How to Remove Yellowing from Exterior RV Plastic Trim, Compartment Doors, and Fixtures
7/11/2025
by Thomas Godwin
To remove yellowing from RV plastic, returning the exterior to its former, lustrous shine, you’ll have to reach deep into your DIY toolbag and exercise a bit of patience. Time is the great enemy, and ironically, it will take time to reverse years of UV, weather, and chemical damage to your RV.
Time, along with a few tools and products, via one of the four methods listed below. Whether you’re working against deep degradation or just polishing off the beginnings of the yellowing effect, the restoration effort will result in an eye-turning effect.
Done correctly, even a restoration effort on an ancient RV will yield more than positive results. There are 1950s Spartan Royal Mansions out there that look stunning—far better than the brand-new stuff. So, let’s see what can be done with four distinct restoration methods, and go from there.
Understanding Why RV Plastics Yellow
Generally speaking, there are five primary causes behind exterior degradation and the “yellowing” effect. It’s not enough to simply remove yellowing from RV plastics without knowing the underlying causes, avoiding them like the plague in the future.
UV Radiation and Photo-Oxidation: Prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays is the number one cause of yellowing. UV triggers photo-oxidation, a chemical reaction between the plastic and oxygen. Trim, vents, and light fixtures are the most vulnerable.
Chemical Additives in Plastics: ABS is the worst culprit, containing bromine-based flame retardants that react and migrate to the surface when exposed to UV light.
Environmental Factors: Heat, humidity, moisture, and air pollutants can settle into the plastics or promote oxidation.
Material Susceptibility: Exterior components are typically ABS, PVC, or fiberglass (or combinations), each with its own degree of UV resistance.
Time: The internal structure of plastic simply degrades over time, regardless of exposure to any single thing. Additionally, friction and transfer from handling will have a yellowing effect over time.
In most cases, you have every one of these five causes affecting the RV throughout its lifespan. It can’t escape its material construction, usage throughout the years, or exposure to sunlight. However, RVers can minimize, reverse, and even negate the damage through preventative maintenance measures.
Assessing the Condition of Your RV’s Plastic Components
To remove yellowing from RV plastic features the right way, you need to assess whether or not the yellowing is mostly superficial, or far deeper, necessitating replacement.
Now, obviously, we don’t want to go replacing the entire skin of the RV. But if the yellowing is deep enough to cause brittleness and cracking, it’s a sign that it’s reached the point of no return.
Inspect for Visible Yellowing or Discoloration: Probably the most obvious part of your assessment. A bright, LED flashlight helps, even when inspecting in the daytime.
Focus Areas: Exterior components with high UV exposure, such as roof vents, skylights, trim along the RV’s upper edges, compartment doors on the RV’s exterior, light fixtures, and handles.
Check for Surface Texture Changes: Areas with a rough, chalky, or brittle feel, especially textured plastics or high-use parts, like handles and the doors they open. Use your hand or a microfiber cloth (it tends to catch and feel different when wiped over damaged areas.
Assess for Brittleness or Cracks: Cracks aren’t always readily visible. Press gently on the surface and listen for popping or cracking noises.
A wipe test is a good way of measuring damage and providing you with focus points in your effort to remove yellowing from RV plastic. Start with a damp, microfiber cloth (water and mild detergent) and gently wipe small sections of yellow plastic. If the yellowing diminishes, you’ll know it’s mostly surface-level. Persistent yellowing indicates deeper damage.
Tips for Identifying Typically Shaded Areas
Check for consistent color, moving from areas of the RV that receive the most sunlight to areas that are typically shaded. Making the comparison between the two helps establish a baseline for the original color.
This is where the LED flashlight really helps. It highlights the yellowed areas and helps identify the base color versus the degree of yellowing in damaged areas. You also need to make sure you’re not mistakenly identifying dirt and smudges from years of handling with UV yellowing damage.
Tools and Materials Needed for Restoration
We’re going to get into the process to remove RV yellowing here in a minute, but you should have at least a general idea of the necessary tools first. The emphasis is on the variability. There are four different methods listed below; the degree of damage to the RV also dictates the necessary tools.
Cleaning Supplies: Mild detergent, microfiber cloths, soft-bristle brushes, buckets.
Restoration Products: Hydrogen peroxide (12% solution or cream), automotive plastic restorers (e.g., Cerakote, Solution Finish), or sanding materials (400–1200 grit sandpaper).
Protective Gear: Gloves, safety glasses, masks for chemical use.
Optional Tools: Heat gun (for specific methods), UV protectant sprays, polishing compounds.
Where to Buy
You will find most of this stuff at local retailers in your area, unless you live on top of a mountain a hundred miles away from civilization. However, be advised that it’s best to stick with premium, well-reviewed products. You don’t want to end up doing more superficial damage than already exists.
Local RV Dealerships and Repair Shops: This should go without saying. Dealerships often sell more than just RVs. They sell maintenance products and can provide a wealth of information on brand-name specific components to maximize quality.
RecPro: Specializes in RV parts and accessories, including cleaning and restoration products for plastics and fiberglass.
RV Parts Center: Stocks RV-specific cleaning and restoration supplies, including brushes, polishes, and protective sprays.
AutoZone: Not everyone’s favorite store, but typically carries plastic restorers, polishing compounds, and sandpaper.
O’Reilly Auto Parts: Pretty much the same as AutoZone, and we can throw in Advance Auto here as well.
Hardware Stores: Includes well-known places like Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Ace, but also local hardware stores.
Online Retailers: Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Poliglow are all good online retailers for purchasing cleaning, polishing, and repair products. Just take your time and thoroughly consider the number of user reviews and what they say about the product.
Beauty Supply Stores: Huh? Yeah, it may seem weird at first, but your RV needs makeup, too. Makeup, in this case, is actually a bleaching agent, otherwise known as high-strength hydrogen peroxide.
You can’t remove RV yellowing without the proper tools and products. Fortunately, there are a ton of options out there, whether you prefer ordering online (maybe as a Prime member) or in-store shopping.
Step-by-Step Restoration Methods
Alright, here we are—the crux of the entire article. Now, keep in mind that there are four different methods here. Some RVers may need just one to remove RV yellowing properly. Some may need to combine the various methods here to get the most out of it.
Method 1: Cleaning and Degreasing
If the wipe test reveals only surface yellowing, nothing more than a cleaning and degreasing effort is in order. Most RVers are more than comfortable with the process of washing and drying their RVs. For the newbies, it’s an extensive job but fairly simple in terms of the process.
You don’t need to break out the abrasive pads just yet. Stick with a soft bristle brush for all of the textured surfaces, frequently exposed to the least exposed. Rinse and dry everything thoroughly.
Now, one of two things will happen. All the yellowing goes away, and you’re good to go, time to head off to your competitive napping session. Or, some yellow remains. If the latter, you’ll know where the true damage is and be ready to take the next step.
Method 2: Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment
You probably didn’t have “hydrogen peroxide” and “remove RV yellowing” together on your bingo card this morning, but hydrogen peroxide is surprisingly useful as a cleaner and restorer. It’s a bleaching agent, albeit far less potent than standard bleach.
Salon-grade hydrogen peroxide is the most potent you will find, hence the salon suggestion for places to purchase products to remove RV yellowing. Salon-grade is typically labeled “40 Volume Clear Developer.” Liquid peroxide flows easily into textured surfaces and is a widely available cleaning/bleaching agent.
Apply 12% hydrogen peroxide (or cream-based versions) to yellowed areas.
Cover with plastic wrap to prevent evaporation and let sit for 4–8 hours in sunlight (UV activates the process).
Wipe clean and rinse; repeat if needed for stubborn yellowing.
Safety precautions: Ensure proper ventilation, wear gloves, and avoid skin contact.
As a bleach, it does need some time to sit, especially in direct sunlight. The best time to apply it is in the early morning hours, on a day with no adverse weather conditions moving into the area.
Method 3: Sanding and Polishing
For the most part, yellowing is a surface matter, meaning there are degrees of penetration, but in most cases, not as deep as you think. However, if it’s deep enough, a simple cleaning or even hydrogen peroxide applications may not be enough. It’s time to step up the effort.
Tools and Materials Needed
Wet Sanding Supplies: Fine-grit, wet sandpaper (400, 600, 800, 1,000, and 1,200-grit), spray bottle or bucket of water (distilled water preferred), mild detergent, and microfiber cloths or sponges for wiping.
Polishing Supplies: Plastic polishing compound, foam applicator pads or soft microfiber cloths, dual-action polisher or drill with polishing pads (for faster results).
Protective Gear: Nitrile gloves, safety glasses, and a dust mask.
Optional: UV protectant spray (not to remove RV yellowing, but to future-proof it), painter’s tape, and plastic sheeting to protect surrounding RV surfaces.
Process
Hopefully, this is a spot project and not blanket coverage. The process is simple: Clean the area thoroughly. Use the sandpaper or sander to hit the areas with deep yellowing. Thoroughly clean and wipe down the area you sanded. Follow up with restorative polish to bring back the original gleam and luster.
The key is to avoid oversanding each area and avoid overdoing the polish (to prevent build-up). Avoid polishing unsanded areas of the RV and avoid using automotive polishes meant for paint, as they may be too abrasive for plastics.
When you apply a sander, keep it flat and level, allowing the grit to do the work, not pressing down onto the underlying material. Just let it sand briefly, raise the sander off the exterior, wipe, check, and reapply if necessary.
When you’re all set, the last piece of the puzzle is the application of UV protectant. No, this won’t remove yellowing, but it will protect your RV from yellowing in the future.
Method 4: Commercial Plastic Restorers
Commercial plastic restorers are products designed to revive faded, yellowed, or otherwise oxidized plastics to their original luster (ABS, PVC, and vinyl). It penetrates the surface, restores color, and adds a layer of UV protection.
The oils, polymers, and ceramic compounds in a standard, commercial plastic restorer hydrate the plastic. They don’t necessarily remove yellowing from RV plastic so much as they mask RV yellowing beneath a veneer of a more appealing aesthetic.
Cerakote, Solution Finish, Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer, and Torque Detail Plastic Restorer are common products used for this kind of work.
Thoroughly inspect each area before applying.
Work in the shade to avoid rapid drying.
Mix water and a mild detergent in a bucket.
Lightly scrub the affected area with water/soap using a soft-bristle brush.
Rinse and dry.
Read the product application instructions.
Apply a small amount in a test area (somewhere out of view) to test the look and result.
Spread a thin, even layer over the plastic in a circular motion (for liquid sprayers, lightly coat the area with spray and spread with a microfiber cloth).
Allow to sit for the recommended time.
Buff off the excess using a microfiber cloth or a soft brush for recessed areas.
Apply additional coats if necessary.
Make sure you use painter’s tape to mask off areas like decals or sections of the RV exterior that don’t need any restoring agents. Be sure to match the restoring product to your needs. Read reviews, ask questions, and carefully select the product. Last but not least, don’t skip the prep routine. Clean and dry appropriately before you get started.
Preventing Future Yellowing
After all the work trying to remove RV yellowing, the last thing you need is a return to the original status quo. It may not be something you want to fool with (we all have our own, busy little lives), but you’ll be out there repeating the process in the future if you don’t.
Preventive maintenance solves 99.9% of all major RV problems, in terms of components that are not faulty due to manufacturing.
Apply UV protectant sprays or sealants (such as 303 Aerospace Protectant) regularly.
Store RV in shaded areas or use covers to minimize sun exposure.
Clean exterior routinely to prevent dirt buildup, which accelerates yellowing.
Consider painting plastics with UV-resistant paint for long-term protection (if restoration isn’t enough).
As I repeat in various articles on this platform and others, “take care of your RV, and it will take care of you.” I say it because it’s true. You’ll never know the amount of money you’re saving through preventative maintenance. But trust me, none of us probably wants to know because it’s likely an extensive amount!
Conclusion
It takes a bit of time and effort to remove yellowing from RV plastic, but it’s ultimately worth it. The degree of rot and degradation always works its way in, compounding issues in an agonizingly slow domino effect. It’s agonizing because, in the vast majority of examples, it could have been prevented.
But, in case it wasn’t preventable or you just didn’t know, now you have the best methods for restoring your RV to its original, head-turning vibes. Just take your time, and that surface will be gleaming before you know it.
Any questions, concerns, or additional points you’d like to offer? Let us know in the comments!
If you would like to reserve a stay with us and enjoy the Williamston, Greenville, Washington and Eastern NC area please give us a call 252-943-1699 or visit our website: Treeside RV Park
To reserve a spot, give us a call 252-943-1699