did the ZEP (Red Max Pro) treatment today on my 98 Discovery

[MandG-Fun]

Originally Posted by Zoafan

You use the TSP to make sure you got all the Bar Keepers Friend, wax or any other slick residue off. I then did a quick wash with Dawn just to make sure. If you do not get all the previous wax, BKF or other oily stuff off the Zep solution will peel and or flake in a few months.

Super. Thanks for all of the info. I am looking forward to giving the coach the treatment. Sure seems like a good way to seal the paint and add a nice shine and a lot less work than traditional car wax 2 or 3 times a year.

[mrock]

Wow Great job can you provide full procedure how you did it; can see products but some labels hard to see. Thanks!

[Wolfpack Fan]

I did a few areas of our mh with the zep floor polish year before last. I did some surface prep as far as cleaning, but not quite as thorough as others. It's not flaking or peeling, but I want to remove the old and start again with better surface prep.

What's a good chemical to remove the polish after it's hardened?

[Whatnobeer]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack Fan

I did a few areas of our mh with the zep floor polish year before last. I did some surface prep as far as cleaning, but not quite as thorough as others. It's not flaking or peeling, but I want to remove the old and start again with better surface prep.

What's a good chemical to remove the polish after it's hardened?

Hi Wolf. I know in the past when I've wanted to start fresh on waxing or detailing a vehicle, Dawn dishwashing detergent does wonders. Since it has built in degreasers it helps breakdown the polish to get it off. Some of the other more experienced RV'ers here may have other ideas also. Just spouting what I know works for me.

[Zoafan]

Originally Posted by mrock

Wow Great job can you provide full procedure how you did it; can see products but some labels hard to see. Thanks!

No problem, here is the complete list of products used:
Dawn dish soap
Scotch-Brite NON SCRATCH pads (Lowes)
Bar Keepers Friends (Lowes)
Trisodium-Phosphate or TSP (Lowes, in the paint area. If you ask a worker they will have no idea. Get the powder NOT the liquid)
ZEP High Traffic Floor Finish (Lowes)
Dicor roof wash and protectant

Steps:
1) Wash the roof
2) Seal the roof
3) Water down motorhome
4) Put Bar Keepers Friends on rough part of Scotch-Brite pad and rub in circle motion. Put some elbow grease into it. I did this on the ENTIRE coach, even the painted lower areas.
5) Do a 3x3 section at a time and then rinse
6) Wash with TSP, mix 1/2 cup with 2 gallons of water
7) Rinse thoroughly
8) I washed again with Dawn just to make sure but this step is not a must
9) Let coach completely dry
10) Pour ZEP into spray bottle]
11) Spray ZEP heavily on coach and wipe with a microfiber cloth
12) Put ZEP on entire coach and by the time you come back around it'll be dry. I did 5 coats and the minimum to do is 4.

**CAUTION**
Use white microfiber towels, if you buy colored ones like me WASH THEM IN HOT WATER TWICE before using.

Test your decals before applying ZEP and see if they run. If they run you need to put ONE coat on the decals first to stop them from running. After the first coat you can just spray the bottle on the coach itself and apply normally as the first coat will seal the decals and they will not run after that.

[Zoafan]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack Fan

I did a few areas of our mh with the zep floor polish year before last. I did some surface prep as far as cleaning, but not quite as thorough as others. It's not flaking or peeling, but I want to remove the old and start again with better surface prep.

What's a good chemical to remove the polish after it's hardened?

Originally Posted by Whatnobeer

Hi Wolf. I know in the past when I've wanted to start fresh on waxing or detailing a vehicle, Dawn dishwashing detergent does wonders. Since it has built in degreasers it helps breakdown the polish to get it off. Some of the other more experienced RV'ers here may have other ideas also. Just spouting what I know works for me.

If you used ZEP or Red Max Pro Dawn will do nothing to do it. You could wash it 10x and it'll still be there laughing at you . You need to get the Zep remover, they sell it at Lowes and it's called the stripper. To my knowledge this is the ONLY THING that will remove ZEp/Red max pro.

[Whatnobeer]

Originally Posted by Zoafan

If you used ZEP or Red Max Pro Dawn will do nothing to do it. You could wash it 10x and it'll still be there laughing at you . You need to get the Zep remover, they sell it at Lowes and it's called the stripper. To my knowledge this is the ONLY THING that will remove ZEp/Red max pro.

That must be some tough shiznit. I wonder what the bonding agent is in that stuff. As stated earlier, you good folks that have done this before would have better answers than I would.

[Zoafan]

Originally Posted by Whatnobeer

That must be some tough shiznit. I wonder what the bonding agent is in that stuff. As stated earlier, you good folks that have done this before would have better answers than I would.

I spent a good week researching the procedure and I give the original people major kudos for having the guts to try it.

I am actually thinking about trying it out on a fiberglass body car I have. Would beat the hell out of waxing it 3x a year.

[TGR]

My RV is about 2 years old, and this sounds like a good way to keep it looking good. Can the work be done in full sun, or is shade required?

[Zoafan]

Originally Posted by TGR

My RV is about 2 years old, and this sounds like a good way to keep it looking good. Can the work be done in full sun, or is shade required?

In all my research I saw no mention of not being able to do it in full sun. When I did mine it was 70* and sunny with no clouds.

Only warning I read about was doing it with high humidity or moisture in the air.

[vtwinwilly]

Originally Posted by TGR

My RV is about 2 years old, and this sounds like a good way to keep it looking good. Can the work be done in full sun, or is shade required?

TGR,

I have done this process using both Vertglas and Red Max Pro #3 (basically the same stuff in different bottles). Did it the first time about 4 years ago and continue with it today.

I wanted to caution you about doing this on a new coach. If you do a search, you will find several post where I not only outline the process, but also put out the discalimer.

THE IS NOT SOMETHING RECOMMENDED FOR NEW/NEWER RV's.

If your paint is end-of-life and won't hold a shine, then this product/process will work wonders and prevent you from having to pay for a very expensive paint job, but if your RV is fairly new I recommend you stick with conventional waxes.

Why??? part of the process is to scrub the surface of your RV with a white scrubbing pad and BarKeepers Friend. The point of this scrubbing is to remove any oxidation. On a new RV - that still has shine and color - it will remove any natural shine on the surface and possibly dull the color. Once you do this... you are committed. Once the shine is gone the only thing you can do is continue the process and apply the Red Maxx Pro #3 (or equivilent Acrylic coating) to get the shine and color back... and continue to apply it thereafter to maintain the shine.

Make Sense?

[Zoafan]

Originally Posted by vtwinwilly

TGR,

I have done this process using both Vertglas and Red Max Pro #3 (basically the same stuff in different bottles). Did it the first time about 4 years ago and continue with it today.

I wanted to caution you about doing this on a new coach. If you do a search, you will find several post where I not only outline the process, but also put out the discalimer.

THE IS NOT SOMETHING RECOMMENDED FOR NEW/NEWER RV's.

If your paint is end-of-life and won't hold a shine, then this product/process will work wonders and prevent you from having to pay for a very expensive paint job, but if your RV is fairly new I recommend you stick with conventional waxes.

Why??? part of the process is to scrub the surface of your RV with a white scrubbing pad and BarKeepers Friend. The point of this scrubbing is to remove any oxidation. On a new RV - that still has shine and color - it will remove any natural shine on the surface and possibly dull the color. Once you do this... you are committed. Once the shine is gone the only thing you can do is continue the process and apply the Red Maxx Pro #3 (or equivilent Acrylic coating) to get the shine and color back... and continue to apply it thereafter to maintain the shine.

Make Sense?

People have done this without the Bar Keepers Friend. They just skipped that step, washed with TSP/Dawn to remove any wax and then did a few coats of the RMP/Zep.

[Wolfpack Fan]

Originally Posted by Zoafan

If you used ZEP or Red Max Pro Dawn will do nothing to do it. You could wash it 10x and it'll still be there laughing at you . You need to get the Zep remover, they sell it at Lowes and it's called the stripper. To my knowledge this is the ONLY THING that will remove ZEp/Red max pro.

Ray and Zoafan, thanks!
I'll check lowes the next time I'm there for the stripper for RMP. I may end up having to buy another bottle of the RMP itself. The one I got a couple of years ago has been stored in a cabinet in the motorhome since purchasing. It's been exposed to single digit through triple digit temperatures. Sealed good but probably no good any more. As I recall it wasn't too expensive.

[Whatnobeer]

Originally Posted by vtwinwilly

TGR,

I have done this process using both Vertglas and Red Max Pro #3 (basically the same stuff in different bottles). Did it the first time about 4 years ago and continue with it today.

I wanted to caution you about doing this on a new coach. If you do a search, you will find several post where I not only outline the process, but also put out the discalimer.

THE IS NOT SOMETHING RECOMMENDED FOR NEW/NEWER RV's.

If your paint is end-of-life and won't hold a shine, then this product/process will work wonders and prevent you from having to pay for a very expensive paint job, but if your RV is fairly new I recommend you stick with conventional waxes.

Why??? part of the process is to scrub the surface of your RV with a white scrubbing pad and BarKeepers Friend. The point of this scrubbing is to remove any oxidation. On a new RV - that still has shine and color - it will remove any natural shine on the surface and possibly dull the color. Once you do this... you are committed. Once the shine is gone the only thing you can do is continue the process and apply the Red Maxx Pro #3 (or equivilent Acrylic coating) to get the shine and color back... and continue to apply it thereafter to maintain the shine.

Make Sense?

If I may, let me expound on this a little more. Willy has this absolutely right. With the new clearcoat that is being put on RV's now, anything that is abrasive will cause the clearcoat to haze, swirl and just look ugly. Clearcoat is basically paint without the pigment and it techically doesn't oxidize like the single stage paint on older RV's and cars. Zoafan has the right idea for using this on older RV's. His turned out terrific. Sometimes trial and error is the best way to find out if something works. Granted it may cost you a little time and money but in the end you get what you came for. Now back to the clearcoat. It is very thin. Think half the thickness of a Post-it note. That's all you have to work with. With clear coat you need polishes and certain abrasives to make it shine and waxes and polymers to keep it shiny. Polymer waxes last longer than good carnauba wax but carnauba has a shine unlike any other. Polymer gives the crystal glass look while carnauba gives the wet water look with a little more depth of shine. I hope that makes sense. So what ever you choose to clean your RV with make sure you know what type of paint and coating is on it. Good luck to everyone with whatever route you decide to go.