Gelcoat protection

[richfaa]

For me the confusion is that Keystone uses the term " Gel coat filon" as the standard finish and the optional finish as..Hi gloss Fiberglass.
I have seen the term used on the forum as "Hi gloss Gel coat" To me that would be the Gel coat filon. I mean we can see the difference..our front and rear cap are, I assume, High Gloss Fiber glass" I think??? and the sides are " gel coat filon' Maybe??? I think we have been mixing up the terms or we do not understand what the differences are. My gel coat filon is high gloss..but not the same as Hi Gloss fiber glass. That is obvious just by looking at it.But I am still not sure what the advantage is one over the other..I can't stand it when I get curious..

[Searchers]

When I asked a Montana District Rep (Charles Wade) about the difference a few years ago he stated that the materials are the same. The smoother glossy finish is an additional layer over the standard Filon. The Filon is flexible enough that it is delivered in rolls, whereas the extra coating requires delivery in flat sheets. Because of the extra coating it's more expensive and more labor intensive to apply.

[David and Jo-Anna]

Rich--Good gracious, and I thought I was ...let's call it "detail oriented." LOL!!!

From one "detail oriented" guy to another, thanks for all the detailed info.

[richfaa]

Those of us that know Charles Wade also know that he knows the product. The problem with asking him a question is that you need to be prepared to hear the answer as it may fall into the ."don't tell me anything I don't want to hear " Category. I asked him about the weight of the gel coat option a long time ago.. @200lbs not the 600 lbs we accepted. Then someone asked him about the dual pane window..designed for noise abatement..has nothing to do with heat or cold.. Woha..lots of folks did not want to hear that..now ..The high gloss finish..another myth busted??? Filon,Gel Coat Filon, High Gloss Fiberglass

http://www.aeromfg.com.au/html/filon_q_a.html http://www.carwash.com/article.asp?IndexID=6636659 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelcoat
https://www.fiberglasswarehouse.com/gelcoats.asp


My front and rear caps is High Gloss Fiberglass..My side panels are Gelcoat Filon...Difference..The high gloss has a extra layer of gloss finish..It is prettier,, it cost more.. Yellowing..with proper care and maint..no problem..

The chances are that if I knew then what I know now i may have went wth the High Gloss Fiberglass..Only because it is prettier..nothing else.

[campbud]

We have seen filon yellowing on the storage doors of SOB rv (dont know if I can mention the name) That is how I could tell they had filon storage doors and gel-coat sides. This is one thing that I did not like about the Montana the storage doors are filon coating and the sides of the slide outs, while the sides are the gel-coat. I thought the whole rv would be gel-coat.

[richfaa]

Filon, Gel coat filon, High Gloss Fiber glass. Three different things and different process. The compartment doors are NOT High Gloss fiber glass. Low end campers will use Filon and they will yellow in time. Higher end campers use Gel coat filon and with proper care and Maint will not yellow, The Montana uses High Gloss fiber glass on the front and rear caps and gel coat filon on the side panels..they offer the optron of High Gloss Fiber glass over all, execpt for the doors, http://www.nappaneewindow.com/produc.../600series.php

[montanaman]

How much extra weight does this add to the Monty? Was it mentioned to you?

[richfaa]

The high gloss FIBERGLASS option adds 200lbs to the average montana.

[Cat320]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

The high gloss FIBERGLASS option adds 200lbs to the average montana.

Correct.

Ignore the 2006 brochure where it is listed as 600...Keystone said that was wrong and changed it.