Can Yellowing Paintwork Be Returned To White? (1 Viewer)

Babyell

Free Member
Jun 23, 2015
96
30
Manchester
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36,908
MH
Benimar Anthus
Exp
Newbie
Hi we have just purchased a MH. The cab is white but the paintwork on the body is slightly yellowish compare to the cab. Is there any way of getting this back to white? I have tried TCut but no joy. thanks in advance
 

FJmike

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Jul 17, 2014
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over ten years
Never ever use T Cut on motorhome body work, it may damage it beyond repair. It depends on the GRP and the gel coat used, some yellowing can be removed, some it will just be less noticeable, but you will probably not get it back to pristine white.
 
Feb 27, 2011
14,671
74,882
UK
Funster No
15,452
MH
Self Build
Exp
Since 2005
I spent 2 weeks last summer sanding, filling and smoothing the back doors of my PVC conversion. The end result was a beautiful bright white back on my van.
By january this year it was yellow and the back boxes and racks had all rusted. I came to the conclusion that I was crap at spray painting and didn't have a clue.

My solution. Smooth hammerite over everything :doh::doh:. It all looks ok until you get within a few meters but at least it is not yellow and rusty:whistle::p:LOL:. The hammerite job took 1 day....

I am sorry this doesn't help you but I thought it may make you smile ;).

I think if you have a coachbuilt you are stuck with the off white colour unless you get a pro job done on it.

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scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
2,086
9,024
Suffolk Coastal District, UK
Funster No
15
MH
Timberland
Hi we have just purchased a MH. The cab is white but the paintwork on the body is slightly yellowish compare to the cab.

When I bough the Hymer I noticed the front wasn't quite as white as the rest of the body, so I asked the dealer about this, and if there was a polish to bring up the fibreglass. His reply was no, even brand spanking new ones have a slight difference in colour.. not much you can do about it ..
 

Charlie

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May 16, 2015
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Herefordshire / Worcestershire borders .
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Auto Sleeper Kemerton.
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Im a newbie
If the discoloration is in the gel coat you can definitely polish it out. If its in the base coat then you cant. Try polishing a localized area preferably out of sight and see what happens.
I have been into detailing for over 30 years and have machine polished anything from cars to caravans and even jet skis .
My bet is it will polish out.
 

FJmike

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Jul 17, 2014
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over ten years
Try polishing a localized area preferably out of sight and see what happens.
I have been into detailing for over 30 years and have machine polished anything from cars to caravans and even jet skis .
My bet is it will polish out.
Trying a small area out of sight is an extremely good idea. I can't quote the 30 years but for the last four years I have valeted motorhomes and caravans only and as others have pointed out panels can vary in colour ( even from new) so you may well loose your bet. Oxidation or discoloration can be different on adjoining panels (different GRP or gel coat), but the worst is generally at the front of the van

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Charlie

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May 16, 2015
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Herefordshire / Worcestershire borders .
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If your coachwork has changed colour. By that I mean faded or yellowed it can be polished out.
If it was/has been like it from day 1 then its unlikely you will get the desired results.
Car paint is built up of two layers 1 is the base/colour coat. 2 Is the lacquer which is what we polish. If a detailer polishes through the top/lacquer coat its disaster as this area would need re painting to reinstate the finish. We use a PTG or Paint Thickness Gauge which is an ultrasonic measuring device to eliminate this happening.

Fibreglass or composite bodywork is quite different. The colour is in the make up resins used to manufacture and it then has a thick (by automotive standards ) Gel coat on top. This gel coat will take one hell of a lot of polishing with no danger !

I will post some pictures of what we achieve on cars and things like Jet skis which of course are fibreglass/composite construction if anyone is interested ,,
 

funflair

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 11, 2013
19,199
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Guisborough
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29,351
MH
MORELO palace
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since 2012
Hi we have just purchased a MH. The cab is white but the paintwork on the body is slightly yellowish compare to the cab. Is there any way of getting this back to white? I have tried TCut but no joy. thanks in advance

If you post what model van it is that would actually help as some vans have fibreglass fronts and sides and some have coated aluminium sides and of course some van fronts are steel and painted the treatment should be specific to the material.

OK just read your profile Benimar Anthus, anybody know the wall construction, cab is painted steel of course and the colour difference may have always been there.

OK answering my own questions here, the side walls are GRP according to Mr Google.

Try polishing a bit of the sides with a gel coat restorer.


Martin
 
Last edited:

FJmike

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Jul 17, 2014
972
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Swindon
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over ten years
If your coachwork has changed colour. By that I mean faded or yellowed it can be polished out.
If it was/has been like it from day 1 then its unlikely you will get the desired results.
Car paint is built up of two layers 1 is the base/colour coat. 2 Is the lacquer which is what we polish. If a detailer polishes through the top/lacquer coat its disaster as this area would need re painting to reinstate the finish. We use a PTG or Paint Thickness Gauge which is an ultrasonic measuring device to eliminate this happening.

Fibreglass or composite bodywork is quite different. The colour is in the make up resins used to manufacture and it then has a thick (by automotive standards ) Gel coat on top. This gel coat will take one hell of a lot of polishing with no danger !
,,
Just so that people do not get confused, most coachbuilt cabs do NOT have the paintwork that Charlie describes, it is a very thin single coat of colour with no lacquer. As for motorhomes having a thick gel coat this can vary between makes and models. I have seen gel coats worn through in six months by a breathable cover. So like most things in life please use caution when polishing.
Nice work on the jet ski & others Charlie

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Silver-Fox

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Sep 5, 2014
9,234
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Cheltenham Spa
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33,201
MH
Rapido
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im a not so newbie
If the discoloration is in the gel coat you can definitely polish it out. If its in the base coat then you cant. Try polishing a localized area preferably out of sight and see what happens.
I have been into detailing for over 30 years and have machine polished anything from cars to caravans and even jet skis .
My bet is it will polish out.

Hello fellow detailer :) and you are just up the road from me :D
 
Oct 29, 2008
5,024
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4,712
MH
PVC
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since 2008
This stuff is very good Broken Link Removed
I sell a lot of it to boat owners also. I gat amazing feedback from people who have used it.
 

FJmike

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Jul 17, 2014
972
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MH
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Exp
over ten years
This stuff is very good Broken Link Removed
I sell a lot of it to boat owners also. I gat amazing feedback from people who have used it.

You would say its good you sell it :). Is 500ml enough to restore an A class??

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Apr 28, 2008
157
30
rayleigh, essex.
Funster No
2,370
MH
A class
Exp
Since 2007
our hymer had yellowing around the front lights and was told by a boat owner they use brasso we tried it and it removed the yellowing just need to wash off the residue with water straight after cleaning.
then use a restorer for boats for a good shine.
 
Oct 29, 2008
5,024
5,806
West Yorkshire
Funster No
4,712
MH
PVC
Exp
since 2008
You would say its good you sell it :). Is 500ml enough to restore an A class??
If you are at a show I don't mind giving you a sample. Sold over 500 bottles with a money back guarantee and only refunded once. My frankia had yellowing on the corners between the cab and coach body. It is now white. You would probably need a litre.
 

rupert

Funster
Nov 23, 2014
198
199
Funster No
34,332
MH
c class
Exp
caravaning on and off 10 years
hi mine is AT on a merc chassis the cab looks yellow compared to body. but i found out the cab is merc white and the body is
fiat white, so no amount of polishing is gonna change that

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Babyell

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Jun 23, 2015
96
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Manchester
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MH
Benimar Anthus
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Newbie
Arghhhh this is driving me mad. I hate being beaten by things like this. I have tried several products on different parts and it always dries hazy like there is still a layer of polish on even though I have used soft microfiber cloths and it runs smoothly across. I don't know what else to do . I have ordered some silky to try that. What else should I be doing?
 

mjltigger

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Nov 12, 2014
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2,672
Trowbridge
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34,213
MH
Autotrail Dakota Max
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2012
What I do is park under a tree to get plenty sap on it then drive down some dusty lanes.

The end result isn't white, but you can't tell the difference between panel colours any more.

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Minxy

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Aug 22, 2007
32,489
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149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
Charlie, I see one of the cars has been polished so much it's disappeared ... (garden photo!).:D
 
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Babyell

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Jun 23, 2015
96
30
Manchester
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36,908
MH
Benimar Anthus
Exp
Newbie
I have tried several special cleaning products and have admitted defeat. it is yellow and the cab is white. I was wondering if my plan B of getting the cab resprayed grey (to match side decals and trims) would be doable? the cab has a few rust patches and scratches so could do with one! anyone ever had a respray done in their cab and know of the rough costs involved
 

Silver-Fox

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Sep 5, 2014
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Rapido
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im a not so newbie
I have tried several special cleaning products and have admitted defeat. it is yellow and the cab is white. I was wondering if my plan B of getting the cab resprayed grey (to match side decals and trims) would be doable? the cab has a few rust patches and scratches so could do with one! anyone ever had a respray done in their cab and know of the rough costs involved

Why not have a vinyl wrap done on the cab, you could have whet ever you wanted then peel off when selling if required :)

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Babyell

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Jun 23, 2015
96
30
Manchester
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36,908
MH
Benimar Anthus
Exp
Newbie
how much would that be in comparison to a respray and what about the rusting, would that need to be sanded down?
 
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Babyell

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Jun 23, 2015
96
30
Manchester
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36,908
MH
Benimar Anthus
Exp
Newbie
20150620_212458.jpg
This is what is currently looks like. Do you think it would look better with a grey cab and bumper the same colour as side grey decals and trim? Or other ideas what I can do?
 

Minxy

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Aug 22, 2007
32,489
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E Yorks
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149
MH
Carthago Compactline
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Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
Apart from sorting out the rust to be honest I'd leave it alone! You could find that the new paint/wrap makes the rest look 'tired' and even worst that you believe it is now! It isn't a new camper so people don't expect it to be pristine and it was (and still is to some extent) common for the cab to be a different shade of white to the rest ... on some vans the habitation door is a different colour too ... have a shuftie at some Chassons for an example of this.

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Gorse Hill

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Feb 2, 2013
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24,533
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Burnster Ixeo IT 734
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2000
View attachment 67988 This is what is currently looks like. Do you think it would look better with a grey cab and bumper the same colour as side grey decals and trim? Or other ideas what I can do?
Looks mint to me mate given that's it's 7/8 yrs old, you obviously take care of it you could end up chasing your tail
Enjoy it(y)
 
Aug 27, 2014
1,910
3,733
Shropshire
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33,077
MH
McLouis Tandy 640+
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Since 2014
Looks just fine to me as is, sort the rust and enjoy!

Vinyl wrapping really is very effective - an ex-boss got a new 7 series in gold and hated the colour, so had it wrapped white. You really would not have known it wasn't painted white at the factory, unless you opened the bonnet. At the end of the lease the vinyl came off to leave perfectly unblemished gold paintwork.

Same thing where I work now - they changed the company livery, so suddenly the blue vans needed to be white. Apart from the rear door hinges and of course looking inside, again you'd never tell it wasn't white from the factory.

Makes me think if vinyling a coachbuilt MH once it gets a bit tired is an idea - after all, it should be an easy job, not much in the way of 3-dimensional curves to stretch round! All that surface area though, I wonder how much it would cost?
 
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Babyell

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Jun 23, 2015
96
30
Manchester
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MH
Benimar Anthus
Exp
Newbie
It is 13 yrs old so I know it is beginning to show its age. It just really bugs me! I am just going to have to get used to it, as hubby said we will be inside it so its more important what that like. We have been quoted £450 to vinyl wrap the cab but that money needs to go on solar panels first.

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