Faded gel coat

While off on furlough I decided to take on the Nuevo roof & body, the roof was the worse.
I did a bit of research as I tried meguiars polish & wouldn’t touch it.
I chose 3m medium cutting compound + wax & it worked a treat. it also cleaned up fine scratches on plastic windows.

Looks nice Tiger,bet your glad you don't have the ES model.   
Boaby

This is a much discussed topic and there is some very good information on the factsheet pages.
Polish is a generic word like hoover for a vacuum cleaner. "Polish" ie a wax alone product will not as you say get rid of oxidisation. 
You have done the right thing in cutting back the surface with the 3M cutting compound but please don't think the +wax bit means more than just it has a little wax in it, there is no long term protection.
That is what the meguiars is designed for. Use any good carnauba based wax or paint sealant but even the best waxes need topping up every few months or so. Water forms beads on the surface of wax. If you are feeling lazy there are some good top up sprays out there now, very easy to use.
Finally, NEVER wash the van with washing up liquid as this is a degreaser and will just wash the wax off, use a proper car shampoo.
I will try to post a couple of pictures of different beading when I can find them.

That looks fantastic, I may try some on my Trophy, the roof is faded and dull.

groundhog wrote:This is a much discussed topic and there is some very good information on the factsheet pages.
Polish is a generic word like hoover for a vacuum cleaner. "Polish" ie a wax alone product will not as you say get rid of oxidisation. 
You have done the right thing in cutting back the surface with the 3M cutting compound but please don't think the +wax bit means more than just it has a little wax in it, there is no long term protection.
That is what the meguiars is designed for. Use any good carnauba based wax or paint sealant but even the best waxes need topping up every few months or so. Water forms beads on the surface of wax. If you are feeling lazy there are some good top up sprays out there now, very easy to use.
Finally, NEVER wash the van with washing up liquid as this is a degreaser and will just wash the wax off, use a proper car shampoo.
I will try to post a couple of pictures of different beading when I can find them.

I did go over the van with megulars polish as well, the less times I have to go up there the better.
I am going to treat myself to a electric mop polisher next time as it was hard work.

Mick C G wrote:That looks fantastic, I may try some on my Trophy, the roof is faded and dull.

When I first used it I thought it felt very gritty, but I soaked the sponge with water & it made it a lot easier to apply.
I borrowed a polishing mop & the made it easy.

May I suggest getting a dual action one rather than a simple rotary, yes, they are more expensive but do not overheat the paint and will not cause accidental damage. I am not alone here in using a das 6 pro, available all over but got mine from chemical guys.
It is a corded machine though and you may be thinking cordless

Another vote for the DAS 6 Pro here. The power cord needs management, but the machine does a very good job in the hands of a careful user. Never let the machine dwell anywhere and go very easy on any panel edges. Once the paint is corrected, the machine can also be used for polishing and then subsequent waxing. Make sure you use the correct pads! Red for cutting, yellow for polishing and black for waxing.

groundhog wrote:May I suggest getting a dual action one rather than a simple rotary, yes, they are more expensive but do not overheat the paint and will not cause accidental damage. I am not alone here in using a das 6 pro, available all over but got mine from chemical guys.
It is a corded machine though and you may be thinking cordless

The das 6 looks a nice bit of kit, but more than I would want to spend, will keep my eye on any deals as a have a few months until I have to do it again.
Cordless would be nice but would need at least 2 battery’s to do a van

After a good cut and  more importantly a good wax you should not need to  cut again for years if maintained Tigerbadge. Regular washing and reapplication    of a good  wax maybe 2-3 times a year minimum should keep it looking good. I have used all the 3m products for years and while excellent would not rely solely  on cut and wax.  
      You have done the hard work without resorting to polishers etc so far I believe?   I have recently moved over to Bilt Hamber double speed wax which wins numerous awards. It is a lot cheaper than those strange brews which are infused with unobtanium and  come in a thimble sized tin costing  £500!! Seems to have great shine and staying power but is an absolute **** to apply. It is a hard paste like good old simonize but is clear on application and hard to see where you have done. Costs around £14 on Amazon with good appljcator/removing cloths too.  Wear sunglasses on  application  in this weather or risk going snowblind !

kaspian wrote:After a good cut and  more importantly a good wax you should not need to  cut again for years if maintained Tigerbadge. Regular washing and reapplication    of a good  wax maybe 2-3 times a year minimum should keep it looking good. I have used all the 3m products for years and while excellent would not rely solely  on cut and wax.  
      You have done the hard work without resorting to polishers etc so far I believe?   I have recently moved over to Bilt Hamber double speed wax which wins numerous awards. It is a lot cheaper than those strange brews which are infused with unobtanium and  come in a thimble sized tin costing  £500!! Seems to have great shine and staying power but is an absolute **** to apply. It is a hard paste like good old simonize but is clear on application and hard to see where you have done. Costs around £14 on Amazon with good appljcator/removing cloths too.  Wear sunglasses on  application  in this weather or risk going snowblind !

Thanks kaspian, I will give the Bill Hamber a try as my 2 polish’s weren’t cheap

No problem there really is a load of 'guff'  spoken on various forums regarding waxes and most are stupidly priced. I used to favour max wax , a previous award winner. Bought up 6 bottles in a co- op store years ago at £1.50 each in a clearance bin. It went on a dream and a casual flick of a duster removed it leaving a great shine which lasted a good 5 months of constant winter rains.  Of course when it ran out I bought a new bottle of the now improved formula and it was rubbish ! Read the labels many wax polishes contain a cutting compound and fillers to remove lightly oxidised paint and fill light scratches. After doing the hard work you want a good wax not a polish.