Long overdue exterior care

[SMan]

I wax my 2004 Premier every year. The gelcoat has always looked good but never great. The roof however was getting very dull. I have tried a number of products but none really worked great. I ordered 3M Marine Restorer and Wax off Amazon and it did a great job combined with my buffer w/wool pad. Just thought I'd share.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014 ... UTF8&psc=1

[chin_k]

How much did you used for your rig? Any before and after pictures?

[Bett]

Thanks, it’s great to get a first hand referral. I was going to order Zep but thanks to your timely post I just added a 32 oz bottle of the 3M to my Amazon cart. I have the same question Chin does: how much product did you use?

I’m finally getting my Concourse back after more than 3 months in the shop and it’s in dire need of detailing. I ordered a Ridgid shop vac to detail the interior myself. I’m going to buy a buffer too, which I’ll only use for the Chinook. Any recommendations for a particular buffer and type pads? Thanks.

[SMan]

How much did you used for your rig? Any before and after pictures?

I apologize but am not very good with pictures. I will say that the roof before buffing had a rough feel and absolutely no shine to it. The only place on the roof that had any shine was directly under the Batwing antenna. I was able to get the rest of the roof to match. Of the 32 oz bottle I may have used 1/4 of the bottle. (I didn't use any of this product on the graphics or cab body) I used my old and trusty Black and Decker buffer (from an era when they still made high quality products). I would have hated to try this by hand.

I have always used a lot of Meguiars products and still do but their RV polish for oxidized finished did not hold a candle to the 3M product.

Note: I have the Premier with the swoopy millennial graphics. Those areas are still in excellent condition and didn't require cutting. I would be very cautious around them with a buffer. I have a Porter Cable random orbit polisher great for that and general polishing.

While I was on the roof I did replace the worn (and every cracking) A/C cover.

Bett, as to your question about buffer and pads the buffer I have is about 40 years old, very heavy duty, and designed for for this purpose. I bought a velcro backing plate and wool pads off Amazon for this job. The wool gives off a lot of fuzz but 3M recommends wool pads for its product. I believe my Porter Cable polisher would have done an adequate job but not nearly as fast or efficiently. (Be sure to buy pads sized correctly for your particular polisher.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NB ... UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002F ... UTF8&psc=1

Also if you use wool pads a cleaning spur is highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002E ... UTF8&psc=1

Hope this helps.

[SMan]

How much did you used for your rig? Any before and after pictures?

I apologize but am not very good with pictures. I will say that the roof before buffing had a rough feel and absolutely no shine to it. The only place on the roof that had any shine was directly under the Batwing antenna. I was able to get the rest of the roof to match. Of the 32 oz bottle I may have used 1/4 of the bottle. (I didn't use any of this product on the graphics or cab body) I used my old and trusty Black and Decker buffer (from an era when they still made high quality products). I would have hated to try this by hand.

I have always used a lot of Meguiars products and still do but their RV polish for oxidized finished did not hold a candle to the 3M product.

Note: I have the Premier with the swoopy millennial graphics. Those areas are still in excellent condition and didn't require cutting. I would be very cautious around them with a buffer. I have a Porter Cable random orbit polisher great for that and general polishing.

While I was on the roof I did replace the worn (and every cracking) A/C cover.

Bett, as to your question about buffer and pads the buffer I have is about 40 years old, very heavy duty, and designed for this purpose. I bought a velcro backing plate and wool pads off Amazon for this job. The wool gives off a lot of fuzz but 3M recommends wool pads for its product. I believe my Porter Cable polisher would have done an adequate job but not nearly as fast or efficiently. (Be sure to buy pads sized correctly for your particular polisher.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NB ... UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002F ... UTF8&psc=1

Also if you use wool pads a cleaning spur is highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002E ... UTF8&psc=1

Hope this helps.
[/quote]

[Bett]

Bett, as to your question about buffer and pads the buffer I have is about 40 years old, very heavy duty, and designed for this purpose. I bought a velcro backing plate and wool pads off Amazon for this job. The wool gives off a lot of fuzz but 3M recommends wool pads for its product. I believe my Porter Cable polisher would have done an adequate job but not nearly as fast or efficiently. (Be sure to buy pads sized correctly for your particular polisher.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NB ... UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002F ... UTF8&psc=1

Also if you use wool pads a cleaning spur is highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002E ... UTF8&psc=1

Hope this helps.

It helps a lot, Sman. Thanks so much! I’ve found several old buffers with large pad areas and big handles for sale on Craigslist for under $30, so I’ll nab one of those and order some fresh wool pads. She’s finally coming home on Tuesday!

[Bett]

Bett, as to your question about buffer and pads the buffer I have is about 40 years old, very heavy duty, and designed for this purpose. I bought a velcro backing plate and wool pads off Amazon for this job. The wool gives off a lot of fuzz but 3M recommends wool pads for its product. I believe my Porter Cable polisher would have done an adequate job but not nearly as fast or efficiently. (Be sure to buy pads sized correctly for your particular polisher.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NB ... UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002F ... UTF8&psc=1

Also if you use wool pads a cleaning spur is highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002E ... UTF8&psc=1

Hope this helps.

It helps a lot, Sman. Thanks so much! I’ve found several old buffers with large pad areas and big handles for sale on Craigslist for under $30, so I’ll nab one of those and order some fresh wool pads. She’s finally coming home on Tuesday!

[SMan]

Bett,
Glad to hear you are finally getting you rig back. Happy polishing.