My Owners manual for our 98 Patriot says coaches were painted one of two ways:
1. Durable polyurethane paint and acrylic urethane clear coat.
2. Some coaches finished with polished gel-coat.

I assume mine is #1 but how do I find out for sure?

Fiberglass Panels are finished with a gel coat and then when they are painted (full body paint) the paint is clear coated as the final step.

The white roof is gel coat, no paint.

Larry

A coach that is finished with a polished gel-coat will be white with decals applied to it for a color accent. I think that this was done on some of the early Monterey's, but all of the 98 Patriots had full body paint.

If you look at almost any trailer or most entry level gas motorhomes, you will see the polished gel-coat with decals as it cost a lot less to produce.

Gerald