How to wax, seal or protect my Egg?

[cjlindsay]

cjlindsay,

Edit: Interesting complaints about Nu Finish here

Quote from link. "they changed the formulation of NuFinish to comply with California Air Resources board regulations. They reduced the amount of "Volatile Organic Compounds" (petroleum solvents)."

Fortunately the stuff up here in Canada seems to be the original, thick, nasty, full of VOC's NuFinish. All I know is the bottom of my egg went from grey to green the first time I used it, has kept it glossy, and prevented that black crud from growing on it for the last two years.

Later!

[Carolyn Patterson]

Daniel,

My trailer has virtually no shine to it. Maybe, maybe just a 'hint' on the street side, but not very much. I had used NuFinish on my cars before, so I thought I'd give it a try...5 hours later, it was pretty (not shining) but nothing special. My neighbor walked over one day and as we were talking she said "You sure spent a long time rubbing on your little trailer the other day!" I believe she was hinting at the fact it I spent a lot of time and it didn't look any different.

I wouldn't waste my time doing it again..it didn't make a bit of difference to my trailer.

[Bruce H]

<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Here is what I have learned about gel coat:</span>

<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"> </span>

Gel coat is like clear coat on an automotive finish except it may be thicker and softer. It oxidizes faster than an automotive finish does. My trailer (purchased new in 2004) was stored outdoors because I did not have a building large enough to get it inside. I believe sunlight and weather significantly speed up the deterioration of gel coat. A trailer stored outside is like a car. It will accumulate a noticeable layer of dust and pollen in just a couple of weeks. If there are trees nearby you also get tree sap and bird droppings. Washing a trailer is a big job because of the climbing required to get to the top. Gel coat needs to be kept sealed with paste wax to slow the oxidation. Even with regular washing and waxing, the shine on a trailer stored outside will start to fade after about year two. By year four, visible oxidation will begin to occur. At that point buffing the finish with an automotive buffer and a fine grade of compound will restore most of the original shine. You cannot buff the dirt and road oil off. You have to wash the trailer and get it clean before you start. Compounding is a lot of work even with a power buffer. Automotive buffing compound comes in different grits like sand paper does. The courser grits are called cutting compounds. I prefer to use a finer grit 3-M compound on gel coat. I also prefer to use a 3-M foam compounding pad. You put a little compound on the pad so that it is slightly damp then do a couple of square feet. The pad will spread the compound, then in about three or four passes it dries and the pad will buff it off. Then you put a little more compound on the pad and continue to the next area. Experience will teach you how much compound to use to dampen the pad. If you get a little more on then you do a little larger area. You only want to buff a given area just enough to knock the oxidation, nothing more. You must be very careful to keep the buffer moving in case you encounter a thin spot in the gel coat. I have tried using a polishing compound and foam polishing pads after the buffing compound. I could not tell that it made gel coat shine any more. A coat of paste wax on a freshly compounded surface will visibly improve the shine and it should be applied immediately to seal the finish. The wax needs to be done the old fashioned way by hand. I would guess that after a trailer is compounded three or four times the gel coat will be about gone. At that point I believe the best remedy would be to have the trailer painted with an automotive finish. That would be more durable than gel coat and you would have your choice of colors.

[cjlindsay]

Daniel,

My trailer has virtually no shine to it. Maybe, maybe just a 'hint' on the street side, but not very much. I had used NuFinish on my cars before, so I thought I'd give it a try...5 hours later, it was pretty (not shining) but nothing special. My neighbor walked over one day and as we were talking she said "You sure spent a long time rubbing on your little trailer the other day!" I believe she was hinting at the fact it I spent a lot of time and it didn't look any different.

I wouldn't waste my time doing it again..it didn't make a bit of difference to my trailer.

That's why I had to use Fiberglass Magic first. I tested Nu Finish on the Boler, without giving it an acid bath first. (Essentially what I did with Fiberglass Magic. STRONG stuff) Nu Finish did squat for the color or shine. After I cleansed the egg with F.M. and then tried Nu Finish... WOW! The bottom of my egg is GREEN not GREY! Who knew? Try TSP first, then Nu Finish. If it don't work, I'll buy ya a bottle of Mothers or Maguires.