Community Forums

Desertboyz · 11-06-2018, 06:17 PM

I'm embarrassed to post this.

Several months ago we had our beautiful, then brand new DS washed. You guessed it. Lousy job, grit or something in their washing mitts. Fly-by-night operation, now gone.

We're left with scratches. While we were at Newmar a few weeks ago we inquired about having things fixed. We were quoted 40 hours @ $129/hr. Yikes! $5,000? No, we didn't have them do it. After we left Nappanee, I emailed the paint manager and asked what their procedure would be. He wrote: "The light scratches come out best with a wool buffing bonnet on an 8” electric buffer. The rubbing compound we use is made by 3M; the product number is 06086. That needs to be followed by an 8” foam pad with WolfGang polish; product # is 8403."

But when we met on Day 1, he mentioned on our walk around a good wax might be enough to make us happy.

We're now in Boulder City, NV. Has anyone had good experience with detailers in the Vegas/Boulder City area? But moreover, how have you dealt with this? NIRVC will open in January. Maybe wait for them to view? Everyone seems to trust them.

Vectraguy · 11-06-2018, 07:17 PM

The clear-coat is nearly the same thing use on a wooden basketball floor, durable and tough. Any decent detail guy with a buffer can get you sorted, and a body shop can also take care of it. Don't let anyone tell you it's a monster issue.

Desertboyz · 11-06-2018, 07:44 PM

Here's the real bummer. We went to Nappanee for warranty paint repair. Some slide edges were flaking, poorly prepared. The wash people said "something" contaminated their mitts. They accepted no responsibility. Newmar took care of the edges during our visit but said the scratches were due to a bad wash.

And here we are.

Carefree · 11-06-2018, 09:27 PM

I just spent two weeks buffing out scratches from our 2016 DSDP. It was a LOT of work. I used the above mentioned 3M product -- nothing really works better, followed by two applications of Rejex. The coach looks better than new now. I worked every day for at least 6 hours using a medium to heavy cutting foam pad on an orbital buffer - in some cases it took two to three applications of the 3M polishing compound to get rid of the scratches.

I don't think a professional detailer could have it done much faster - these things are labor and time intensive.

I actually enjoyed working on the coach.

Betr2Trvl · 11-07-2018, 06:46 AM

Unless you are a highly skilled professional, you have no business or need to use wool pads or a direct drive rotary (like a DeWaldt).

Lots of relevant info in this recent thread (although it starts off with a specific issue) including links to other related threads.... in posts 55 and 56 in particular I focus on polishing.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/wax-...ff-414725.html

Do I believe 40 hours for a full paint correction on an RV? You bet I do given the paint condition I see on many RVs......

And no, a good wax or sealant isn’t going to fix anything. A glaze might hide the imperfections to some degree (a “trick” used by many so called detailers) but it not going to last very long.

Betr2Trvl · 11-07-2018, 07:53 AM

Just one other (kinda snarky) thought....

If the next time you need your coach washed, you are going to let another “Two Schmucks with a Truck RV Detailing” wash it or take it to a truck wash, your just wasting time / effort / money doing any sort of serious paint correction because the paint is going to get mucked up all over again. Maybe just using a “cleaner” wax / sealant or temporarily hiding the imperfections with a glaze type finish would provide a “good enough” solution.

Either you are willing to spend the time and effort and / or money to wash and detail your vehicles properly, and have great paint as a result (which few are willing to do), or you get the results you get otherwise and live with it. Which is why many, if not most RVs (and most cars) look the way they do, and most owners think is simply “normal”......

Desertboyz · 11-07-2018, 08:39 AM

Scolding received (and deserved!)

Terrible lesson learned. Will be ok, having a true professional take care of.

redbaron73 · 11-08-2018, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desertboyz

Scolding received (and deserved!)

Terrible lesson learned. Will be ok, having a true professional take care of.

Hello..met you in Nappanee during my factory delivery.

One thing I would recommend is that you invest in a DI water system and pressure washer. Along with the swobbit lambs wool pad, and several other cleaning items.

I will do a front end wash every driving day, sometimes multiple times. End the day with 303 on the diamond shield.

For full coach wash, I can do it in less than an hour. Using nothing more than Johnsons baby shampoo, a rinse bucket with grit guard, and a wash bucket with grit guard.

For the grit guard, I use the orange leveling pads that I already carry.

Since the water is DI, it dries without streaking or spots.

If you have a helper, the time is cut in half. Key is to keep the coach wet while washing and rinse your pads often. I have 3 heads, and keep one one rinse, one in wash, and rotate frequently.

Doing this on my 2013, I only had the factory scratches until 2017 when I had a professional, that I had used for years for my waxing, use a bad pad on a normal buffer. It left swirl marks that he couldn't fix.

For my 2019 I have decided to spend the big $$ up front for paint correction (factory swirls) and a 7 year warranty ceramic coat.

This will eliminate the semi annual wax job I was doing and I will be the only one washing.

As for wash locations, with the setup I described, you can do it anywhere. I usually do it at walmart's or campgrounds. Most will let you when you let them know it's your water and a pressure washer. Those that dont, I move to a location for washing and return.

If you want more details pm me and I will send you my phone number.

Desertboyz · 11-08-2018, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron73

Hello..met you in Nappanee during my factory delivery.

One thing I would recommend is that you invest in a DI water system and pressure washer. Along with the swobbit lambs wool pad, and several other cleaning items.

We will definitely take care of our own washes from here on out. What brand/model DI water system and pressure washer do you have? Wish we had done this on Day 1

redbaron73 · 11-08-2018, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desertboyz

We will definitely take care of our own washes from here on out. What brand/model DI water system and pressure washer do you have? Wish we had done this on Day 1

on my 2013, I had a cheap AR Blue pressure washer and a On the Go DI system.

For 2019, I am building my own DI setup, and using the Road Wave pressure washer.

Steele · 11-08-2018, 07:43 PM

Hi Randy and Donald,

We have a “Simple Chuck” DI unit if you want to take a look at it.

Lynn

Steele · 11-08-2018, 10:08 PM

Plus, as a special bonus, you can wash our coach to see how well it works!

Lynn

Jabber Jaw · 11-14-2018, 04:10 PM

Help, a "newbie" here....What is a "DI water system", & what PSI pressure washer do you use?
Thanks for teaching a "newbie"! WOW, what a lot to learn!

redbaron73 · 11-14-2018, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jabber Jaw

Help, a "newbie" here....What is a "DI water system", & what PSI pressure washer do you use?
Thanks for teaching a "newbie"! WOW, what a lot to learn!

DI = DeIonized Water.
This means that there are no minerals in the water, or very low. The measurement is referred to as TDS (Total Disovled Solids). You are looking for less than 50mg / liter. Hard water has > 200mg/liter.

With a low value, you do not have to dry your coach, and it will be spot free. This means less physical contact, and less opportunity to damage the paint.

I built my own system, but there are many ready to go systems such as On The Go. A simple system would be a mixed bed system, where you can rinse your coach 10-30 times before changing out the resin. The reason for the variance is it is direclty related to how many solids are in the incoming water.

At home, my well water has 130 TDS, and with fresh resin, I get 2-3 TDS. Once this exceeds 50, I will start to get spots.