Walbernize, or ... ?

[WhereStream]

We've not yet waxed our 2017 19-footer, so that's on the list for this spring, as soon as the pollen has done its thing (here in the Deep South, the pollen is a season unto itself).

Question is, what to use?

I've heard of Walbernize, but it is not clear which version I should be using.

Owner's manual suggests any car wax will do the job.

So ... what are people using?

[ROBERT CROSS]

I used the walberstuff a few times, looked ok, was easy to apply but was also easy for Mother Nature to remove.

Have been using Griot's Paint Sealer, or Polymer Wax ever since. 👍

Bob
🇺🇸

17yrs and counting...

[Ultraclassic]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

I used the walberstuff a few times, looked ok, was easy to apply but was also easy for Mother Nature to remove.

Have been using Griot's Paint Sealer, or Polymer Wax ever since. [emoji106]

Bob
[emoji631]

17yrs and counting...

U Bob, part numbers? I checked and there are a few different types

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Ultraclassic

U Bob, part numbers? I checked and there are a few different types

The
One Step is great for sealing, shine and good for minor blemish removal.

The Polymer Wax is not quite as long lasting, with less blemish removal but a bit more shine.

Both easy to apply by hand or using a foam pad on a random orbital, removing by hand with a microfiber cloth.

I have found all their stuff tube first rate...👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[Ultraclassic]

Thanks Bob
Regards Ultra

[Burnside Bob]

Hi.

My trailer has a damaged finish (looks hazy in places) and, in the hopes of finding a product that makes it look good while minimizing elbow grease, I have run experiments doing side-by-side product comparisons. While I have not used the Griot's products Bob Cross recommends, my product trials confirm his statements that Walbernize doesn't hold up and that the polymerized products last longer.

In my most recent trial, done January of 2020, The products, in decreasing order of how long they kept the trailer looking good, were:

1) Aerospace Protectant 303
2) Mequiar's Polymer Sealant 20
3) Nu Finish The Once A Year Car Polish
4) Zymol Cleaner Wax
5) Turtle Carnauba Paste Cleaner Wax
6) Walbernize RV Super Seal

My trailer sits outside, and within one week the Turtle Wax and Walbernize squares looked like the control. At the end of five weeks even the Aerospace Protectant square looked like the control. Today the trailer looks like no products were applied to it, except where I failed to buff off residue.

Ambient conditions, namely light, heat, UV radiation, rain, dew break down anything you put on your trailer. Polymerized products last longer because they are long chain molecules which don't volatilize as readily. Modern Polymer Sealants are formulated to bond to the clear coat, so the conventional wisdom is you put on a polymer sealant first, followed by whatever wax-like product that gives the depth of shine you like.

From past product trials on my trailer I knew Aerospace Protectant and Mequiar's Polymer Sealant were the most effective products. There has been a big debate in detailing circles about applying sealant over polish versus polish over sealant. When I returned from a 30 day trip to the desert SW at the end of October I washed and dried the trailer and, being a contrarian, applied, first, Aerospace 303 followed by Polymer Sealant, a combination I had not previously tried. By the end of December the trailer looked like it had not been treated, triggering the latest iteration of my sealer/wax experiment to include Zymol and Nu Finish--products not previously trialed.

Based on my experience, I would lean towards a polymer sealant. Walbernize is the least effective product I've trialed and I've never understood why people speak of it like its a gift from the gods.

Burnside

[link2dks]

"I used the walberstuff a few times, looked ok, was easy to apply but was also easy for Mother Nature to remove.

Have been using Griot's Paint Sealer, or Polymer Wax ever since. ��"

Agree, I've been using Griot's Sealer. Lasts much longer than Walbernize RV Super Seal for me.

Dave S

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by WhereStream

We've not yet waxed our 2017 19-footer, so that's on the list for this spring, as soon as the pollen has done its thing (here in the Deep South, the pollen is a season unto itself).

Question is, what to use?
I've heard of Walbernize, but it is not clear which version I should be using.

Owner's manual suggests any car wax will do the job.
So ... what are people using?

I use the one step RV Super Seal, for autos, RVs and boats. Don't use it on the stainless steel rock guards. I use stainless steel polish for those.

[WhereStream]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

17yrs and counting...

Looking good!

[WhereStream]

Originally Posted by Burnside Bob

Hi.

My trailer has a damaged finish (looks hazy in places) and, in the hopes of finding a product that makes it look good while minimizing elbow grease, I have run experiments doing side-by-side product comparisons. While I have not used the Griot's products Bob Cross recommends, my product trials confirm his statements that Walbernize doesn't hold up and that the polymerized products last longer.

In my most recent trial, done January of 2020, The products, in decreasing order of how long they kept the trailer looking good, were:

1) Aerospace Protectant 303
2) Mequiar's Polymer Sealant 20
3) Nu Finish The Once A Year Car Polish
4) Zymol Cleaner Wax
5) Turtle Carnauba Paste Cleaner Wax
6) Walbernize RV Super Seal

...

Based on my experience, I would lean towards a polymer sealant. Walbernize is the least effective product I've trialed and I've never understood why people speak of it like its a gift from the gods.

Burnside

Glad I asked!

This is great info, Burnside. Thanks for doing to test and for sharing the results.

[PatLee]

Burnside - just to clarify - you recommend using the polymer sealant FIRST, and the Aerospace 303 SECOND, right?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by PatLee

Burnside - just to clarify - you recommend using the polymer sealant FIRST, and the Aerospace 303 SECOND, right?

I can't speak for BS...but I don't see the benefit.

303 works best on....

"303® Products developed the world’s first UV-screening treatment. 303® sets the industry standard for UV protection on virtually any surface. 303® Protectant was created for the aviation/aerospace industry to protect rubber and plastics against UV and ozone degradation.

303® specialised cleaning and protection products are designed and formulated to be used on a wide-range of surfaces including all rubber, vinyl, plastic, fabric and leather materials."
==============================

Although the Alcoa coating is a polymer base product so are most of the sealers on the market...why not just do it twice with the same product.

Use the 303 on all the other stuff that needs UV protection...tires incl.👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[BTCMUSN]

Walbernize RV Super Seal on the aluminum
Shiela Shine stainless cleaner on the rock guards (do not use Walbernize on rock guards)

[Burnside Bob]

To clarify, whether to apply a polymer sealant before a wax like product or vice versa is a long standing, heated debate on detailing bulletin boards. Kinda like what's the best tow vehicle, best trailer tire, or best hitch, if you know what I mean. Everybody has their pet issues and that's one for the detailers.

The rational explanation I've seen for which to apply first is that polymer sealants are formulated to bond to clear coats. One way to look at it is that wax like products have a shorter effective life, so applying a polymer sealant over a wax like product limits the the sealant's life to what it is applied over. Since the whole point of a polymer sealant is to achieve longer treatment life, applying the sealant second is counter productive, although you can find lots of folks to argue with you on that point.

Now in my post, I said I did the reverse, as a contrarian. I put the Aerospace Protectant 303 on first and then the sealant. What I was hoping to accomplish was to lock in the Aerospace Protectant into the pores of my trailer's damaged finish by sealing it with a layer of polymer. Now, according to label specs for the polymer, that theoretically would have my trailer properly treated for about six months. But as I noted, after two months, my trailer looked like I hadn't been nice to it. At all.

Now why did I put the Aerospace Protectant on before the Polymer Sealant? Well, two reasons. I had previously gone the recommended route--polymer sealant first and Aerospace 303 second, without any appreciable benefit beyond using just one or the other. And two, Aerospace Protectant 303 is the most effective product I've found so far for hiding the haze in my clear coat.

Now I'm a curious guy, and if I've got a box of different sealers and waxes, I'll give 'em a side by side test, and to heck with the marketing claims, lets see what happens in my driveway, if not the real world. While I have intended to start a thread, with lots of glossy photos with arrows and captions, to discuss this, I've yet to find a real dynamite-sure-fire-this-works-guys product yet, so I'm still in the research phase.

To be sure, there are lots of products to try and, reading the detailers bulletin boards, you can really get sucked into some of the spiels. However, many of these products are extremely expensive, as in tens to hundreds of dollars for a small bottle, and here context is important. Careful parsing reveals these threads about the wiz-bang super products are talking about finishes for concourse show cars, not travel trailers or daily drivers.

And then there are other treatments, like ceramic coatings, which appear effective, long lived, and uber expensive, as in thousands to treat an Airstream, although there is a thread here on Air Forums by someone who did exactly that.

To return to the original post's question, I would use a polymer sealant over Walbernize because its long chain molecule formulation will give good results for a longer time. If you have a trailer with a great like-new finish, and were given a bottle of Walbernize when you picked up your baby, well, use it. Walbernize doesn't last as long as a polymer sealant but it does protect your trailer's finish.

Ultimately, I need to strip and re-clearcoat my trailer. But I keep hoping to find a miracle product--Kinda Like Ponce de Leon looking for the fountain of youth.

Dream on!

Burnside

[Joe15601]

I had a 2009 International 23D that I used many products on. Most notably Walbernize, Collinite Insulator Wax and Meguiar's Polymer Sealant 20. The Meguiar's Polymer Sealant 20 was the best in both appearance and in durability.

Now we purchased a 2020 Globetrotter 27. It is indoors for the winter and we have been applying Glare Professional Plus Polish. We have been following the procedures on the bottle for the initial coat. Using a random orbital I buff it in until it is hardly noticeable then wipe off. Then a second coat is applied with the random orbital, let on to dry for 15 minutes and wiped off. I am applying it to the Aluminum, glass and plastics. It looks and feels amazing and I expect to get the entire season out of the coating here in Pennsylvania . With the initial application I am on my second bottle of Glare and still have the roof left to do. If I had only been doing one coat a bottle would have been enough. Annual follow-ups will be a single coat. I am also planning to do the shower, and might experiment with the counter in the galley.

My cars are ceramic coated and I thought about having the Globetrotter done. My wife convinced me that by applying something ourselves it gives us a chance to look over the camper real good between seasons. Glare claims to be Glassplexin which is not a wax or polymer. It seems to be closer to a ceramic coating than a wax. Time will tell and I don't expect it to last years like the professionally applied ceramic coatings on my cars, but I do expect it to exceed anything I used on my last Airstream.

I have read that it is not advised to go back and forth between Glare and Walbernize. It seems like once you use Glare you should continue to use it. I don't know how any of the ceramic coating toppers like GTechniq C2V3 would interact with it, but would be interested to find out.

[WhereStream]

Originally Posted by Joe15601

My cars are ceramic coated and I thought about having the Globetrotter done.

What does this mean, ceramic coated?

[JonDNC]

Originally Posted by WhereStream

What does this mean, ceramic coated?

It’s a sealant for paint. See below for details


https://avalonking.com/blog/the-trut...amic-coatings/

[ROBERT CROSS]

Another means of separating the uninformed from their money? 🤔

If you don't like taking care of the AS it may be just the ticket.
Is there any real benefit of adding a coating on top of a surface that is already coated?🤓

Cost...$1800-2000 for an SUV, for an AS?
Or DIY for ??? results.

I am happy with what I have been doing on "Cloudsplitter" for the last 17yrs.👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[JonDNC]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Another means of separating the uninformed from their money? [emoji848]



If you don't like taking care of the AS it may be just the ticket.

Is there any real benefit of adding a coating on top of a surface that is already coated?[emoji851]



Cost...$1800-2000 for an SUV, for an AS?

Or DIY for ??? results.



I am happy with what I have been doing on "Cloudsplitter" for the last 17yrs.[emoji106]



Bob

[emoji631]

Would not say that, I’ve ceramic coated two vehicles my wife’s SUV and my F350. Both cars are kept outside and it offers superior long term results. Instead of every 6 months it’s every 5 years. Great look result and performance. Would I do the airstream? Not sure about that but been thinking about it.

[Joe15601]

I got my cars ceramic coated with a 10 year warranty. The water always beads on them, debris such as bugs and tar are easily removed and every time I wash them they look like they have been professionally detailed. There is no need to wax them either. The good stuff works, whether it is something you would like is up to you.

I chose against having the Airstream done for the reason i stated previously, but Glare (which is sold at Jackson Center) seems to split the difference between waxing and coating. It is just more time consuming on the initial coat.

Before knocking ceramic coating, try finding someone that had a proper job with a quality product professionally applied that was not happy. I have been quite pleased with GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra.

I did keep the last Airstream looking good by waxing once or twice a year. Ultimately using Meguiar's Polymer Sealant 20. Campers with much newer SOBs would be shocked when I told them mine was ten years old, but I am always looking for continuous improvement.