RV Detailing and Reconditioning Services

It breaks down the resin at the surface, and on the horizontal panels it does it several times faster than on the sides.

On clear coated paint, ultraviolet exposure degrades the clear from the top down. Early on the surface simply loses gloss. Then it hazes. Then the clear starts to fail cohesively, which shows as cloudy patches that turn into flaking. At that point there is no correcting it, because there is nothing left to polish. The base coat underneath is unprotected and will fail next.

On gelcoat there is no clear at all. The pigmented polyester resin is the surface, and ultraviolet exposure breaks down the resin binder and leaves loose pigment particles behind. That is the chalk that comes off on your hand and streaks down the sidewall after rain. Under the chalk there is usually sound gelcoat, which is why an oxidized coach can look dramatically better after correction. But every correction removes gelcoat, and the layer is finite.

The horizontal surfaces go first because they take direct exposure for more hours per day: the roof, the cap tops, the tops of slide rooms, the awning rail. A coach that looks fine from the side can be badly gone on top, which is one reason a detail here includes the roof rather than stopping at eye level.

Detail labor is posted at $95 per hour and a full interior and exterior detail runs $500 to $2,000 across 5 to 21 hours. Bands are on the posted price sheet.

Correction removes material to level defects. Polishing refines the surface that correction leaves. Most jobs need both and in that order.

The process is stepped. A cutting compound with an aggressive pad removes the most material and leaves its own fine scratching. A polish with a softer pad removes that scratching and brings up gloss. On badly oxidized gelcoat there may be a wet sanding step before the compound, working through progressive grits, because compounding alone will not touch heavy oxidation in a reasonable amount of time.

How much to remove is a measurement, not a feeling. On painted surfaces a paint depth gauge reads total film thickness, and a test spot establishes how aggressive a step is needed to clear the defects. If a single polish step clears them, that is the whole job. If a heavy compound barely improves them, the defects are through the clear and correction is the wrong answer; the conversation moves to refinishing.

On gelcoat there is no gauge reading that helps directly, so judgment comes from the panel: how much chalk comes off, how quickly gloss appears, and whether the surface has been heavily buffed before. A coach that has been aggressively compounded three or four times over its life may have very little gelcoat remaining over the laminate, and the correct advice at that point is a protective coating rather than another cut.

On a corrected surface that lives outdoors, yes. On an uncorrected surface, no, because the coating locks in whatever it was applied over and it does not come off with a wash.

A ceramic coating is a silica-based liquid that cures into a hard, hydrophobic layer bonded to the finish. What it does well is shed water and dirt, resist chemical etching from bird droppings and sprinkler water, and make washing dramatically easier, which on a 40 foot vehicle is worth real money in labor over a few years. What it does not do is prevent scratching or replace maintenance.

The labor is almost entirely in the prep. The surface has to be decontaminated, corrected, and then wiped down with a solvent to remove every trace of polishing oil, because oil residue prevents the coating from bonding. On several hundred square feet that is the majority of the job. Application itself is a panel-by-panel process with a controlled cure time between sections.

The alternatives are a sealant, which is easier to apply and lasts a season or two, or a traditional wax, which looks excellent immediately and lasts months. For an owner who details the coach themselves twice a year, wax is perfectly reasonable. For one who wants to wash and go for several years, a coating pays for itself. Ceramic coating runs within the $500 to $2,000 detail band depending on vehicle size and prep required.

• Full Interior and Exterior Detailing: wash, decontamination, roof cleaning, upholstery and carpet, interior surfaces, at $500 to $2,000, 5 to 21 hours.
• Paint Correction: machine correction of oxidation, swirls and light defects with depth measured before and after.
• Ceramic Coating: coating applied over a corrected and solvent-wiped surface.
• Headlight Restoration: sanding and re-coating clouded polycarbonate lenses.

Headlight restoration deserves a note, because the common approach fails. Clouded headlights are oxidized polycarbonate with a failed factory hard coat. Sanding and polishing alone removes the oxidation and looks excellent for a few months, then hazes again faster than before, because the protective coating is now completely gone. A restoration that lasts includes a new ultraviolet-resistant clear coat over the sanded lens.

Sibling lines under additional services are custom fabrication and inspection and evaluation. Detail is also the final operation on nearly every job that involved paint or interior work, and it is the standard preparation for owners heading into a sale.