Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => Tips and Tricks => Topic started by: Gail Staton on July 15, 2016, 09:29:07 am
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The white vinyl or rubbery seam material above the windshield and passenger/driver door and along the sides where the seams are located is quite dirty looking on our 2100. Has anyone found a cleaning product that works for this material? Normal car wash and black streak cleaner are not getting it clean. I have tried a Magic Eraser being careful not to touch the painted surfaces but it's not removing the dark grey or blackish marks either.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Gail
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Purple spray cleaner that is found in automobile section of Walmart.
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Thanks Tom. I appreciate your reply.
Gail
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If that doesn't work, try scratch remover also sold at Walmart, in their automotive paint care section.
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Thank you too, Ron. Looks like we are going to Walmart.
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Thank you too, Ron. Looks like we are going to Walmart.
:)
Sold at Walmart for under $5. I think I've seen smaller bottles on the shelves priced less, but it's been a while since I was a-lookin.
(http://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/f31f888e-7ee1-4b11-af6f-d2b4701d9da5_1.13626d2d8aae2088723c04757cf21a7c.jpeg)
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Ron,
Hal had the Turtle Wax Scratch Remover in the garage. We tried it before heading to Walmart. It did clean it somewhat but would take forever to clean all that seaming inch by inch and lots of elbow grease.
Tom,
We did see a spray bottle of Purple Power Industrial Strength Cleaner & Degreaser. Was that the product you recommended?
Gail
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Ron,
Hal had the Turtle Wax Scratch Remover in the garage. We tried it before heading to Walmart. It did clean it somewhat but would take forever to clean all that seaming inch by inch and lots of elbow grease.
Hi Gail,
How I use the scratch remover on such surfaces makes a huge difference in the amount of effort required and desired results. I have found it best to use an old cotton tube-sock with the fluffy inside turned out. I also cut off the elastic part that goes around the leg. If I use an applicator sponge, a paper towel, a t-shirt rag, or anything else on such surfaces, I work much harder and get less desired results. I don't know what it is about old tube-socks, but they work best for me doing such detail work.
Admittedly I have a full body paint job on our PC so there is no raw plastic, therefore I am not experienced with unpainted PC materials. My experience is on other vehicles where once shiny smooth unpainted plastic has faded, stained, and lost it's shine. Plastic headlight lenses are most popular a project for it, but requires time and effort. Tail lights and and other smooth plastic is much easier. Do NOT use on textured plastic or black unpainted bumper covers.
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Tom,
We did see a spray bottle of Purple Power Industrial Strength Cleaner & Degreaser. Was that the product you recommended?
Gail
Yep that is it.
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Tom,
We did see a spray bottle of Purple Power Industrial Strength Cleaner & Degreaser. Was that the product you recommended?
Gail
Yep that is it.
Hopefully Tom's recommendation goes easier for you.
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Ron,
We do have a supply of old tube socks with the terry-like inside. Years ago we saw a tip for cleaning off your hoses and electric cord when breaking up camp. Turn the sock inside out and wear like a glove on one hand, wipe the cords and hoses with that hand as you wind them up for storage. Hal's been doing that since our first rv. Works better than a rag.
It is only the white rubbery seam material that is dingy looking not the body of the PC. Since yours is full body paint, that material is painted to match the rest of the body. On our half body, the seam material is white and not painted. We will give the sock a try.
Thanks so much for your suggestion.
Gail
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Tom,
We will get some Purple Power and hope it does the trick.
Thanks again.
Gail
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Thanks for the suggestion Tom but no luck with using Purple Power.
I am going to try one more option, a moss, algae, mold remover. The hardest area to reach is the seaming above the windshield and of course that is the dirtiest looking. Our PC was two years old when we purchased it a year ago so we don't know what caused this condition. Whatever it is, it sure stained that seaming material. The rest of the coach is brand new looking.
Thanks for taking your time to help.
Gail
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Boy that must be one tough stain. I would try the purple stuff and let it sit for a few mintues before wiping it off. If that doesn't work, I would call Kermit.
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I agree Tom. It is a tough staining to remove. We did let the Purple Power sit but no budge in the staining removal. The scratch remover did remove some, probably because of having abrasive material in the ingredients. Hal's small rotary tool has a buffing pad attachment we thought about trying. Otherwise we would be applying it inch by inch, rubbing very hard and wearing out our old fingers. Even doing that it doesn't remove much.
I wish that seam material had been painted. When we get down to the lower painted area it is perfectly clean. The material reminds me of gasket material on refrigerator doors.
I thought about calling PC but wanted to exhaust all my ideas first but I guess that's backward thinking. They may know exactly what to use or say nothing works, live with it.
Gail
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Here is a though Gail,
Roll up a paper towel tightly and dip it in laundry bleach and let the bleach sit and soak on the stained plastic. Maybe it will bleach-out the stain. It would be worth a try if you did not already try it. If it works well, I would follow up with scratch remover to polish the plastic to a gloss finish to resist re-staining.
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Ron,
I was just about to post what Kermit recommended, Clean UP which is a mild solution of bleach and water. Great minds think alike.
Your idea of the bleach soaked,rolled up, paper towels stuffed in that tight area above the windshield is a good one. I also wanted to protect that area once we got it clean. We'll use our Turtle Wax Scratch remover as you suggested.
As I mentioned to Kermit, I didn't want to use any product that would damage the painted areas around the seams. Apparently diluted bleach should be fine.
We can't get to it today but will post the outcome.
Gail
Gail
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Great outcome, the diluted bleach solution worked. We had just a short period of time to try it out today but got the vertical seam close to the awning bracket and the horizontal area above the passenger door clean. Will do the other side and above the windshield another time.
Thanks Tom and Ron for your help, much appreciated.
Gail
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You are very welcome. I am glad everything is working out for you. 2o2