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artrosch · 09-07-2013, 01:25 PM

We had a nasty roof leak. It was a case of dry rot and we completely replaced the rotted area and laid on new sealant. The leak's legacy is a big black stain just above the steering wheel. Does anyone have a cure for such an eyesore?
Paint it with white shoe polish? Anything? We live in a Newmar Mt. Aire gasser, 38 feet. Mostly we stay put in our camp ground and call it home, be it ever so humble (nice Amish wood work, light walnut ain't so bad). The ceiling is that standard stuff, looks like a carpet, synthetic textured material.

Thanks!

Art

Bigd9 · 09-07-2013, 01:33 PM

I don't know how bad your leak was, but have you tried to clean the ceiling? We used to use a floor Rinse an Vac on our ceiling and it worked wonders. Just don’t get it overly wet.

swampdog2 · 09-07-2013, 02:35 PM

I had a problem with that several years ago ,as I recall I used killz in a can and sprayed it and took a terry cloth rag and rubbed it before it dried to blend it in ,it did ok you couldn't see it unless you were looking for it

Franka548 · 09-07-2013, 07:04 PM

Try Resolve carpet cleaner and a scrub brush, you might have to do it 2 or 3 times, after it has dried, run a vacuum over it.
Frank

macantic · 09-07-2013, 07:22 PM

White vinegar works good also

Dmorgan6375 · 09-08-2013, 05:58 AM

Glad to hear you got the leak fixed for sure, we used a carpet cleaner called Tuff Stuf and it can be had at any auto parts store as well as wallmart. Big red and yellow can, worked great for us!

stephen44 · 09-08-2013, 06:04 AM

If your covering is the 'furry' textured fabric - the one thing i have found that works every time is 3% hydrogen peroxide. I buy one spray handle bottle and some refills as this is cheaper.
Spray it on and leave for 2 minutes - I saturate mine - and then do NOT rub - but push as hard as you can a paper towel (pure white - no color) into the stain - i ball my fist up and push - so it draws the stain out and into the paper towel - repeat as necessary. You can see the stain come out onto the towel and you know you are done when the towel stays white. start at the center of the stain and work outwards blending into the non-stained portion.

Sometimes if the wood above has been very wet you need to wait for this to dry or else you will leech more of the color/dirt from the wood into the fabric.

I have had great results using this method.

Stephen

1999 Tradition

Stan.Birch · 09-08-2013, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephen44

If your covering is the 'furry' textured fabric - the one thing i have found that works every time is 3% hydrogen peroxide. I buy one spray handle bottle and some refills as this is cheaper.
Spray it on and leave for 2 minutes - I saturate mine -

X2 on the hydrogen peroxide if you have a fuzzy ceiling, although not as a liquid spray.

A better hydrogen peroxide remedy would be one of the laundry detergent boosters such as Oxyclean. Mix it thoroughly into a thick paste and spread it onto the stained area for a few hours if necessary. Oxyclean can take anywhere from a few minutes to hours to do it's work; but it does work.

Spritz a fine spray of water onto the mixture from time to time, to keep it wet. Also, mixing the Oxyclean with a good laudry detergent such as Tide, can improve the results. You may have to brush the cleaner into the stain. If you don't have something ideal like a steam vac for spraying and sucking the mixture off of the ceiling, a wet/dry will make the job easier.

Don't use shoe polish on it. If refinishing is necessary, use a vinyl & fabric dye intended for the purpose; the kind used in the automotive industry for interior repairs and restoration.

https://www.duplicolor.com/products/vinylFabricCoating/

There are a lot of demos using this stuff on Youtube.

artrosch · 09-08-2013, 02:49 PM

Some GREAT ideas here. It completely escaped my mind that last week we bought
a Bissell floor cleaner that sucked out all our dog/cat/human dirt like nobody's bizness. It has a wand for ceilings, etc.
Ought to start there. My wife is one of those compulsive cleaners and she asked me to post this question. She wants to be sure the material isn't some exotic substance that will dissolve and turn to acid or some such...
Thanks!

rhks · 09-08-2013, 03:22 PM

Clean it well, apply a stain blocker (like the old Kiltz as another post said - has shellac or other that blocks stains from seeping through), paint - you're done.

Please2RV · 09-08-2013, 03:31 PM

I've used peroxide with great success. The stain was there when we bought our RV. Used the Bissel and a steam cleaner along with the peroxide. Let dry completely between. Eventually, it will be clean.

TRAILERKING · 09-08-2013, 04:24 PM

Bissel Little Green Machine with their cleaner. Do not use a brush or the fabric will likely become fuzzy texure. Just spray and vac. I did some of mine around the A/C area and worked great. When I get time I need to do the entire ceiling.

rvbunz · 09-08-2013, 06:09 PM

If you haven't correct the problem yet, you can look at this product. It is called Dinge-Away made by Pro Choice. It is a professional carpet cleaning product. In this case it is actually a carpet paint that helps cover stains that will not come out. It does come in several colors to include white or gray. Go to www.jondon.com and look it up. I have used it in my carpet cleaning business. Good Luck

army · 09-09-2013, 07:57 AM

If your ceiling is a carpet like material, then I suggest you try a method I used to remove a leak stain from the ceiling of our Born Free Class C. I used Oxy-Clean, like you see on TV, and mixed a strong solution with plain water. I took a toothbrush, dipped it into the Oxy-Clean and scrubbed the affected area, using a dry rag to catch the drips. In just a few minutes the stain was completely gone.