After overhearing a friend tell his wife that "Gary has a cool little camper, but boy does it need a bath." I decided it needed more than a bath. The gelcoat of the Scamp's fiberglass shell had become dull and caked with dirt and grime and tree sap etc.
I have been following various threads on restoring the shine to a fiberglass boat or camper, and the consensus is that it is a three step process. Clean and degrease, remove the "chalk", coat with floor polish.
Floor polish? ( See what happened two years later below)
Apparently through years of experimentation or desperation people have discovered that ZEP Hi-Gloss wet-look floor finish will make your fiberglass shine.
Now for a confession: I skipped step two. After power-washing the Scamp and scrubbing most of the grime off the next step is to scrub some more with Barkeeper's Friend. It is a powder, like Comet, but safe for fiberglass. this seemed like it should require power tools, and I promise I will get to it soon, but I wanted to see if the $30.00 gallon of floor polish would really work as advertised.
Before washing:
What do you think? The picture shows only one coat. Since I'm going to scrub it off I stopped at one coat, but the blogs say to use several thin coats for maximum shine. Check back in a few weeks to see the final 3-step results.
Fast forward a few years...
The Scamp is looking a bit worse for the wear. A year left uncovered under pine trees has left a huge amount of sticky black mess on the roof. And I noticed that the floor polish had begun to fail. It looked as though it was delaminating. This I don't have pictures of, but imagine if you will someone peeling after a bad sunburn... Anyway the clean part you see is about an hour's worth of power scrubbing with Barkeepers Friend and a green scrubby pad. I used a variable orbit car polisher, so as not to put too much pressure on the gelcoat. After Cleaning I applied a coat of a marine paste wax. It will need another coat.
Gary this looks beautiful! Keep on going with it.
ReplyDeleteDon't use power tools with BarKeeper's Friend. You'll grind right through the gel coat. Just a light workover with a sponge and some BKF and make sure it's totally dry before putting on the Zep.
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DeleteThe type of power tool i used is the 10" power buffer usually used to polish and wax cars. You cannot apply too much pressure otherwise the motor bogs down to a stop. I purchased a few spare 10"buffer covers, and the large green scotchbright pads. I then sewed the pads to the buffer bonnets.using a regular sewing machine.
ReplyDeleteBefore going further in discussing an acoustical coating, it would be best to describe such a product and its typical application. Acoustics Cyprus
ReplyDeleteRestoring a fiberglass Scamp 13 can be quite a rewarding process, but it requires patience and the right techniques. The author describes a DIY approach involving power-washing, scrubbing with Barkeeper's Friend, and applying a floor polish to bring back the shine to the dull and grime-covered fiberglass. While the floor polish initially worked to improve the look, it didn’t hold up over time, especially after the camper was left uncovered for a year. This highlights the need for long-term care, as the floor polish began to peel like sunburned skin. Despite these challenges, the author’s dedication to restoring the camper is evident, especially with the use of a car polisher and marine paste wax for a better finish. This story serves as a good reminder of the importance of using the right materials and maintaining them for long-lasting results.
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