Fiber Glass Caps

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
This is the first sunny day since we took delivery of our new 3450TS last week. It made the trip across the US from Ohio to it's new home here in WA.

Anyway, according to the truck driver, it came through some pretty nasty weather, snow, freezing rain etc. He told me it was awfully dirty with road sand etc and he just couldn't bring it to our driveway looking the way it did. Before he delivered it, he took it to a car wash and got some of the debris off.

Here is my problem, now that the sun is out, it is very apparent that his wash job put a lot of swirl scratch marks on the cap clear coat. It is pretty unsightly for such a beautiful rig!

My question...will these swirl marks wax out? Has anyone else had such issues?

Many Thanks!
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
SJH, yes it should polish out. Contact a fiberglass person that deals with glass boats or corvettes. The next step would be to contact the transportation company for for some help with the costs. If their driver did not know how to wash fiberglass...he should have left it alone. JMHO Bob
 
Most imperfections on the nose cap will come out with a good cleaning and then a nice hand wax and polishing. A camper in the RV park gave me a little tidbit trick to help with the bugs on the nose caps of the RV's...take some dryer sheets and dunk them in water then use them to remove the bugs. He said they come off like melted butter. I have not tried it yet, since I have not towed it in the bug season yet, but I am anxious to see what happens this spring.

Good luck with your cap. It should polish out just fine...just take your time.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Scott,

The dryer sheet trick does work. I wouldn't go so far as to say the bugs come off "like butter". Takes a fair amount of elbow grease as well :)

A note to all on wax. Earlier this week, 2 Heartlanders (Tom of Ypsi and slmayor) told me to not use a wax with carnauba in it on vinyl decals. Guess it's bad for them.

Jim
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
I use new Bounce dryer sheets with water on the bugs. I think it's the best thing I have found.

Peace
Dave
 

Jellystone

Well-known member
Bounce sheets also work pretty decent to keep mosquitoes off of you. If you are sitting outside on a sweltering summer evening & the 'skeeters are getting a bit rough, just tuck a couple of sheets in your belt loops and they seem to stay off of you for the most part.
 

superduty08

Tennessee Chapter Leaders
The dryer sheets work better than anything that I have ever tried. When driving through lower Alabama toward Destin Florida, love bugs can cover your tv and front of camper. They seem to be the hardest of all bugs to remove and will stain if not removed asap. The dryer sheets take only a little elbow greese to remove these bugs.
 

SilverRhino

Well-known member
Once you get the bugs off...use 303 Protectant on the entire rig...guarantee that the bugs will just slide off the next time. This product works much better than wax and will not harm your decals or yellow. You can even use it on your tires and vinyl awning covers. I've been using this product for years and believe the UV protection is better than anything else I've tried.

Just my observations....Gook luck!

Travel Safe!
 

superduty08

Tennessee Chapter Leaders
Does it come in any form other than the very small pads that I have seen? I have used it on the dash and tires but it was with the small pads.
 

slmayor

Founding California Northern Chapter Leader
Does it come in any form other than the very small pads that I have seen? I have used it on the dash and tires but it was with the small pads.

The small pads are sample packs. It comes in spray bottles or gallon jugs. Camping World has it, but more than likely an Ace hardware or custom car shop would have it as well.
Great product. We've been using it literally since they invented it. It's made locally and their first sales guy was a friend of mine. I got to try all the new stuff. They have a windshield washer tablet thats about to hit the market. Just drop in a tablet and add water. No more plastic jugs to carry.
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
Does the 303 Protectant get the swirl marks out, or do you use some sort of marine wax first before the 303? We purchased our rv in December, here in Texas, and I am sure it was subjected to the same thing coming down from up north. I noticed some bad swirl marks on the front cap also on the few days of sunshine that we have had this winter.
 

SouthernNights

Past South Carolina Chapter Leader
I just used Simple Green to remove my black streaks. Works really well...also took off My Turtle Wax Ice wax that was supposed to make black streaks easy to remove...didn't work.

Does anyone know if Simple Green removes the 303 also or does it chemically bond the suface it is sprayed on?
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
Meguiars Swirl remover is safe and works great.... comes in a smaller tube also. I use Rejex after that to repell the dirt and bugs and it makes washing the unit so much easier.
Like JimB says, never use wax.....I don't wax any of my toys and have won a few 1st place's at car shows.
 

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SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
I use Rejex...great stuff! I haven't seen the swirl remover but will look for it! Thanks!
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
I use Rejex...great stuff! I haven't seen the swirl remover but will look for it! Thanks!
If you really want the best, smoothest, slickest finish use a Clay Bar (white or yellow) after washing but before the Rejex. The clay bar will remove the small particals imbedded in your paint so you won't get swril mark in the first place. If your a perfectionest you will love the Clay Bar on your truck too.
 

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skyguy

Well-known member
Another vote for Rejex!

First I used a weak solution of Simple Green and a car brush to remove the dirt grime, black streaks, etc. The Simple Green will just melt the crud off with just a little rubbing.

Once dry, I used a 10 inch Window Washer "Mop" to apply the Rejex, working on the shady side of the RV only. The mop may consume a little more wax, but because I use the mop head on the end of a pole, I use both arms to apply it. It goes on very fast, and is not near as tiring as applying polish single handed! Plus I only need a small ladder to reach the top edge.

After the 15 minute dry time, I wiped it off with a bath towel draped over a stiff nylon brush. Again, this allowed me the use of both arms for the job, and the flexibility of the brush gets the towel into nooks and crannies.

Great product! easy on. Easy off. GREAT shine!
 

aatauses

Well-known member
Thinking of waxing ours, a fellow RVer told me not to wax the decals, however another said he had always waxed the decals and no issue?? Comments
thanks
al
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
Re: Fiber Glass Caps - Update

Nothing like hand waxing your rig to allow all the flaws to come out! I did get many of the swirl marks out and they look pretty darn good now! Thanks for all the suggestions!

BUT...I just did the rear cap today for the first time. What I found was a very damaged but repaired rear cap! There were several big holes and a couple of smashed edges. All had been repaired (probably at the factory) and the repairs look like they will last however...the paint doesn't quite match. You can't see it from 10 feet but get up close and the repairs become obvious!

I guess it gives the rig some character but it sure seems unfair to spend all that money on something brand new which we really liked (still do) and find it had holes punched in it and repairs that don't match. Kind of like getting a factory second or something for full price!

The photo is not the best but you can probably see this hole repair! There are three others like it!

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