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05-29-2005, 05:02 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: East Texas
Posts: 2,269
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My current RV has a fiberglass roof. While I like the overall durability of a fiberglass roof vs. rubber, caring for it has been quite a task.
I keep my MH covered most of the time while it is not in use. By doing this, I find that I only need to wax it twice a year. The sidewalls of the MH stay nice and shiny, but the fiberglass roof is a different story. I'm always forced to hit it with a coat of polishing compound before going over it with wax. It always looks good when I'm finished, but the gloss is short lived, as compared to the rest of the coach.
I'm tired of spending so much elbow grease on the roof. I'm not getting younger, and my knees can't take it anymore.
Do you treat your fiberglass roof at all? If so, how?
Craig
__________________
2005 Fleetwood Providence 39J CAT C7 350, MP-8 Power Module
My wife does all the driving - I just hold the wheel...
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05-29-2005, 08:21 PM
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#2
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Guest
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.....gel coat is going.....cover it with a epoxy paint rolled on after cleaning and degreasing....2 heavy coats will do it....geofkaye
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05-30-2005, 05:28 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: East Texas
Posts: 2,269
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by KAYERIVERCITY:
.....gel coat is going </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I respect your opinion, but I don't think that's the case, in less it was delivered to me that way from the factory (any thing's possible I guess ). I've kept the coach covered and polished since day one.
Craig
__________________
2005 Fleetwood Providence 39J CAT C7 350, MP-8 Power Module
My wife does all the driving - I just hold the wheel...
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05-30-2005, 12:02 PM
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#4
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Hogtown, Va.
Posts: 93
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I began to use 3M Marine Fiberglass Cleaner & Wax due to the oxidation I was experiencing on the sides. I then put a second coat of wax Turtle Wax F21. The during the summer months I use a spray wax and a spong mop. Unfortunately
mine is not covered. It is not any easier but seems to work for me. I use 2 buffers for the roof. A 6" buffer to apply and a 10" buffer to remove. It has cut my time down some. When I hand waxed the roof it took most of a day.
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05-31-2005, 02:35 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Erie, PA
Posts: 1,070
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Sorry to hear about the problem your having with your fiberglass roof, I do not cover my coach and all I do to maintain the luster on the roof is wash the roof down with a light soap, dry and apply a coat of Meguires Wax twice during the Summer months and the roof remains bright and glossy. Ed.S
__________________
2005 Newmar Mountain Aire W-24 , 2006 Jeep Commander Limited towed vehicle Newmar Kountry Klub 7284L, Pennsylvania State Directors
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05-31-2005, 08:52 PM
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#6
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Guest
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.....fiberglass roof is made with mold and a "chopper gun'' by some one working for less than minimum wage.....would you expect anything to be quality?.....check out Elkart sometime.....I was really disappointed at the trailer construction-materials and labor. So I had a custom trailer built in Lawrenceburg Indiana by a race car/trailer builder....I finished the inside and it is 5 times stronger than what is built for the consumer market.....I went purposley to Elkart to buy a fiberglass/laminate side and top trailer......at $21,000..... ended up in Lawrenceburg Indiana with an aluminum/steel trailer at $8000 and it's a better stronger trailer easier to maintain or repair .....geofkaye
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05-31-2005, 10:23 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: East Texas
Posts: 2,269
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by KAYERIVERCITY:
.....fiberglass roof is made with mold and a "chopper gun'' by some one working for less than minimum wage.....would you expect anything to be quality? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Somewhat of a broad statement, don't you think?
__________________
2005 Fleetwood Providence 39J CAT C7 350, MP-8 Power Module
My wife does all the driving - I just hold the wheel...
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06-01-2005, 08:17 PM
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#8
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Guest
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....been there and saw it with my own eyes!....I'm not kidding-almost every glass shop I visited was "chopper gun alley" labors-working real cheap and with no or very little personal protection in hazzardous enviroments.....Most shops looked like they were fly-by-night operations.....I was not impressed at all by the quality of the work....let alone worker safety percautions......my business would never get away with any of those working conditions-by me or the state or OSHA.......geofkaye
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06-02-2005, 02:20 PM
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#9
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii (last fixed residence before becoming fulltimers)
Posts: 47
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Craig, I have a 96 Beaver with a fiberglass roof and experience the same thing you do. Unfortunately, it's the nature of the beast on older RVs. Older units did not have a clear coat applied over the gelcoat and oxidation occures faster and the only thing that can realistically be done is use a fiberglass cleaner/polish. There are several good ones on the market and some are one step cleaner/waxes. Newer RVs have painted and or clearcoated fiberglass and oxidation is almost non existant if basic cleaning/waxing is done. By the way, chopper gun use in construction of fiberglass parts has nothing to do with the finish on the part. The finish is applied to the mold as gelcoat with a sprayer and the chopperguns spray chopped glass/resin to give the part strength and support.
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06-04-2005, 01:53 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 248
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hi..is there a need to wax the roof other than for looks?..i wash mine to get the mess from birds,tree sap,etc but have never waxed it..will it wear or crack if not waxed?..thanks..jim
__________________
01 Itasca Suncruiser 35U
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06-08-2005, 04:49 PM
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#11
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2000
Posts: 71
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I will throw my 2 cents in . I purchased a fiberglass roof for what I thought were two very good reasons .
Fiberglass roofs are very durable and tough
Fiberglass roofs need a minimum of maintenance.
I do feel if the roof is not washed a couple times a year all that accumulated gunk will
migrate to the sides of the coach.
It would be a safe assumption that my roof will never see a coat of wax, The full body paint yearly.
What do ya'll think of protectall ?
__________________
1968 graduate of Southeast Asia School of Warfare
Duc Pho Campus Vietnam
2002 Winnebago Chieftain 39T W 22
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06-08-2005, 07:55 PM
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#12
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Guest
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......if a company uses chopper guns to do "quality" work on their product-what makes you think they are going to do a good job on mold prep and gel/color/top/ UV coats?.....after all it is the top and not seen very much and therefore a good place to cheap it.....Boat builders for years use choppers to make cheap in hull peices and save all their effort for the top and bottom hull....good boats are hand layed up-though rare these days and expensive-they out last any "chopper gun job"- older marine hulls are still in service today because of haul craftsmanship.....while newer boats are "throw aways".....Bayliner comes to mind......geofkaye
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