Help with fixing another Detailers mess up on motorhome

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Danielsp12

New member
Last year my parents had their motorhome detailed by a reputable (at the time) mobile detailer. When he waxed the front of the motorhome, the wax would not come off. He claims the paint soaked it in and would return once he found out how to get it off. Personally, I think he burned it. Now, I have started my own mobile detailing and am still fairly new at it. Keep in mind this was last summer. Yesterday, I tried washing it, drying it, going over it with a clay bar, and my Porter Cable DA polisher with swirl remover and polish. No luck! Any recommendations? I would post pics but it is dark here. I was thinking maybe trying acetone? Im at a loss on this one, Ive never run across this
 
What are you dealing with..paint, gelcoat, tin, oxidatized single stage? These units went through several styles over the years and its hard to say without knowing what kind of surface it is. How old is it? Post some pics tomorrow if you can. We'll help you get it figured out :)
 
If you try it, do a test spot somewhere you cant easily see. Those coatings are super soft and temperamental. Thats probably what got the last guy in trouble so be careful. Im sure he felt that ole knot in the stomach when he realized he screwed up :D
 
This is one of those cases where you really need to post a picture of the damage and let some of the experienced eyes here take a look!
 
Todd Helme said:
This is one of those cases where you really need to post a picture of the damage and let some of the experienced eyes here take a look!
Click to expand...
I agree 100%...and Todd was the man I was thinking about with the experience.

Perhaps many of us could stand to learn something. In fact, I've already learned something. If unfamiliar with a vehicle, boat, or motorhome finish or paint, do some research to find out what you're working with. Never know, someone may save you some agony.
 
If its gelcoat, you are going to need to strip the old wax off. Last summer I was working on a 450 SeaRay Sundancer for a client with a similar situation, their previous detailer didnt buff the wax off correctly and it was patchy. What I did to remove all of the wax left on for an entire year was wipe down the entire boat in Acetone and it removed the patches and all the wax for that matter and then went to work with my polishing and waxing regiment. Hope this helps.
 
Heres some pics, hope you guys can help

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Holy crap man..thats bad. It looks like it dried up on him and the gelcoat absorbed it. First thing I would try would be Dawn, but I doubt that does much. Maybe even scrub the Dawn in with a bug sponge. Other than that, try polishing with a light cut pad. Many times a product like Pinnacle Paintwork Cleanser will work, but I think this is a little severe for that. Like I said the other night, this type of gelcoat is very soft and temperamental, so always do test sections. Also, stay out of the sun. Heat and sunlight softens it even more and youll be right back to where you are now before you even realize it.
 
Thanks. I tried my DA with Pinnacle swirl remover and finishing glaze and tried claying it before that with zero luck. I also considered trying Dawn but like you said, didnt figure itd do much. Im curious about Meguiars rubbing compound maybe?
 
Ive never used Acetone on them so I really couldnt say. The solvents that I have tried didnt end well, but I guess in the situation your in, it cant hurt much lol. Like the rest of it, test an area down low that you cant easily see. Same with the compound. Its possible that the compound will dig in just like the wax did, but there again it may take it right off..gelcoat is weird like that. Im sure others will chime in with suggestions as well. Good luck with it, whatever route you decided to go with :)
 
Wow that's some messed up surface.... I've had to fix something like that before. After days of beating my head into a wall and trying everything I had in my detail kart I finally got it with some 2k grit sand paper and M105 with a rotary and heavy cut wool pad, Followed by some P&S challenger wax/polish for gel coats with a 3m gray polishing pad. It was weird I could only polish like 1ft at a time and had to wipe it off instantly or it would suck it up. Best of luck on this I really hope it works out for you. Ugh PITA. Far be it from me to turn down money but after that I've turned down a few of those jobs.
 
Im telling you give acetone a try in a small spot thats not noticeable and see it strip the wax off. I deal primarily with boats and gelcoats and have seen and gone in and done a lot of correction work from previous detailers mishaps.

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If Pinnacle Swirl Remover didn't work then I really think that dawn or a paint cleansing lotion is going to have very little effect. When you applied the Swirl Remover, what machine/pad/speed/technique did you use?

Weathered Gel Coat can become very porous, and it looks like it literally drank the wax and thus stained it. Do you know the type of wax that wax used?

I would defer to the experience of others. I have never used acetone on paint and it is certainly isn't an official recommendation, but trying a small inconspicuous spot might really be the best bet.
 
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