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Old 02-13-2018, 07:59 AM   #1
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Restore your RV's paint to like new condition

After years of trying to get into too many tight spots in my 04' 40' Newmar Dutchstar I picked up a few limb scratches...okay a lot... and it was looking pretty tired. I retired in May of 16' and started prepping to go back to living in it full-time and decided to do a full cut and buff on it.

This isn't your $400 detail from the local detailer on your RV site. I spent 40 hours buffing and repairing all the scratches and paint chips. A real labor of love that turned out amazingly well.

I used inexpensive Harbor Freight tools and buffing pads and Meguier's Mirror Glaze compounds. BTW I am not compensated in any way by any company I mention, they just worked well enough for me to use them.

It was also quite easy to do and I figured I saved myself an easy $3-4000 bucks. One of my retirement hobbies is doing videos of projects like this and in this video you will see how easy it really is to repair small to large scratches in the clear coat on your coach and get pretty amazing results.

https://youtu.be/ov_8q3awaL0

See ya in the boondocks!
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Old 02-13-2018, 10:46 AM   #2
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Very nice job, looks good.
Bob
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Old 02-13-2018, 10:54 AM   #3
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We parked the MH in front of the house to pack, and the neighbor fired up his rotary lawnmower to attack the grass across the street. Mayhem ensued, we had 100 paint chips from his lawn mower throwing rocks all on one side of the MH. I looked and found a guy that does paint chip repair for big auto dealers in Sacramento. Gave him a call and met up with him. He took out his artist's palette and went to work on the chips-2 hrs and $300 later all fixed. Body shop wanted $5,000 as a down payment on repainting the whole side.

Anybody wanna come cut and buff the MH?
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Old 02-13-2018, 11:10 AM   #4
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Yep, I did the same thing to a 15 year old Country Coach. Started out with a medium cut, then a fine cut, then a swirl remover, then two coats of wax. Looked like new when finished. It’s important to use a quality buffer like the DeWalt DWP849X.
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Old 02-13-2018, 04:51 PM   #5
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Sure...

Quote:
Originally Posted by cruzbill View Post
We parked the MH in front of the house to pack, and the neighbor fired up his rotary lawnmower to attack the grass across the street. Mayhem ensued, we had 100 paint chips from his lawn mower throwing rocks all on one side of the MH. I looked and found a guy that does paint chip repair for big auto dealers in Sacramento. Gave him a call and met up with him. He took out his artist's palette and went to work on the chips-2 hrs and $300 later all fixed. Body shop wanted $5,000 as a down payment on repainting the whole side.

Anybody wanna come cut and buff the MH?
Yea for $3 or 4K I'll do it....

I fixed all my chips with an airbrush.
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Old 02-14-2018, 04:45 AM   #6
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Looks great! I'm not sure that a rank amateur like me should attempt something like this - I would probably lose concentration and hold the buffer too long in one place, burning through the gelcoat.

Am I correct in assuming that you do the work in the shade or on cloudy days?

P.S. Liked your video
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Old 02-14-2018, 09:35 AM   #7
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For the OP, good for you!

As for the DeWalt machine noted above, a rotary like the DeWalt is NOT recommended for anyone but a well trained professional on automotive type body paint for polishing / paint correction (I'm not talking working on gelcoat, which I have never worked on; or for paint prep / wet sanding etc., which agin, I have no experience doing). Nope, no way. Burn the paint, impart holograms, etc. Did you ever see that dark car going down the road with the really aweful swirl marks - those are holograms, caused by some chucklehead at the local corner car wash doing the $20 wash n buff special, using a rotary he has no business getting his hands on.

For detailing novices and most hobbists, a dual action random orbital is usually sufficient for most light to even moderate paint correction / polishing. Porter Cable is pretty much the defacto standard, but there are others out there. Then your match foam pads with the applicable polish(es) that you are going to use. Any good detailing products company can help you will the appropriate machine and products given your experieice and expectations.

The next "level" of machine for dedicated hobbyists, and what most professionals use most of the time, is something like a Flex (which is what I use now), Rupes (I also think the Griot's Garage Boss machine is a private labeled Rupes) or a Cyclo (dual head, very heavy, and I think would be a pita to use on an RV).

Using a dual action random orbital, foam pads, and moderate to light polishes will provide a improved paint finish with a bit of effort (even a great finish with a lot of effort), with little chance of doing any damage to your paint.

Then, you just have to finish with a good wax or sealant. Up to you if you want to apply by hand or machine (with a soft pad). On my cars, I do it by hand, on th RV I use the machine, simply due to being able to cover a larger area a bit more quickly, but it does nothing to improve the finish of the wax / sealant.

I never remove polishes or wax/sealant with a machine......

Plenty of good detailing companies can steer you towards the right products for you. One I always feel comfortable recommending is Griot's Garage....

After a day washing, 18 hours to polish with Griot's Complete Compound (I'll proably be able to get by mostly with Complete Polish which is less aggressive going forward) and finished with Griot's Polywax sealant. From last Oct.

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Old 02-14-2018, 09:43 AM   #8
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Glad to see there are some pros out there! I guess subbing out to Flyfisher will be too rich for my blood.

I bought a Cyclo years ago (like 20) before all these other polishers came out. Was the best back then. I've used it on my (former) 5ver, boat and TT. I'm a bit intimidated by all the different pads (orange,yellow green white).
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Old 02-14-2018, 09:57 AM   #9
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Glad to see there are some pros out there! I guess subbing out to Flyfisher will be too rich for my blood.

I bought a Cyclo years ago (like 20) before all these other polishers came out. Was the best back then. I've used it on my (former) 5ver, boat and TT. I'm a bit intimidated by all the different pads (orange,yellow green white).
I've kind of jokingly said my starting price for a full exterior RV detail is a minimum $100/ft, but that's just where we start price wise before I see what I have to deal with .

As for pads, as I noted, most good detailing products companies match pads with thier polishes and wax/sealants. Just check on line or call them, and they'll set you up.

Regards
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Old 02-14-2018, 10:05 AM   #10
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Right now, all I wanna do is wash the roof-the dirt keeps running down the sides of the rig! In storage now, I guess I will have to bite the bullet and get a dry wash kit (Wash Wax All) and lean my ladder up against the side and have at it with the pole mop. Might take a couple gallons of dry wash!

Last time I washed the rig in an RV park we were next to Flathead lake, Mt. Beautiful evening, so I had at it. Didn't take too long and all clean a dried! Next morning, a small thundershower wet the roads just enough to make a mess out of it all again as soon as we pulled out of the campground, UGH!
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Old 02-14-2018, 10:33 AM   #11
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Right now, all I wanna do is wash the roof-the dirt keeps running down the sides of the rig! In storage now, I guess I will have to bite the bullet and get a dry wash kit (Wash Wax All) and lean my ladder up against the side and have at it with the pole mop. Might take a couple gallons of dry wash!

Last time I washed the rig in an RV park we were next to Flathead lake, Mt. Beautiful evening, so I had at it. Didn't take too long and all clean a dried! Next morning, a small thundershower wet the roads just enough to make a mess out of it all again as soon as we pulled out of the campground, UGH!
Looks like we'll be washing the coach tomorrow, and start getting it ready for the next trip. I need to do the roof too, which I absolutely hate doing.......

Not a fan of waterless washes, even more so on a rig that is not "clean to begin with"; just too much of chance, even maybe a given, that you are going to drive grit into the paint. I do understand that may be the only choice at times, so make sure you keep your "mop" head very clean.

Keeping your wash mitt clean while washing is probably the most important thing to keeping your paint in great condition. Some folks like the 2 bucket method, a bucket with clean water to rince the mitt and then a bucket with clean soapy water. Given the RV is usually fairly dirty, I rince my wash mitt directly with the hose instead, before dipping it into the soapy water.

I rince my wash mitt out with the hose after every bay door. And if the bay doors are really dirty, I'll do a single swipe on each side of the mitt on the door, then rince it before I do the next swipes on the door.

On the upper sections of the coach, and using a mitt that is only used on the upper sections, I'll rince the mitt with the hose about every 3'-5'.

When I dry, I apply detailing spray to the wet surface before I wipe with a very soft micro fiber towel, which of course, I use several given the size of the coach. This helps pick up anything you might have missed washing, while lubricating the surface which will miminize the chance of marring the paint with your drying towel, and adds a bit of a "pop" to your finish as well.

And try to work horizontally when washing and drying, and never in a circular motion. Any micro scratches you might get in the paint are significantly less noticeable when they are horizontal vs. vertical. I know it's just about impossible to dry the upper parts of an RV using a pole in a horizontal manner, just don't apply much pressure to the pole / towel....

As a side note, at Flathead Lake did you stay at the Class A resort in Polson or the KOA (or ?). We skipped Polson when we went up to West Glacier summer of 2016, but want to stop there (and East Glacier) sometime in the next few years....

Regards
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Old 02-14-2018, 10:52 AM   #12
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I just don't have the luxury of using water where we store the rig. Not my first choice.

As for Flathead Lake, I think we stayed N of Poulson, can't remember the name of the CG on the west side of the lake. Brewery to the south a mile or so, bakery (walking distance) in the very small town. See how I relate?

We were on our way to Glacier too. Don't miss Whitefish, Mt!
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Old 02-14-2018, 12:47 PM   #13
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I totally agree with all that was said. I want to add I wash the top half of the sides first and then use a electric leaf blower to dry it. Also when you wash the roof. To keep from messing up the sides. Wet down the sides first then keep a second hose going keeping the sides wet, while your doing the roof. Then wash the rest of the rv when you finish the roof. Have fun be RVN.
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Old 02-14-2018, 02:33 PM   #14
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Google: Adams Polishes They make excellent high quality automotive paint products as well as offer a few buffers that they have used and tested. I have used these products on my '15 Mustang and will be ordering one of their buffers to polish and way my coach this spring.
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