Exterior Care / Wash & Wax Section

[villain2000]

Just a thought. I spent the last day and a half cleaning the exterior of my tt and was thinking it might be nice to have a place to share ideas about products, techniques, etc., etc.. BTW - love this site. I am here quite a bit and have learned alot. You all do a great job.

[Crabman]

No doubt keeping a large RV is a lot of work, I washed my roof and sides then waxed the sides earlier this Spring. My previous TT had baked in black streaks that were very difficult to remove because the trailer had not been properly washed and waxed over the years by the previous owner. Even black streak remover did not work. It took a lot of elbow grease. Keeping wax on it will make it easy to clean off those dreaded black streaks.

[Seann45]

Mr Clean magic erasers work wonders on black streaks...

[Spike99]

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For my 2006 Jayco, I use Meguires RV/Boat Cleaner & Wax # 50. The items looks like: http://www.autogeek.net/boat-cleaner-wax.html If my local boating stores don't have any remaining bottles, I use Meguires Auto formula instead. Its details are: http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+A1216 IMO, RV/Boat or Auto Cleaner / Auto wax works great. Especially using "wax on / wax off" arm movements. Just like on my autos, this is a manual "wax on / wax off" arm movement wax. Meguires dries white in the hard to get corners (white on white trailer cannot be seen) and I do one side each weekend. At end of 3 weeks, my entire 29' TT is done. During fall months before going into winter storage, I apply the wax as usual and let dry. I do NOT wipe it off. It leaves a white film - which gives better protection during winter storage months. In the spring, I re-wax it, and wipe all wax off in the spring. If wondering, I used to apply Turtle Wax (wax on / wax off method as well) but that stuff dries ugly green in the hard to get corners. Green on white can be seen and looks like $%^.

Meguires works for me. Others use different wax and "spray on" method. I found the combined "wax on / wax off" cleaning and waxing `old school` arm movement method the best. For me, Meguires white in white corners in near invisible.

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For cleaning the Rubber roof, I use Protect-All RV Rubber Roof Cleaner, a bucket and sponges. re: http://www.protectall.com/rrclong.aspx

For treating our Rubber roof (every 6 months), I use Protect-All Rubber Roof Treatment. re: http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-roofs/61311.htm
This year, I'm going to try Magic Boss Rubber Roof Treatment @ http://www.bosstechnology.ca/17-10-e...Treatment.html

Note: Some folks use different brands of roof protection. For example, Magic Boss and Dicor Roof Guard. I hear these products are "good stuff" as well.

If wondering, I do NOT walk on my TT's roof. I remove my shoes, slip on some thick socks, slip on some thick knee pads and "crawl" on my TT's roof. Always keeping near the edge and always ensuring 3 contact points at the same time. Some use a small sheet of plywood - to distribute their body weight even more.

IMO, cleaning / treating an RV roof is like doing cleaning / treatment maintenance on a kitchen floor. For best results, I do it "on all 4s" method, adding manual elbow grease and doing a "close up" visual checks at the same time. And if needed, I apply Dicor self levelling caulking after cleaning (but before treatment is applied as well). Up and Close on all 4's "the old fashion way - for best results.

Note: Some folks don't treat their RV's EDPM roof. It's their choice. For me, I see the positive results of before and after Protect-All Roof Treatment or other products. And, I've seen for myself that Protect-All Treatment Treatment dramatically reduces (near eliminates) black streaks as well. Thus, well worth using - even if only applying a minimum 1 time per year (during yearly roof seam / caulking inspections). Besides visual improvements, I now notice that Dicor (major rubber roof maintenance company) is now recommending "Treatment" on rubber roofs. Another reason to believe that treating rubber roofs is a good thing (in the long run).

Hope this helps others...

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[villain2000]

This is my first year of tt ownership, so I am using the "research online and give it a shot" method. I used a mild laundry detergent to clean the roof. Came out a brilliant clean white. No Stains or mildew. I then treated it with Aerospace 303 Roof treatment. It now has a nice sheen. While up there I clipped some white plastic clothes pins to the ends of each gutter. Then, I went to work on the black streaks with Camco black streak remover. Black streaks now gone, I used some RV Glitter and washed down the enitre tt. I also scrubbed the tires and wheels and treated the tires with tire shine. Then I went to bed, cause I was really tired. Next morning I woke up and had my coffee in the tt and made a list of everything else I needed to get done. Day #2 began with a window cleaning, inside and out. Then I tackled the wax job. I had great results on my vehicles using ICE Spray Wax by Turtle Wax, so I thought, "why not?". Came out great with what I thought was minimal effort. Easy on, easy off and the tt looks like it did the day we picked it up. Maybe even better. I then let out the awning and inspected it for mold or excessive soled spots. All clean and needed nothing. All in all a great weekend spent with the tt sitting in my driveway.

[yddad45]

I have used Camping world black streak remover in the past and it works but on one of our camping trips a fellow camper I was talking to recommended a product called Simple Green for black streaks. You can get at any Walmart and is great priced. It works great and I have used now for a couple of years.

[nylyon]

I try to wash my RV before every trip, and I do need to take better care of the roof. My regiment is to wash the trailer with Dollar Tree's Awesome first. Awesome is by far the very best for removing black streaks. After removing all the dirt and black with Awesome, I follow that up with a wash / wax combination such as Meguiars wash and wax. That will usually make the camper look fantastic and super clean. Then twice a year I use Meguiars wax. I haven't tried the boat / rv and will need to do so. With my new Jayco I think that I'll pay extra attention to cleaning the roof to prevent the black to begin with.

[jamoke]

Originally Posted by villain2000

Then I tackled the wax job. I had great results on my vehicles using ICE Spray Wax by Turtle Wax, so I thought, "why not?". Came out great with what I thought was minimal effort. Easy on, easy off and the tt looks like it did the day we picked it up. Maybe even better.

+1

I use Turtle Wax ICE on my tow vehicle with excellent results. Easy on, easy off. I would expect the same excellent results on the trailer and will be trying this for sure later this summer.

[knuts1]

I just picked up my x17z this last week. I was planing on using http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G7014J to wax it but was thinking of using a power buffer to buff it out. Does anyone else use one of these on there TT?

Thanks
Bill

[villain2000]

^^Traditional paste waxes are great, but I have to say, I am really impressed by the tech that goes into these spray waxes. Now, granted, my tt is on the smaller side, but I was able to wax the whole thing in a little over an hour. Spray it in a 3x3 area, wipe it with a mf towel, turn the towel and buff lightly a couple of passes and done. The stuff does seem to last pretty well too, as evidenced on my vehicles that see alot of road time. If you havent tried it, pick up a bottle and see. I plan on doing mine twice a year.

[cekkk]

While camping last week a neighbor camper I was talking with noticed the bugs we collected on our thousand mile trip home from our dealer and said he applies baby oil to the front of the unti after washing it. It collects dust but dirt and bugs slide right off. Sounds right and I think it's worth a try.

[villain2000]

Originally Posted by cekkk+

While camping last week a neighbor camper I was talking with noticed the bugs we collected on our thousand mile trip home from our dealer and said he applies baby oil to the front of the unti after washing it. It collects dust but dirt and bugs slide right off. Sounds right and I think it's worth a try.

Will help keep the bugs off and you'll add a pleasant scent to every neighborhood you drive through.

[Denise]

Has anyone used Rain-X wash and Carnuba wax on their aluminum siding? If Rain-X works well on windows, I'm wondering how it will do on the exterior of our tt ?

[rodro123]

Originally Posted by healthi

Has anyone used Rain-X wash and Carnuba wax on their aluminum siding? If Rain-X works well on windows, I'm wondering how it will do on the exterior of our tt ?

Carnuba is great on my truck and cars but don't like reapplying every 3 weeks, on the camper I use Meguiar's tech wax only apply twice a year and bugs slide off the front.

[tbwill]

Originally Posted by knuts1

I just picked up my x17z this last week. I was planing on using http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G7014J to wax it but was thinking of using a power buffer to buff it out. Does anyone else use one of these on there TT?

Thanks
Bill

I just waxed my Starcraft 175RK (Jayco 17C twin) with this Meguiars product: http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+FLAG+16. I used a Porter Cable Orbital Polisher with a black foam pad to apply the wax and then removed it by hand. It came out very shiny and smooth. The large flat surfaces of the trailer are ideal for using a power polisher. The various colors of foam pads have different cutting/polishing properties. I usually use a green or blue pad for polishing/cleaning and then follow up with a black pad for the glaze or wax when taking care of my cars. I purchased the polisher, pads and some of my polishes and wax from detailers domain.com. If you get on their email list they periodically send out discount codes.