general fiberglass repair sequence for minor scratches and scuffs

GENERAL FIBERGLASS
REPAIR SEQUENCE FOR
MINOR SCRATCHES AND
SCUFFS
Bigfoot Industries (2010) Inc.
4114 Crozier Road
Armstrong, BC
Canada VOE1B6
Phone: 250.546.2155
Fax: 250.546.2166
Email: [email protected]
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 1
INTRODUCTION
GENERAL CARE YOUR BIGFOOT RV - Exterior
Wash your unit regularly.
Avoid using aggressive soaps. A gentle boat or auto soap is recommended
If possible, store your RV in a covered area out of direct sunlight
Wax your RV two or three times per year
Use a soft brush when washing your unit
Dry with a chamois or soft white cotton rag. This will prevent water spots.
TOOLS AND MATERIALS REQUIRED TO REPAIR A MINOR SCRATCH
(Most products are available at Lordco Automotive, Canadian Tire, WalMart, Target)
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Electric buffer or polisher
Buffer Pads:
o XXX 1 pad, white in color - use for aggressive waxes
o XXX 2 pad, gold in color - use for final finish (optional)
Velcro backers
Extension cord
Sandpaper:
o 320 grit
o 400 grit
o 600 grit
o 800 grit
o 1200 grit
White cotton cloths
Plastic water spray bottle
Soap
Water
Portable light, if required
Meguiar's #3 (http://en.meguiarscanada.com)
Sattex Buffing Compound and Sattex Finishing Compound (www.sattexcorp.com)
Cut polish
Buffing Pads - lamb's wool or synthetic
Fiberglass Wax
Final cut polish
Acetone - if required. If not available, isopropanol may be used.
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 2
INSPECTION
The following tools are required to inspect parts or units:
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Fluorescent light (portable)
Grease pencil or masking tape. Do NOT use felt marker.
Soap and water
Acetone (only to be used to remove foreign substances).
isopropanol may be used.
Clean white cotton rags
Meguiar's #3
If Acetone
is not available
Start the inspection process by wiping down the unit or part with soap and water.
acetone will not remove dirt and grime.
WIPE DOWN
- Use soap and water.
- Acetone will not remove dirt
and grime.
- Acetone or isopropanol to be
used only to remove foreign
substances.
Note:
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 3
SANDING PROCEDURE
Wash unit with soap and water, wipe down and dry. Go over unit with a bright light if you are
not working in a well lit area.
IDENTIFY SCRATCHES
- Use fluorescent light
- Mark with grease pencil or
masking tape
Identify scratches or scruffs, mark with a removable pencil masking tape.
The scuff or scratch should not penetrate the gel-coat surface. See photo example below:
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 4
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Be sure when choosing a cut polish, you select a polish for gel-coat or a boat polish.
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Many minor scuffs or scratches can be simply removed by hand polishing the area using a
Meguiar's #3 with a clean white cotton rag. Should the scratch still be visible but does not
penetrate the gel-coat, apply medium cut polish. Try buffing with Meguiar's #3. If that does
not remove the scratch use a medium cut polish.
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Scratches that cannot be removed with cut polish must be sanded.
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The sand paper grit to be used will be determined by the severity of the scratch.
o Deep scratches 320 grit and up
o Minor scratches 600, 800 or 1200 grit
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When sanding out a severe scratch a series of sanding grits will be required (e.g. 320 grit to
600 to 800 to 1200).
When sanding by hand, use a foam or wood sanding block.
from being distorted or dished.
HAND SANDIN,G
,/Wood Block
,/ Foam Block
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HAND SANDING
Do NOT use fingertips
Use sandpaper and water
You MUST use a block
Using your fingertips will create a dish and uneven surface.
This will prevent the surface
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 5
When sanding is complete, wipe area clean with white cotton rag, then proceed to Buffing
Procedure.
SANDING COMPLETE
Wipe area clean with
white cotton rag.
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Page 6
BUFFING PROCEDURES
When buffing there are very important precautions and procedures that must be followed:
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Buffing pads must be clean.
Old wax and contaminates will cause additional scratches.
Clean buffing pads with warm soap and water.
It may require several cleanings to remove excess wax and contaminates.
When the buffing pads are clean, be sure to remove excess water from pad.
BUFFING PAD
Must be clean.
Use soap and water.
BUFFING PAD
May require SEVERAL
cleanings before use.
The next step is to choose the appropriate level of wax for the application.
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Meguiar's #3 to be used for hand buffing minor scratches, scuffs and taking out swirl marks.
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Meguiar's #3 is also used for the final stages of polishing with a BUFFER.
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Meguiar's #3 must be hand wiped on gel coat for even distribution before buffing.
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Sattex white is to be used with medium wool buffing pads only.
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Sattex white is the step prior to Meguiar's #3. When done correctly Meguiar's #3 may not be
required as an additional step.
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 7
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Fiberglass repairs must be sanded with 1200 grit or higher for final finish to reduce buffing
time.
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NOTE: Sattex blue and brown, use Schedule xx1 SCHLEGEL pad.
BUFFING PAD
Applying wax.
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Sattex Brown is a very aggressive polishing compound.
or units should be minimized to areas of least visibility.
The use of Sattex brown on parts
BUFFING PAD
Applying Sattex Blue or Brown wax.
Use only wool buffing pads.
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 8
AGGRESSIVE WAX
Must be handled carefully.
Can create bad buffing, swirls and minor scratches.
Now that you have chosen the appropriate
buffing procedures are strictly follows.
wax for the application,
it is very important that
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The speed of the buffer should NEVER exceed 3000 rpm. Excessive speed will cause
buffing swirls. The gel-coat can be burned and delaminate from the wall due to the buildup
of heat.
SLOW rpm of the buffer achieves optimum results for finishing the buffing
procedure.
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Before starting to buff an area, it is necessary to work wax into the surface. The Meguiar's
cut polish is applied, then spread evenly by hand using a cotton rag or sponge. Buffer pad
position is also very important.
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This is done by slightly adjusting the angle of the buffer and applying pressure to the outer
surface of the pad. The buffing angle must not exceed 20 degrees. Exceeding this angle
will create excess heat and swirling marks.
BUFFING ANGLE
• Must not exceed 20 degrees.
• This will cause swirl marks.
BUFFING ANGLE
• Slight angle, no more than 20
degrees.
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General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 9
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Buffing motion is important to eliminate swirl marks. Erratic buffing patterns will cause swirl
marks. A consistent one way overlapping pattern is required (a left to right motion is
recommended).
BUFFING PATTERN
- Consistent one way overlapping
requirement.
is a
"
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General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 10
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Buffing can cause damage to other surfaces such as paint, molding, plastics and decals.
Areas that are not fiberglass should be masked off when working near them. It is very
important to mask off all areas to prevent damage.
MASK OFF CRITICAL AREAS
- Moldings, windows, plastics, decals, etc.
- Use masking tape only!
- Do not use duct tape.
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General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 11
MASK OFF PAINT
- Use masking tape or painting
tape only.
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 12
PROBLEM
- When decals are not masked
damage
from
buffing will
result.
----_._----------------General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 13
SPLATTER
- Windows not masked.
- Residue on window.
p
SPLATTER
- Cleaned off with rag.
- Should have been masked.
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 14
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When is complete, all excess wax and buffing residue must be wiped off with a white cotton
rag.
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When area is cleaned properly, there will be no evidence of a repair.
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NOTE:
If area is masked off, very little wiping will be required.
FINISH BUFFING
- Wipe off all residue and
excess wax.
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General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 15
Deeper Scratches
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in Gel-Coat
To repair scratches that penetrate the gel-coat, a two or three step procedure is required.
The number of steps required is dependent on the depth of the scratch.
To identify the extent of the gel-coat damage, take a regular HB pencil and shade the area
by using the side of the pencil lead to show the scratch.
This will show you the difference between a scratch and a crack and will also be used as a
reference guide determining depth and length of the scratch, which will later be used during
sanding.
DEEPER SCRATCHES INTO GEL-COAT
- Requires a 2 or 3 step procedure.
- Number of steps depends on depth of
scratch.
- Shade area with pencil to show scratch.
IDENTIFY DAMAGE
- Scratch or crack.
- Use reference guide:
o Depth
o Length
General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 16
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To repair the scratched surface, start by wet sanding with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper and
progress to 600 grit and finally 1200 grit.
REPAIR SCRATCHED SURFACE
- Wet sand with 320 grit wet/dry
- Progress to 600 grit
- Finally use 1200 grit
- Be sure to use a block of wood or 1 __
foam
1_
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Where possible use a small block of wood between the sandpaper and your hand for all
sanding.
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Sand the area evenly; each time you change the grit of the sandpaper, ensure that you sand
beyond the previous perimeter to eliminate lines. Be sure to clean away any residue from
the previous sandpaper grit before going to a finer grit. This will help to keep the sanding
scratches to a minimum and free of dirt and debris.
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It is important to keep checking the surface of the gel-coat and watch for signs of sanding
through. If caught soon enough at the right stage of sanding you can sometimes avoid
having to spray surface with gel-coat.
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Finish with 1200 grit and wipe the surface clean of residue using a clean white rag.
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Once you have completed the above, refer to the buffing procedures as indicated in Level 1.
This procedure is also applied to all finishing gel-coat procedures such as sprays, chip and
scratch dabs.
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IMPORTANT NOTE:
Ensure the sandpaper is kept wet.
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General Fiberglass Repair Sequence for Minor Scratches and Scuffs
Page 17
CONCLUSION
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Keep in mind that preventative maintenance on your unit will payoff in the long run .
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If you try to venture beyond a basic scratch repair, you may wish to consider calling a
professional for advice. As a unit ages the gel-coat may fade. This makes it difficult to
make a color match .
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Washing and waxing your RV is the most important part of your maintenance program .
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If at all possible, do not store your unit outdoors and unprotected .
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Always remember to use soft white rags, or a chamois to wash and wipe your unit.
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Ensure the products you use are intended for use on gel-coat. Boat products are in general
compatible with RV products .
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If you have any questions regarding fiberglass issues with your Bigfoot RV, please call us at
Bigfoot Industries 250.546.2155 or email us at
Bigfoot Industries (2010) Inc.
4114 Crozier Road
Armstrong, BC
Canada VOE lB6
Phone: 250.546.2155
Fax: 250.546.2166
Email: [email protected]