Remove Oxidation and Restore Faded RV Fiberglass Meguiars One Step

Published 2020-09-07
The Sun has taken a toll on my Cougar’s fiberglass finish. The once glossy mirror finish turned to an ugly dull chalky white. The white chalky appearance is a result of oxidation of the gel coat. Luckily, there is a way to restore the glossy finish.
It took me a couple weeks of trying different methods, but I finally found a way to restore the finish. The process I used on my camper would work just as well on a fiberglass boat too.

Products I used:
- Meguiar's Marine/RV One-Step amzn.to/3bz7xjT
- 7” buffer amzn.to/2ZiiuRI
- Medium 100% Wool Pad and Backing amzn.to/2EZNYW9
- Mother’s Back to Black amzn.to/2Fe01Pi
**I used this Harbor Freight Polisher www.harborfreight.com/7-in-10-amp-heavy-duty-varia… but the one on amazon I linked to above looks to be very similar if you don’t have a Harbor Freight nearby.**

Process:
- Work in 1 small area at a time about 3’ x 3’
- Apply compound to wool pad
- Dab on fiberglass
- Spread with buffer before turning on
- Start on low speed and evenly spread compound over area
- Increase speed to 75% and buff until compound is almost all gone
- Lightly buff with cotton towel to remove remaining compound
Tips:
- Don’t hold buffer in 1 place to long to avoid damaging finish
- Stay off decals as much as possible
- Make sure to stay off weight and tire info decals, they fade out very quickly
- Shine rubber trim pieces back up with Mother’s Back to Black



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All Comments (21)
  • @joncook6385
    Hey bud it’s looking great! Couple of tips from a rv detailing shop owner. 1. Be smooth and a little slower with your passes. Make a pass then move down a little and make the next pass directly below it. Makes sure you don’t miss any spots and you don’t have to go over it 5 times. Second. MASKING TAPE is amazing. Mask off all those edges and trims you don’t want your product on. Sometimes back to black only works for a few days and your lines come back on the trim. Masking tape will guarantee they don’t get on it at all
  • Great tips. You saved us a lot of time and effort - not to mention $$ trying a variety of products. Followed your instructions and got our shiny RV back. Thanks
  • Thank you for posting this video, I did all you suggested and my Silverback looks almost as good as new......really impressed with this Mequiars 67 Thanks again!
  • @imagepaint
    Nice Video, Before you start buffing again I recommend stopping by a auto paint supply store and getting a yellow wool pad with a proper back up pad so it stays firmly attached. The yellow wool will be aggressive enough to remove oxidation but soft enough to polish to a brilliant shine once you bump the buffer speed up. medium to medium high speed should be more than sufficient to do what you are trying to do. 3M makes a good quality yellow wool. By the way for a do it yourself job I think you did excellent.
  • @chrisscott3583
    Thanks for the video, just purchased a 36ft Keystone Cougar 5th wheel where the drivers side is really oxidized, gonna give this a try.
  • You took a lot of the pain and hassle out for us.. much appreciated for sharing your experience.
  • @tedschmitt178
    Good info. I will be trying this process later in the fall when temps are lower.
  • Great video and info bud 👍🏼 I mixed a cup of baking soda, 2 cups of vinegar, and 4 cups of ammonia and filled a 5 gallon pail with hot water. I filled a dollar store squirt bottle with the mixture from the pail to spray on and let it sit for a couple minutes. Then I just took a brush and started scrubbing. I used a sponge with a scrubby pad on one side (scotchbrite) for around the edges and windows. This really brightened my decals and removed the grime buildup as well as tree sap etc. my next step will be to try what you’ve suggested. It’s great to find other guys who share their success! Thanks again 👌🏼
  • @crankitt.v3431
    Thank you for sharing! I have my first trailer I’m detailing with bad oxidation and was fighting it. This helps a-lot.
  • Hi boss. 1st, love the effort and journey. Now that you have had some introduction into the world of gelcoat, I invite you to consider the following video as another option. The reason your B&D buffer had it's best results along your DMZ between "before" and "after" is because you probably hit that line, each and every time you were near it to leave a nice clean line, it did. You allowed the compound to work there longer than anywhere else in your working area. I've done this for almost 20 years. If you didn't wash the RV well after compounding, you'll see fade soon, especially if you trusted the bottle of #67 that claims to polish & PROTECT, it won't protect any more than spraying your RV with cooking oil so some but nothing real. Dont believe me? Call them like I did. You need more but I appreciate what you went through to get here. Lee
  • @benpearce5807
    Awesome video my friend... You're doing anyone that watches this a huge service... I greatly appreciate your time you spent making this video
  • I have had a similar journey. My winnebago is white and I pulled decals off leaving sticker shadows and a pretty significant difference in white. I started by hand and have ended up with a dewalt professional polisher and started with wet sanding. I am however using this one step polish after a heavy compound. It is pretty incredible stuff. It seems to be the best single step stuff. Starting slow RPM keeps the grit heavy and speeding up really breaks it down and polishes. I am topping with Maguires marine wax.
  • @scrub175
    great video and info. Some tips for your consideration, use painters tape to cover areas you don't want discolored with polish/compound. I would also say after spreading the product at a lower speed, raise the speed of the machine and use slower overlapping passes to work in the polish until break down. Lastly consider using a sprayer bottle with water over the polish/compound to help spread it and prevent gumming up. The polish work in time is a little bit longer with the spray of water.
  • You are amazing. The first bit of information I have had that sounds like it will work. Great video n thanks for sharing Susan my husband is going to love your video your the best ..
  • Thx, been looking for such a review. Our Winnebago Ultralight travel trailer is showing similar oxidation. I will definitely give these products a try.
  • @davidbernard2267
    Thank you for posting this—I will have to give this a try. Looks worth the time/effort..
  • @vdubing01
    This is exactly what I needed to know. I have the Laredo, your trailers sister. Same color etc. Same issue. Thank you!
  • @tmcblane
    Dude, you saved my sanity! I spend 2 weeks using another Meguiar oxidation remover , polish and wax and it was pathetic, this stuff is great! I bought a bottle and hit a spot and was super excited! Thanks!