Protecting the Gel Coat

[technomadia]

Any tips or advice on caring for the gel coat of the Oliver?

 

 

After a month of living in it full time, I'm noticing some tiny nicks and scratches in it. And while I know I should just embrace them as battle scars, I really would like to keep our Oliver in as good as shape as possible.

 

I've given the exterior of the Oliver a good coating of 'ProtectAll' carnauba wax protectant. And I've treated the bathroom and kitchen with Gel-Gloss a couple of times, as well as a coating of ProtectAll. I know I should probably do the rest of the interior surfaces as well. Any other products you'd recommend?

 

 

And once scratches appear, are there any recommended treatments for them to 1) reduce risk of further damage and 2) make it look pretty again?

 

Thanks!

- Cherie

[beeser]

Sounds like you're on top of the required waxing. Just don't let it oxidize and you'll be fine. As for repairing the scratches, there are tons of instructional videos on the web for repairing gel coat. I've never attempted it yet but the process looks simple enough.

[DCKiefer]

Not sure about how to protect against nicks and stratches other than staying in one spot. I use a good quanlity marine was, like Scotchguard products. Runs about $25 a bottle and you might get one and half applications out of a bottle. I have been very impressed, I waxed my Oliver over a month ago and it still feels as slick as the day I applied the wax.

 

You can rub out light scratches with something like 3M's Marine Restore.

 

How has your Oliver held up on the outside to road debri like gravel? Do you see a lot of nicks? I had a truck that was getting chewed up by gravel on the back fender and found this clear vinyl tape that was about four inches wide. I applied it to where the gravel would hit and once applied was pretty much invisible and solved the nick problem.

[SeaDawg]

We had small mudflaps installed on the Oliver wheel wells, and we use the big removeable mud flaps on the truck. So far, no obvious nicks or scratches in 14,000+ miles (including some gravel roads). Where we have seen some tiny scratches are inside... We have the older style trailer with no tile under the small dinette, just shiny white gelcoat.... I cut a hole & and a slit in a small rug to accomodate the center post of the table, and keep it there to try to keep down the amount of grit tracked into the unprotected area. New style Olivers that I saw at the rally have tile under the table.

We also waxed our trailer (inside and out), with a good marine paste wax. Expensive, but one can goes a long ways.... Twice inside and out so far, and still 1/2 can or better left. There are good marine products for removing/buffing/cleaning superficial scratches in gel coat... Check with a marine supply, and test in a small, inconspicuous spot first to check results.

I also use a good mat on the floor by the front door, a step mat/wrap, and a welcome mat outside the trailer. Keeps the dirt & stones down considerably.

Sherry

[SeaDawg]

A member sent me a pm asking me to post photos of our mudflaps, so here goes:

This is a photo of the small mudflaps that Oliver installed for us on the trailer wheelwells.

 

And this is a photo showing the removeable mudflaps mounted on our pickup. These flaps are mounted to a bar, not the truck, and mount to the receiver, so that we can take them off when not needed. We bought ours from Costco, online (we're not members... you can order online without a membership) for about $180. Also available from other sources, at a variety of prices. If you look carefully at this photo, you can see the permanent, smaller mudflaps we had installed on the truck for the days we don't use the big Rock Tamers. 15,000 plus miles now, and no chips yet!

 

Sherry

 

Sherry

[SeaDawg]

An update on the Rock Tamers. We got a new truck a few months ago (a Ram 1500), and our old Rock Tamer flaps are now too short, as they were trimmed for the lower Silverado. I found out that replacement flaps can be ordered from Enkay in Colorado for $30.00 each (black) or $45.00 each (chrome), plus shipping. You don't have to buy a whole new Rock Tamer system.

Note: I tried contacting Enkay (parent company) by internet, but didn't get an answer for several days. Phone calls are answered promptly. 800-545-1894. The whole Rock Tamers system is still much less thru Costco online, or Cabela's, than by ordering direct.

 

Sherry