Newbie used abrasive cloth!

[hanrahan100]

Hi, I feel some dumb! I bought a brand new caravan in Sept 18. used it once and put in in storage. Got it out of storage not long ago and there were some fairly stubborn water run marks from the winter (even though I had it wrapped up) nothing too bad, but didn't come off when I cleaned it. This is the horrendous part. I rubbed them off with a green scourer from the kitchen! Did the job, but as you can probably guess has removed the nice gloss finish to the panels. Damn! It's in 3 areas and fairly large - the area's where grubby water had stained. so a foot to 2 long and 3 inches wide.

How can I get the gloss back?? Can it even be done?

I'm so annoyed at myself!!

Thanks

 

[Craigyoung]

hmy: ooooff !

You could try Autoglym or Maguires but unsure off the result , any marks normally come off with a good rubbing off wax over it - on a soft clothe though ; in future there is a liquid called black stain remover for those kinda water marks !

Hope this is off some help

 

[Anseo]

Hi hanrahan100, welcome to the forum

Sorry to hear about your 'mishap'.

You could try polishing out the abrasion marks left by the scourers and then (as Craigyoung said) applying several layers of wax over the affected areas, difficult to say what kind of results you will achieve and much is dependant on the polishing outcome and the wax overcoating(s) selected.

Alternatively, a car body shop may well prove to be worth making enqiries with.

Personally I would try Autosol on the abrasions and then experiment with wax car coatings, I doubt if you will do anything to worsen the situation (go easy on the Autosolabrasion removal).

If you can post photographs then that may help with advice you may receive on here.

 

[chrisn7]

Can you feel the scratches if a fingernail is drawn across? If so they are too deep to remove completely, though some improvement should be possible. Start off with a car polish, which despite the name does contain a very mild abrasive. You will need to do this to polish out those scratches, but go carefully and try out on a small section of the least obvious damage. Caravan paint is notoriously thin so be careful.

If this looks like it will be a slow process, try Brasso wadding, again carefully. This is very good at removing scratches in plastic, but may leave a slightly hazy finish which needs to be polished out with the car polish again, to achieve the desired shine. Personally I would not use Autosol as this is designed as a metal polish, so a bit too aggressive IMHO.

As mentioned, Autoglym and others have dedicated product to deal with this problem.

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi hanrahan100, welcome to the forum

Sorry to hear about your 'mishap'.

You could try polishing out the abrasion marks left by the scourers and then (as Craigyoung said) applying several layers of wax over the affected areas, difficult to say what kind of results you will achieve and much is dependant on the polishing outcome and the wax overcoating(s) selected.

Alternatively, a car body shop may well prove to be worth making enqiries with.

Personally I would try Autosol on the abrasions and then experiment with wax car coatings, I doubt if you will do anything to worsen the situation (go easy on the Autosolabrasion removal).

If you can post photographs then that may help with advice you may receive on here.

https://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/our-website/56475-posting-pictures#453457

 

[CustardAvenger]

It may be possible to restore the shine as you have probably just dulled the paint/gelcoat with a load of small scratches. I have seen the same thing done to remove tar and bug spots from a Range Rover. A specialist detailer was able to correct the paint to a great standard, saving the owner a respray. This would have been achieved by using a Rotary or Dual Action machine polishing tool and a cutting compound.

If some polish such as G3 or similar does not make any difference, the professional route may be your only option: http://www.tourershine.co.uk/ specialises in Caravans and Motorhomes.

 

[hanrahan100]

Thanks for this and the other replies. I feel a bit better as it sounds as if I can definitely improve the situation. I'll have a go later this week and post the results.
Cheers

 

[Craigyoung]

Thanks for this and the other replies. I feel a bit better as it sounds as if I can definitely improve the situation. I'll have a go later this week and post the results.
Cheers

No probs good luck to , So what caravan have you got ?

 

[hanrahan100]

Yep, I should probably create a profile.
I have a Bailey, Pegasus Ancona GT70. Which is a lovely layout for us. Bunk beds, with dinette opposite and bathroom at the end. So nice and open.

 

[Parksy]

Not cheap and it's almost impossible to buy in the UK so you'd have to wait for a couple of weeks for it to arrive from Poland, but Prima Amigo is a pre-wax glaze that will mask tiny scratches before wax application.
Wash and dry the caravan, if there are black streaks simply rub over with neat Fenwick's caravan shampoo, from a microfibre cloth, using a diluted solution as per instructions for the remainder.
Apply the Prima Amigo sparingly.

Buff the surface then apply thin coats of automotive wax such as Collinite or Meguiars, buffing to a shine between coats.

EDIT: p.s. Glazes and waxes are best applied using a sponge applicator and buffed with a fine microfiber polishing cloth.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

There is a product called Silky.Its been around for many years but gets very little mention. It is a great product ,I have used it on our van and its great to use as a cleaner but follow the instruction to the letter and get a great result for about £6.
Good luck with what ever you try .
Sir Roger. If you go onto You Tube and type in Meet the Trudgians Dan Trudgian has a vlog on there where he demonstrates the use of Silky.

 

[Parksy]

There is a product called Silky.Its been around for many years but gets very little mention. It is a great product ,I have used it on our van and its great to use as a cleaner but follow the instruction to the letter and get a great result for about £6.
Good luck with what ever you try .
Sir Roger. If you go onto You Tube and type in Meet the Trudgians Dan Trudgian has a vlog on there where he demonstrates the use of Silky.

Silky is great for removing tar, road grime and stubborn marks but it's a slightly abrasive polish.
It's unlikely to restore a dull or scratched surface I'm afraid.

 

[Thingy]

Just thinking about this from another angle, as the caravan is almost new i would be careful of making it look worse. I would perhaps be inclined to have a word with Tourershine and see if they think it possible to restore. I think they do a paint correction service.

 

[audiorob]

I would suggest autoglym resin polish - just used all over on my car and it does seem to hide small paint blemishes when applied as instructed with a damp sponge in a circular motion, leaving to dry then shining off with a microfibre cloth. I bought mine online with a sponge and cloth at half the price of a local retail outlet, and the litre supplied will probably do the car 4 or 5 times. You could also try a 'Care-a-van' polish product which seems to mask minor scratches to the paintwork on the alu van sides. Or Mer have a very good polish range that for example I also use on my car alloy wheels to remove staining and restore the original glossy shine. Whatever it should be a case of gently does it - and please let us know how you get on.

 

[CustardAvenger]

Not cheap and it's almost impossible to buy in the UK so you'd have to wait for a couple of weeks for it to arrive from Poland, but Prima Amigo is a pre-wax glaze that will mask tiny scratches before wax application.

Something avaliable in the UK, that I have used is Ultra Glaze from Auto Finesse... (Link to their website but also available from large online retailers) Not sure how effective it would be in OP's required application, but it seems quite easy to use... apply like a wax and buff off.

 

[Dustydog]

Very very late on this thread I swear by Fenwicks black streak remover. No elbow grease or hard pad scrubbing.

 

[Hutch]

Or "The Pink Stuff" you can by a spray version in Sainsburys now. .

 

[Ferrodo]

Surely an automotive burnishing cream as used in panel shops should restore the gloss shine and then a good wax polish to finish.

 

[Dustydog]

Surely an automotive burnishing cream as used in panel shops should restore the gloss shine and then a good wax polish to finish.

Caravan paint unlike cars is micron thin. Using abrasive materials will soon take you back to the base material

 

[Ferrodo]

Caravan paint unlike cars is micron thin. Using abrasive materials will soon take you back to the base material

Ah okay point taken. You live and learn

 

[JezzerB]

I would agree with ferodo, without seeing it it is hard to tell but I would say the damage is worse than an autoglym polish could cope with. However try this First and if it shows improvement keep at it, it needs a lot of elbow grease. If it doesn't then as per ferodo a cutting compound like tcut gently at first but you will again have to work hard and keep wiping and watching till you know if it is worsening or improving. Then autoglym srp and a Good wax. It will be risky hard work.but nothing to lose other than time and a few quid for polish etc . Toothpaste is a coarser cut too if you want to not spend initially to see. But ultimately you may have to pay.

 

[Parksy]

This thread is over a year old so it's hard to understand why it's suddenly been revived.
I would imagine that the OP has either repaired his damaged paintwork or learned to live with it by now.
We'll never know because the OP never told us if he managed to restore the shine

 

[JezzerB]

Blimey, tbh I just dont look at dates. Ah well interesting, you never know heaven forbid it might come in handy!

 

[Parksy]

Blimey, tbh I just dont look at dates. Ah well interesting, you never know heaven forbid it might come in handy!

I do Jezzer, and I usually discover that an old thread has been brought back to life by a new 'member' who doesn't live in Europe.
The practice of reviving old threads is known as necroposting and it's a common tactic often used by potential spammers to test how easily it would be to revive an old thread which they can 'hide' their unauthorised advertising in next time.
The spam becomes hidden in the revived thread when bona fide forum members later add further replies which moderators have no need to check as thoroughly.
In this case I've deleted a post and banned a would be spammer.