Gel Coat Streaks

[moodman]

I have posted this issue before and have been busy trying all the suggestions, but to no avail.

My fifth wheel Montana is 42' long. A LOT of surface area for sure. Anyway, see the pics I have attached to see the problem. Click on them to ee in more detail. Perhaps someone here has experience with this. I do hope so, because I have tried EVERYTHING at have found nothing that touches it.

Basically, the pictures show the white streaks that are forming on the SUN SIDE ONLY! The other side looks great. These aren't coming from the roof, because I haven't washed the roof or gotten it wet when I wash my rig. I have tried to remove these stains with various things, including:

• • Dishwashing detergent
  • Acetone
  • Ammonia
  • Nu Finish Car polish
  • Carnauba wax
  • Naptha
  • Paint Thinner
  • and more...

The only thing I can find on the internet was one guy who took a clay bar and orbital polisher to it. That might work, but like I said, this is a huge job that would require me to set up scaffolding, and I would prefer a chemical solution for that reason. After all, it was a (unidentified) chemical that put it there. I'm guessing it had something to do with a reaction between the wash/wax I used and the sun, but I'm not a chemist.

Can anyone here offer some successful advice if they have had this problem too? I would really appreciate it. This is keeping me awake at night.

[flybouy]

Looks to me like calcium deposits from your water system. The sun side can bake it on and into the surface. I'd suggest trying some water spot remover. Many detailing sites like Chemical Guys sell products for than. When you wash with high calcium content water you need to towel dry the surface before the water dries and wash it in the shade or with the sun low in the sky (early morning or late evening).

[moodman]

Thanks. That's something I haven't tried yet. If it works, I Will post back here.

[Northofu1]

I have been watching many videos on using compound buffing and polishing. It is laborious but worth it in the long run. I have sun fade on one side and once finished taking care of the inside cleaning, I am going to tackle that.
Then I saw this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia0wV_y6Jgo

[moodman]

I tried calcium remover. It didn't work

[travelin texans]

Probably condensation from your air conditioners on the roof.
How to get it off, I don't know!

[Dave W]

I had that on the back and driver's side. The "cure" I found is a bottle of Meguires medium cut cleaner and a buffer with a wool pad. I then used Meguire's Ultimate Marine Cleaner wax though there are others as good.

I tried my DA and a foam pad and found that while it would work, took a lot more time and effort.

I've about decided that it this nasty film returns, a good cleaning and several coats of Poli Glo may be the only way to go - and that is a bunch of work.

[Frank G]

The exterior of your fifth wheel is a modified gelcoat fiberglass finish, I would think you need to focus on products designed for these finishes. There is a multitude of products within the marine world, one of them is "Starbrite Hull Cleaner". This is where I would start. I would head down to a full service marina and seek advice.

BTW, I am in the process of detailing the exterior of ours. I am using "IBIZ" Everything Waterless wash and wax to clean and prep the surface for 'IBIZ" Everything Wax. This is after a thorough wash. It is an annual event and I do not have streek issues. This year I am noticing some fade issues with the printed graphics, as expected.

[moodman]

Originally Posted by Dave W

I had that on the back and driver's side. The "cure" I found is a bottle of Meguires medium cut cleaner and a buffer with a wool pad. I then used Meguire's Ultimate Marine Cleaner wax though there are others as good.

I tried my DA and a foam pad and found that while it would work, took a lot more time and effort.

I've about decided that it this nasty film returns, a good cleaning and several coats of Poli Glo may be the only way to go - and that is a bunch of work.

I followed your advice. No types of chemicals would remove the streaks, so I finally got out a wool pad and used rubbing compound. It works, but it is a lot of work.

I found a video on YouTube of a car detailer who showed where these spots are coming from. It only happens in the sun, but what he showed is you should always use a "water wetter" product when you wash. If you do, these streaks don't happen. The video can be seen at https://youtu.be/tzLlo3ySIrs. The product he used is called "Formula 4 Spray Wax" and you can get it at Amazon.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by moodman

I followed your advice. No types of chemicals would remove the streaks, so I finally got out a wool pad and used rubbing compound. It works, but it is a lot of work.

I found a video on YouTube of a car detailer who showed where these spots are coming from. It only happens in the sun, but what he showed is you should always use a "water wetter" product when you wash. If you do, these streaks don't happen. The video can be seen at https://youtu.be/tzLlo3ySIrs. The product he used is called "Formula 4 Spray Wax" and you can get it at Amazon.

Oh yeah, work. My elderly 10 pound w/pad Hitachi buffer/griner wears me out after a couple hours on a ladder.

If you want to use a good prduct, I've found that Meguire's Ultimate Wash and Wax work real well. Once the 5er is waxed, it gets washed with this stuff - but last year I got lazy and am paying the price,. My truck gets a deep clean, polish and waxing about once a year but still shines like new at just over 10 years and 126K miles. That huckster you noted will never achive really good resukts washing a black vehicle in the sun. My last truck was black and you just did not was it in the sun. It would water spot and leave streaks along with a film regardless of the product.

The black streaks on a Filon/fiberglass RV are from roof run off ambient dirt along with the EPDM's sacrificial layed carrying it down the camper's side. If you have ever scrubbed your RV's roof and that white (gray in my case) EPDM material will literally embed in the driveway.

Oh and our 5er - got it about half done with the buffer along with the Meguire's Marine Ultimate Polish and Wax

[bg71361]

Originally Posted by Northofu1

I have been watching many videos on using compound buffing and polishing. It is laborious but worth it in the long run. I have sun fade on one side and once finished taking care of the inside cleaning, I am going to tackle that.
Then I saw this video.

This stuff is the ticket! It works “LA’s Totally Awesome “ at the dollar store.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by bg71361

This stuff is the ticket! It works “LA’s Totally Awesome “ at the dollar store.

Did not work on our 5er. The black marks are not what you normally would expect to see but are literally part of the gel coat and more like a dark shadow. I've tried that as well as Reliabe 1. You do need to use care with Reliable 1 as it is way strong and actually softened paint on a previous painted aluminum sided TT.

[gearhead]

Best thing I found was 3M Marine Fiberglass Restorer and Wax, a Porter Cable buffer and wool pads. About killed me. Traded it in on the full body paint Landmark.
Oh....in a small spot try Deep Woods OFF. Really.

[MattHelm21]

While this is not exactly the same as your problem, I did additionally have the hard water streaks from the rain gutters and the procedure I found and outlined in this thread worked for me:

Chalking on my Fuzion

It is a lot of work but I was able to get the streaks off. Pick a small spot and give it a try.

[Gary R.]

I found the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pads to work for removing marks and streaks on our 5er. A little elbow grease was needed, but the results were worth it.

Your results may vary, but it be worth a try.

Cheers!

[moodman]

OK. Another update!,

After trying practically everything, and chasing this down all over the internet, I think I found my solution!

Apparently, the source of my streaks is the "pink stuff" wash and wax that you can buy at places like WalMart and Camping World. It comes in gallon jugs and advertises that it waxes while it washes. Well, that's kinda true, but only kinda.

What it does is it leaves behind a very small residual "wax" that over time turns a chalky whitish color. It basically dulls the underlying color of your fiberglass.

But what is worse is that if you apply it in any sun, it creates these white streaks. And, since I didn't know what they were, I tried all kinds of chemical methods for removing them. I finally tried manually removing them with rubbing compound and an electrical buffer wheel. It sorta worked, but left behind its own compounding residue which I had to follow up with a good quality automobile wax. And even that left its own dullness on top of the gel coat.

Then I stumbled on ZEP floor stripper and ZEP wet look floor polish. The two together worked miracles. The stripper took off the old pink wax right down to the gel coat. I then applied the floor polish. The first coat didn't look that good, so I kept on adding coats and each coat looked better, letting each coat dry about 10 minutes on an dry day of about 70 degrees.

It was easy to do with a microfiber pad on a pole, so I can reach all the way to the top. Everything I have read about the floor polish is that it will last one or two years and looks good the whole time. So this is what worked for me. Your results may vary, but I hope it helps someone. It did me!!

[Gary R.]

Glad you found a solution to the issue.

I'm going to add that to my list of tips and tricks!

Thanks!

[lynie]

Not sure it will work but we use to remove some marks from our Montain with Mr. Clean pads. Good luck.

[sonofcy]

Originally Posted by moodman

I have posted this issue before and have been busy trying all the suggestions, but to no avail.

My fifth wheel Montana is 42' long. A LOT of surface area for sure. Anyway, see the pics I have attached to see the problem. Click on them to ee in more detail. Perhaps someone here has experience with this. I do hope so, because I have tried EVERYTHING at have found nothing that touches it.

Basically, the pictures show the white streaks that are forming on the SUN SIDE ONLY! The other side looks great. These aren't coming from the roof, because I haven't washed the roof or gotten it wet when I wash my rig. I have tried to remove these stains with various things, including:

• • Dishwashing detergent
  • Acetone
  • Ammonia
  • Nu Finish Car polish
  • Carnauba wax
  • Naptha
  • Paint Thinner
  • and more...

The only thing I can find on the internet was one guy who took a clay bar and orbital polisher to it. That might work, but like I said, this is a huge job that would require me to set up scaffolding, and I would prefer a chemical solution for that reason. After all, it was a (unidentified) chemical that put it there. I'm guessing it had something to do with a reaction between the wash/wax I used and the sun, but I'm not a chemist.

Can anyone here offer some successful advice if they have had this problem too? I would really appreciate it. This is keeping me awake at night.

I think that's the black run off from the AC. I use a black streak remover, it comes off in seconds.

[2Wheels]

If it were a boat Gel coat I would sand with 2000-3000 wet paper, polish and wax. I do this to restore gel coats on boats.