Community Forums

1killowatt · 10-14-2021, 08:16 PM

I will be purchasing a used Winnebago Motor Home with full body paint. I do not want to damage it by using the wrong cleaner.
Any help is appreciated.

cruizerEd · 10-15-2021, 07:52 AM

Let's start from the top down.

First make sure all of you sealants are in good shape especially the sealant that holds the roof radius down.

Check out this video

. Fixing any of this will make a mess so do it first.

Wash your roof with a good car wash, the type that doesn't remove wax. If you want to strip the whole coach down and start from scratch you can wash the whole thing with a strong detergent. Wash all the sealants, covers, shylights etc.

Does your roof have a good wax/seal or is it oxidized (white stuff on your fingers when you wipe it.)
If it has a good wax seal than you will maintain it going forward with "]Meguiars ultimate polish as needed. If it doesn't need polishing (no stains or oxidation) you can just wax with Meguiars marine wax.

If it is oxidized you'll need to polish it. 3M marine one step polish is very good but very hard to do by hand. Also none of the "one steps" are one step. If it is really chalky you might have to us the 3m product. If it isn't to bad and going forward I find Meguiars ultimate polish easier to use by hand and very effective

Now that your roof is clean and waxed you can work on the side walls and wont mess them up working on your roof.

Are the sidewalls fairly clean and don't have stains or mineral deposits
If there are stains and mineral deposits and you want to get rid of them you'll want to do a stripping deterrent wash. A vinegar wash. polish and a wax. Use the same polish as the roof. For the wax use Meguiar's Ultimate marine wax (liquid)

You will only need to do the strip, vinegar wash and polish. once unless you get sprayed by a sprinkler system or use bad water to wash the coach.

Once you have the sidewalls in good shape you can wash with car wash or my prefered method is Aero wash/Wax all. You can get away with just the wash/wax all for a year or two but eventually you're going to need to wash with carwash and water and put on another coat of the marine liquid polish.

Easy peasy ;-)

FIRE UP · 10-15-2021, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1killowatt

I will be purchasing a used Winnebago Motor Home with full body paint. I do not want to damage it by using the wrong cleaner.
Any help is appreciated.

Well,
You don't say what year, model of Winne you're aiming at. Not that it matters a ton but, is it used, new, what? In any case, the paint on them is not delicate, by any means. It's PAINT, PERIOD. Now, that doesn't mean you can use a wire brush on it to clean it. It's Paint. We have an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the CAT C-7 330HP which is now over 17 years old and has 100,800 miles on it. I have washed this coach with soap and water and some form of a soft brush no less than probably around 25-30 times or so. It has been hand waxed at least 6-8 times. This coach looks as good today as the day we bought it.

The paint that's used on Winnes is quality paint. And, it's STRONG paint. Don't overthink this. Use clean soft brushes with lots of water and soap when it's dirty. Rinse and dry, using good microfiber towels. Or better yet, use deionized water and you don't have to dry it at all. It will dry completely SPOTLESS, glass, chrome, paint and all.
Scott

Spadman · 10-26-2021, 05:18 PM

How about Blue Beacon Truck/RV wash places? Are they harmful to Winnebago full body paint?

weirba · 10-26-2021, 05:49 PM

We have been full timing for over 5 years with full body paint on every rig we have had. and agree with CruizerEd. Aero waterless wash and wax is fantastic. The trick is to get base coat of a high quality synthetic paint sealer type wax, Not an organic car wax like carnuba. I have not washed my coach for 2-3 years, I only use the waterless wash/wax. As for Truck washes, like Blue Beacon, you need to be careful of the brushes they use. The full body paint on RV's looks great, but the finish is not baked like on a car/truck so scratches much easier and the guys at Blue Beacon will not understand that difference. I understand that you can request they not use brushes.

Hikerdogs · 10-27-2021, 06:33 AM

I don't think you're going to damage the paint if you use any car wash soap or soap/wax. In 2013 we took our brand new 2013 Adventurer to Alaska. On the way there and back were literally hundreds of miles of road construction in both the US and Canada.

By the time we got home it was covered front to back and top to bottom with road tar and other debris. I called the Winnebago contractor (CDI) and asked what should be used to remove the tar without damaging the paint. I was told to use Mineral Spirits.

I wiped down the entire motorhome with it and removed all the tar. It took nearly 2 gallons of mineral spirits and a huge pile of disposable cotton cloths. The job took nearly 3 days There was no damage to the paint. The only caution I was given is to be sure the paint is at least 6 months old before washing it with the mineral spirits.

The motorhome left the factory in February of 2013 and I washed it with the mineral spirits in September of 2013.

I still occasionally remove tar spots with mineral spirits. Hopefully I won't have to repeat the full body wipe down.

BrokeDown · 10-27-2021, 06:45 AM

I have a detailer come in and do mine. $450 to wash and wax for a 45'er is OK with me. I use the same guys that the Prevost Marathon owners in our resort use. They do good work...

-B

mr.tommy · 10-27-2021, 07:32 AM

I have collected a lot of really good YT videos that show you how to care for your RV. Whether your RV is full body paint or not washing it correctly and safely is the same. I'll give you two links here. How to wash and protect and how care for your fiberglass roof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KmgneT3HPs&t=192s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H00oNtbvtrk&t=538s

Spadman · 10-28-2021, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

I don't think you're going to damage the paint if you use any car wash soap or soap/wax. In 2013 we took our brand new 2013 Adventurer to Alaska. On the way there and back were literally hundreds of miles of road construction in both the US and Canada.

By the time we got home it was covered front to back and top to bottom with road tar and other debris. I called the Winnebago contractor (CDI) and asked what should be used to remove the tar without damaging the paint. I was told to use Mineral Spirits.

I wiped down the entire motorhome with it and removed all the tar. It took nearly 2 gallons of mineral spirits and a huge pile of disposable cotton cloths. The job took nearly 3 days There was no damage to the paint. The only caution I was given is to be sure the paint is at least 6 months old before washing it with the mineral spirits.

The motorhome left the factory in February of 2013 and I washed it with the mineral spirits in September of 2013.

I still occasionally remove tar spots with mineral spirits. Hopefully I won't have to repeat the full body wipe down.

We also have a 2013 Adventurer (37F) which we bought used in Jan 2017 when it had 16,000 miles. The front of the coach is covered with bug smashes and other stuff and, on the recommendation of a friend who flies his own plane, I bought some stuff designed to remove bug smashes from the leading edges of aircraft wings. Well, it didn't work on my Adventurer.

Any suggestions other than replacing the clear plastic film that is attached on the front of the coach?

mr.tommy · 11-01-2021, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spadman

Any suggestions other than replacing the clear plastic film that is attached on the front of the coach?

Ya, take your dual action polisher with some Meguiar's Ultimate polish and polish the front end out. Then going forward, protect the front and windshield with either RejeX or RaineX which makes removing bugs a breeze. Just don't let your coach sit out in the sun and bake them in. Gently wash the front of the coach when you arrive at your destination.

Hikerdogs · 11-06-2021, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spadman

We also have a 2013 Adventurer (37F) which we bought used in Jan 2017 when it had 16,000 miles. The front of the coach is covered with bug smashes and other stuff and, on the recommendation of a friend who flies his own plane, I bought some stuff designed to remove bug smashes from the leading edges of aircraft wings. Well, it didn't work on my Adventurer.

Any suggestions other than replacing the clear plastic film that is attached on the front of the coach?

We've been using LA Awsome cleaner to dissolve the bug residue since we got the coach new in 2013. It dissolves the protein in the bug goo and makes it much easier to remove them.

We were first alerted to the product at a seminar at GNR in 2010. We tried it on our 2001 Adventurer and it worked great. The only caution is not to leave it on the surface for extended times. The glue that holds the clear film on the front is also protein based. If you leave the LA Awsome on for extended periods it will also dissolve the glue and the film will come loose

We get LA Awsome from our local Dollar General. The last time we bought it the cost was around $4.00 a gallon. It's available at quite a few big box stores, but prices vary greatly.

Be sure to read the directions before use. It needs to be diluted at least 5:1, and in some cases 10:1 depending on the application

Podivin · 11-06-2021, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spadman

We also have a 2013 Adventurer (37F) which we bought used in Jan 2017 when it had 16,000 miles. The front of the coach is covered with bug smashes and other stuff and, on the recommendation of a friend who flies his own plane, I bought some stuff designed to remove bug smashes from the leading edges of aircraft wings. Well, it didn't work on my Adventurer.

Any suggestions other than replacing the clear plastic film that is attached on the front of the coach?

Are you sure you're not seeing gunk that's UNDER the film? Those are notorious for getting pinholes in them, when that happens mildew starts growing under the film, when that first starts it looks just like smashed bugs. If nothing you've tried makes ANY difference in the way it looks then I'd say the problem is under the film. If that's the case the only way to get rid of it is to remove the film.