What stuff to polish GRP roof?

jogguk

Guest
I want to polish or clean up the GRP roof of my campervan. It is a white gelcoat finish not painted and parts of it are a little discoloured.

Tried Tcut and Mer not really satisfactory. I was told of a product used to clean GRP boats but can't recall the name:confused: Will I need a power polisher or will lots of elbow grease work OK?

There are some vinyl graphics on the roof and don't want to polish them off:D Anyone recommend products they've used?

John
 
Funny you should ask that 'cos a member of "my" club sent me the following for inclusion in the newsletter:

My fibreglass roof absolutely dead,it was stained and looked awful,it
really needed a respray.when I took it to the sprayer he said he could
do it, but I found Farecia G3 regular grade paste,it is a really fine
cutting compound,obviously not as good as a respray,but for those of us
on a tight budget it is the next best thing.My roof is now smooth and
all one colour with a nice shine on it.

HTH
Frank
 
Boxerman said:
Funny you should ask that 'cos a member of "my" club sent me the following for inclusion in the newsletter:

My fibreglass roof absolutely dead,it was stained and looked awful,it
really needed a respray.when I took it to the sprayer he said he could
do it, but I found Farecia G3 regular grade paste,it is a really fine
cutting compound,obviously not as good as a respray,but for those of us
on a tight budget it is the next best thing.My roof is now smooth and
all one colour with a nice shine on it.

HTH
Frank
Click to expand...

Thanks for that I just googled it. seems to come in different grades G3 to G10. Not the boatyard stuff I was expecting though.

john
 
G3 would be the grade you want but remember this strips everything from the surface so a protective layer needs to be applied or you will end up back where you started in no time....

also G3 is relatively harsh so take care and I would suggest the use of a finishing material, 3M "finesse-it" is very good but not cheap at around £20/litre.

Auto Glym Super resin polish works well and has a long lasting finish...
 
The guy who sent in the tip about the Farecia use MER on his van - it's an Eriba and it is very smart.

Frank
 
The Burgundy GRP Side Mouldings on my van were very badly oxidised so I used Farecla G3 to get rid of it then used normal car polish to restore the shine and protect them, they come up great but stay away from the stickers as it will damage them :)
 
This months practical motorhome has a letter from a motorhome owner with a similar problem.He has found a polish which boat owners use by Farecla.He has used gel coat restorer 3M wax and a wax conserver.
 
By mistake some while ago I bought some (Car-Plan) T-Cut upvc restorer.I tried this on the white fibreglass roof of my Mk1 CI transit motorhome and in places it had a shine for the first time since I bought it.
 
jogguk said:
I want to polish or clean up the GRP roof of my campervan. It is a white gelcoat finish not painted and parts of it are a little discoloured.

Tried Tcut and Mer not really satisfactory. I was told of a product used to clean GRP boats but can't recall the name:confused: Will I need a power polisher or will lots of elbow grease work OK?

There are some vinyl graphics on the roof and don't want to polish them off:D Anyone recommend products they've used?

John
Click to expand...
why bother to polish it if the gelcoat has gone flat i would get it sprayed and laqured with an isosionate base paint i have used this on trucks for years and no polishing is required
 
jogguk said:
I want to polish or clean up the GRP roof of my campervan. It is a white gelcoat finish not painted and parts of it are a little discoloured.

Tried Tcut and Mer not really satisfactory. I was told of a product used to clean GRP boats but can't recall the name:confused: Will I need a power polisher or will lots of elbow grease work OK?

There are some vinyl graphics on the roof and don't want to polish them off:D Anyone recommend products they've used?

John
Click to expand...
Hi John,
I just used Stardrops and a soft brush.
Try not to damage your Wildcamping Sticker.
Cheers, Pete
 
zeezee16 said:
Hi John,
I just used Stardrops and a soft brush.
Try not to damage your Wildcamping Sticker.
Cheers, Pete
Click to expand...

How do you know I put my sticker on the hi-top :confused::eek:

why bother to polish it if the gelcoat has gone flat i would get it sprayed and laqured with an isosionate base paint i have used this on trucks for years and no polishing is required
Click to expand...

I had thought of that. It would require removing the manufacturers graphics (decals) which are hard to replicate and maybe difficult to get from the converters.

john
 
brandyman

Try G3 GRP then any boat polish for GRP works well plenty elbow grease needed
 
wd40.. theres more things you can do with wd40 than what you think ,its great stuff.
 
jogguk said:
How do you know I put my sticker on the hi-top :confused::eek:



I had thought of that. It would require removing the manufacturers graphics (decals) which are hard to replicate and maybe difficult to get from the converters.

john
Click to expand...
I know lots of things, but its mostly crap.
Cheers, Pete
 
cleaner

PLEASE PLEASE do not laugh, but it WORRRRRRKKKKSSSSS smooth peanut butter, try an see the difference it will make, try it on the black bumpers (faded) and see the results. Well if it does not,you can always make a sandwhich with it:):):)
 
I used Mer first on my Mazda Bongo, the roof was covered in dried on cr*p and was very "gritty", so a build up over years.

I used Mer as it can be used wet, so I wet the roof, allowed the excess to run off then applied the Mer, it lifted the muck off well, after the elbow grease and Mer had removed the years of dirt, I followed it up with a couple of coats of Meguiars Carnuba Wax and some RainX on the roof window.....when it rains the rain water collects in globules and runs off......

To keep it free from a build up of grime again I polish it every couple of months when doing the rest of the 'Van

So Mer does work.......but make sure the surface is wet before you apply it...
 
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