repairs to finish on 2016 Solitude ST379FL

[nhepburn]

While making a sharp turn i cought the nose of my trailer on the corner of my truck cab. The damage seems pretty minimal, just removed a bit of paint but did not actually gouge or crack the fiberglass. From its appearance I always assumed the trailer was finished with a clearcoat, but one of my coworkers is telling me all fiberglass trailers are finished with a gel coat. I was planning on sanding down the affected area, tapeing it off and then hiting it with a some rattle can clear coat and then lightly buffing the area but now am having second thoughts. Really not too worried about a little discoloration but would not be against repainting the area before clearcoating.

When i think of gel coat I think of a thicker colored layer, but this reminds me more of an automotive finish applied ontop of the fiberglass. Any thoughts or insight on this is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[howson]

While making a sharp turn i cought the nose of my trailer on the corner of my truck cab. The damage seems pretty minimal, just removed a bit of paint but did not actually gouge or crack the fiberglass. From its appearance I always assumed the trailer was finished with a clearcoat, but one of my coworkers is telling me all fiberglass trailers are finished with a gel coat. I was planning on sanding down the affected area, tapeing it off and then hiting it with a some rattle can clear coat and then lightly buffing the area but now am having second thoughts. Really not too worried about a little discoloration but would not be against repainting the area before clearcoating.

When i think of gel coat I think of a thicker colored layer, but this reminds me more of an automotive finish applied ontop of the fiberglass. Any thoughts or insight on this is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The coating on our RVs is not unlike a boat's--gelcoat vs clearcoat. Only reason I (think) I know that is due to the many, many detailing videos I've watched on how to do cars (with clearcoat) and RVs (which I found out has gelcoat).

If you go to YouTube and type in "rv gelcoat repair" there are many, many videos on the topic of repairing gelcoat. I can't personally vouch for any of them as I've never done this type of work. I suspect Cate&Rob has done this on his (former) boat, so expect him to chime in here when he sees the notification (tag).

BTW--I see this is your first post so when you get a chance please check out the welcome letter! https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members

Howard

[Cate&Rob]

nhepburn howson

The front cap is fibreglass with a "gelcoat" top layer . . . not unlike a boat hull, as Howard describes. As such, this top layer is thicker than the clear coat over paint that would be on a car or truck. If the gelcoat is scuffed but not cracked or broken through to the fibre substrate, you may be able to buff out the damage. Start with an aggressive rubbing compound and work through finer and finer grit compounds.

Rob