rough/soft sided kitchen sponges, I used the rough side. Worked areas about 3x3'. Sprayed it on, waited about ten seconds and hit it with the sponge and rinsed. Took about an hour to strip my SD17. Only had a couple spots I had to go over again. BTW, my egg sits outside in the SoCal desert and the Zep shine lasted two years very well before I decided to strip and rewax to stay a head of it. It's 107* today, big cool down going, it has been running 115-117 a few days ago . I understand your concern from all the threads, I read them also. So from my experience, if it can hold up to the extremes I have here, I'm staying with Zep. YMMV"

Bar Keepers Friend is not designed to remove wax. It is a surface cleaner. Once the wax is off, sure, its a very good product.
thrifty bill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2019, 10:45 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Name: Jack L
Trailer: Sold the Bigfoot 17-Looking for a new one
Washington
Posts: 1,561
thrifty bill quoted a post I made sometime back. Let me add. The Zep stripper is the only thing I found that would work. Part of the reason that I had to strip it was because I put it on too thick. Thin coats using a WHITE microfiber cloth is best.
Jack L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2019, 03:13 PM   #4
Member
 
Ramsey's Avatar
 
Name: Ramsey
Trailer: 16' Scamp
Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Removing Zep/Red Max coatings

thanks for the suggestions. Using the Zep full strength made a big difference in time savings.
ramsey
Ramsey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-01-2020, 12:42 PM   #5
DBH
Junior Member
 
Name: Greg
Trailer: '76 Trillium
Ontario
Posts: 20
Thanks for this comment! Exactly what I was looking for. Off to get some Zep stripper this time!
DBH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2020, 02:34 PM   #6
Member
 
Name: Bob
Trailer: Bigfoot
Texas
Posts: 43
Use of and removing Zep Wet Look floor polish: Like many others, I have used this product to give the nice shine on exterior. Now after using a non-brand pressure wash concentrate, I have a mess on the gelcoat. It has left uneven color/shine. Just called manufacturer ZEP and they said this product was not intended for fiberglass RV and they do NOT recommend it for this purpose. The reason: it is very difficult to get off when you have my problem or want to start over. She said the only way is to use the Zep Floor polish remover in diluted strength and scrub,scrub.
I will go get some and try the undiluted method mentioned above. If anyone else has ideas, please shout!!
Once you get it off, what do you use to give a nice shine so that I don't duplicate this down the road?
Bhamm1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2020, 03:25 PM   #7
Commercial Member
 
Name: Mike
Trailer: Boler13/trillium4500/buro13
Ontario
Posts: 1,138
I have removed my zep finish numerous times over the years and have never had a problem , it’s about a 2 hour job with the right approach . Apply a 50-50 mix of zep stripper and warm water to an manageable area not the whole trailer soaking it and keeping it wet and use a scrub sponge and elbow grease to remove it after it has softened ,rinse it and then repeat on the next section. Yes you will have to do some physical work to remove it and reapply but much less than repeatatly waxing and buffing with not very good results.
Mikmay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2020, 03:26 PM   #8
DBH
Junior Member
 
Name: Greg
Trailer: '76 Trillium
Ontario
Posts: 20
@bhamm1
I posted just above as I was going to get some ZEP Remover.
The technique @Thrifty Bill quotes above worked the best for me. Tried a few different things through the years. Took more than an hour for me, probably 3-4 hours (and yes, I'd do it all not trying to save spots). Plus another hour or so over the next couple days touching up. You can't see what you've missed until it dries.

Then apply the ZEP polish as described elsewhere.
DBH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2020, 12:57 PM   #9
Member
 
Name: Bob
Trailer: Bigfoot
Texas
Posts: 43
We bought the Zep Floor polish remover, following the directions above and were very pleased with the results. Thank you for saving the day for us.
Ready to put the polish back on tomorrow.
How often do you strip the polish off?
Bhamm1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-07-2020, 12:16 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Kenny Strong's Avatar
 
Name: kenny
Trailer: 93 "Lil" Bigfoot 13.5'
Utah
Posts: 519
I used the zep floor wax remover. It removed some of the black paint on the window frames.
Kenny Strong is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
vin


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Is it safe to use Zep 123 STRIPPER to remove Zep floor wax on Scamp exterior? johnsoba Care and Feeding of Molded Fiberglass Trailers 7 03-03-2017 06:49 AM
Roof coatings? Darrell O Care and Feeding of Molded Fiberglass Trailers 9 02-03-2016 10:15 AM
Red Maxx Report honda03842 Care and Feeding of Molded Fiberglass Trailers 27 06-12-2013 12:56 PM
best technique for air flow with Maxx Air Fan with 13 footer lloyd cicetti General Chat 4 06-18-2010 05:04 PM
Takin' it too the Maxx Alf S. Modifications, Alterations and Updates 12 05-07-2007 07:24 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:52 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.