CLear coat or gel coat on fifth wheel nose?

B

Brad J.

Oldtimer
My dad has a couple year old fifth wheel that he was waxing today and complaining about the front of it. He waxes it twice a year and says the sides and back stay glossy and nice but the front that takes the bug abuse keeps fading on him. He said he waxes the front 3-4 times a year and you could see the dull gel coat when he was doing it. Would 3 coats of Euro have the durability for bugs and such in the long run? I'd hate to clear the front and have it chipped up in a few years. Or do I re spray some gel coat over the front of it? I helped him and it seems a little chalky and streaks easy. Wax removes the streaks if you really scrub. It sits in a 3 sided building for 6 months and 6months in the Arizona sun so I don't think it should be chalking already.
 
Gel coat? The only gel coat I have ever used was for spraying into molds. The side we could see looked terribly orange peely. The other side came out smooth only because the mold was nice and buffed out. There'd be no way I would use that unless they have one that lays out like glass.

Euro in a heartbeat!!!
 
reduce with acetone by 15% . i have a pressure pot with a 2.0 on it but have not used it since the 70's. i think clear would be a better idea.
 
For all the work it is to apply and buff gel coat, in the end you will be right back where you started...faded gel coat.
Plus 1 on paint/clear.
 
If your dad is only waxing a few times a year try a Collinite wax. I personally like Collinite 845 Insulator Wax myself. It's easy to apply, easy to remove, the water beads like ball bearings and lasts a long a time. 1oz will do a coupe start to finish in 20 minutes if you move quick.

I highly doubt it's body shop safe, but perfect your personal rides.

http://www.colliniteautomotive.com/
 
I used to use collinite for years. Best lasting wax I've ever seen and the most elbow grease to apply. I got lazy a few years ago when mequirs was pushing their tech wax at the concourse type events and I had a bunch of bottles around. It is easy to apply but doesn't last nearly as long. I mentioned it to my dad we should do collinite next time. I used to wax my vehicles all the time but when I went into the business I just don't care anymore. My work truck is a rollover I fixed and it's been waxed once it three years. Amazing thing about modern paint is I will wheel it and wax it when I'm ready to sell. It looks the same as if I did it monthly. Anyway, good call Andy as it's a great wax. Nothing will bead a hood like collinite. I think I will zip over the front with some collinite and see what if it helps with the fading.
 
I think clearing over the nose cone will be a fisheye nightmare that old gelcoat is going to be pourous likely have to wash down thoroughly then epoxy with very light coats until you have a barrier then base and clear. just my opinion
 
D.B.;467 said:
I think clearing over the nose cone will be a fisheye nightmare that old gelcoat is going to be pourous likely have to wash down thoroughly then epoxy with very light coats until you have a barrier then base and clear. just my opinion
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You are close! I repainted the accent and stripes on my Mothers 5th wheel. If you clean it well you don't have a fish-eye problem, you have to worry about the small cracks in the gelcoat from weathering, this holds wax and oils and is hard to clean out.

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Now that I borrowed the fifth wheel for Auburn last weekend and I washed it and gave it back. I'll worry about it next summer. Been kinda busy to fit it in. I think I will degrease the heck out of it next summer and spray some Euro for him. Thanks for the info.
 
An FYI for anyone trying to spray over hairline cracking (not the greatest thing to have to do), the intercoat is often able to bridge fine cracks in a couple coats where urethane clear would not without running.
 
crashtech;670 said:
An FYI for anyone trying to spray over hairline cracking (not the greatest thing to have to do), the intercoat is often able to bridge fine cracks in a couple coats where urethane clear would not without running.
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Yes. Your 100% correct. I should have added a little more info. I wanted to spray 2K over the areas of cracking and sand, but time was an issue, so I only sprayed single stage color. I basically cheated and sprayed my first coat over the cracks, wiped with a plastic spreader then followed with 2 more coats. The areas that were cracked were small and this worked OK, but the method I would not recommend.
 
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