chemical cleaners

GGeorge wrote:
I have been an RVer for about 25 years. We have always had a 2nd hand or 3rd hand or even a 4th hand RV and it has always needed a really good cleaning. So I just used the stuff from Walmart that is readily available.

In January of this year the wife and I purchase our first NEW RV. Her only comment was, "It is shinny and new now, make sure it stays that way"

So what kind of wash soap, wax, bug remover, dry wash does the best job? I have a fiberglass roof, sidewalls and aluminum wheels.

Thanks for everyones help.

Use turtlewax car soap.best there is.use simple green for the bugs first(soak em) then wash with soft cloth sponge or brush using TWCS
If the wheels are plastic coated just use TWCS also
If there not coated use any good aluminum wheel cleaner(NO ACID stuff)
I use Wicked wheel polish and its the best there is in my oipinion

CGeorge, DSDP has many good suggestions and practices that I follow too. Learning from my black and red fiberglass boating days I try not to spend money on products promoted for the RV Industry. I buy what ever wash n wax product I can find on sale with good results. It doesn't matter if its Blue Coral, Turtle Wax, Meguiar's etc., they all do a nice job, buy on sale! I also like DSDP's suggestion of the micro fiber mop washer. I am going to trade my brush in for one to use on my extension pole with water. NuFinish worked in the sun and water of my boat, that's what I use on the motor home, $9-$10 a bottle vs. products costing five times that some may propose. I don't use any "black" streak remover products. Wax on a rag takes them right off and re-waxing at the same time. Another believer here of waxing the front end as often as possible to help with bug splatter. Almost before every trip out of the driveway, always clean, never dirty, I'll spray dollar store furniture wax or use a spray auto wax found on sale on the front end. Makes a big difference getting the bugs off. If there is a problem, wet dryer sheets works fantastic with out stripping wax off. As others have posted, 303 Protectant works incredibility well on fiberglass (my go to spray on cleaner/wax to keep my boat from fading in the summer sun)your tires and UV protection, inside the rig on the dash, vinyl, plastic and leather. For heavy duty cleaning needs like pre-season or after an extended road trip Super Clean by Castrol (Oil) in the purple gallon jug is a must have around my garage and laundry room. Works great on greasy stains from butter and cooking oils on clothing. Various dilutions as direct for surface to be cleaned. I use it to clean my awning and fiberglass roof. Also, I will coat my roof after it is cleaned with Mop-N-Glo. There are again more expensive products out there, but two coats of it will do the job for a season easily.

Good Luck with the brand new rig!

"CGeorge"....You'll get all kinds of brand suggestions that work best and they do...if you use them.

I washed all my cars for years with dish soap until I realized it worked well, but was hard on the wax I put on the month before.

So first, find a brand of car wash soap at Walmart or where ever you shop. All of the major wax guys make a soap product. I buy Meguiars car wash soap in a one gallon clear bottle....the soap is gold in color. Again, any brand as long as it's a car wash soap.

My next mistake over the years was washing with the SOFT bristled brushes. My coach was washed before every trip and always looked nice, but I probably waxed it more than I should because I was too rough with it.

I have a brand new coach that I now wash with one of the microfiber pole cleaners. It looks like a mop with bigger threads. Again, Walmart sells these and so does everyone else. About $15.00. I have one at home and one in the coach.

Many use a bucket, dip their scrubber into soapy water and wash their coach. I always found this to be an extra step. I take an old dish soap bottle (the one with the squeeze tip) fill it with the car wash soap and use it to squirt on my scrubber, pole or hand mitt. I wet the coach, squirt the soap on the scrubber and wash about half of one side rinse and do the rest.

Waxing.....My coach gets waxed three or four times a year. A lot of this has to do with your physical ability and how you typically care for your vehicles. Some like liquid, some like spray on and some like paste. They all work, as long as you put them on. Many will come on here and say they use this wax or that wax....it doesn't really matter. Wax or polish will only last for X amount of time depending on where you live and the conditions you drive in. I've got a cupboard full of wax brands I tried. I now just use one until it's gone, throw out the container and move on to the next. I've settled in on Meguiar's paste wax and NuFinsh liquid depending on how motivated I am. They are sold at Walmart.

When you wash your coach, you'll know if the wax is getting tired. If you can't physically do it yourself, often its cheap to have someone come by twice a year and pay to have it done, especially on a new coach.

My final advice, especially if you live where the love bugs are a problem, wax the front end more often. It usually only takes a few minutes because the windshield takes up half the surface. I take about 20 minutes and wax the front end before every trip and the bugs just fall off. Even while on the road, I'll use 303 or Pledge and just hit the front end to keep it clean and bug free.

Again...buy whatever products you want...as long as you use them frequently. Walmart has one of the best selections. Use a soft brush and towel dry. If you don't want to go up on a ladder, wrap your drying towel around a push broom and dry the walls with the broom, rotating the towel around.

I am serious when I say, get ProSol Bugs R Gone hands down! It cleans everything on the camper and it leaves it looking great. I use it on the Rubber roof, awnings, aluminum, fiberglass, wheels, the works. Unfortunately, it is only available on the internet. But it is well worth it. I have been using it for years. I fell in love with it when I saw how easily the bugs came off the front of the Class C. I think the best thing about it is just how safe and effective it has been for me.

We started out using other products, but couldn't find what we had been using and purchased some of the Turtle Wax wash/wax liquid product. DH really likes it. We have aluminum roof and sides and he had previously used Dawn on the roof. He said the Turtlewax product cleaned a lot better with less effort on the roof and that is now what he prefers to use on our entire coach.

Not only do I use Dawn but I use a car wash brush, the kind with the long handle.

And I use those on both my Lexus's and they look fine.

I would never use a dish soap on a car or RV. Try rinsing that stuff off your hands with cold water, really difficult to do. I use something (like mentioned above) designed for auto and RV use. Rinses right off your hands in cold water.

All I have used on my coach for eleven years is a dry wash called The Solution. The full body paint still looks like new.

Effy wrote:

ArchHoagland wrote:
I've been using Dawn dish soap on mine since I bought it new in 2004.

Still looks pretty good and it sits out next to our house in full sun every day.

I've got full body paint and a fiberglass roof.

I was always told dish soap designed to remove grease and break down food was too harsh for automobiles. Did a pretty good job of dulling my camaro I had when I was younger. Had to have it repainted.

Dawn Dish shop will remove wax. In fact it is the recommended product of choice for Zaino users.
"Step 1—STRIP THE OLD WAX
Wash the car, going top to bottom, with Dawn Ultra® liquid detergent.
Thoroughly rinse the car with a pressurized hose and spray nozzle. Make sure all detergent soap is gone. Leave Dawn in the kitchen since you'll never use it again on your car.
Dry completely using only clean, soft, absorbent towels."

ArchHoagland wrote:
I've been using Dawn dish soap on mine since I bought it new in 2004.

Still looks pretty good and it sits out next to our house in full sun every day.

I've got full body paint and a fiberglass roof.

I was always told dish soap designed to remove grease and break down food was too harsh for automobiles. Did a pretty good job of dulling my camaro I had when I was younger. Had to have it repainted.