STUBBORN black/gray streaks

[kanyonkitty]

A friend of mine picked up a 1994 T-1950 last fall and it's in excellant condition, EXCEPT for the stubbone black/gray streaks.

He has tried Awesome, cleaner/wax, bleach and some others, yet the streaks still remain. Does anyone have any other suggestions? He's afraid to keep scrubbing as that will remove the paint. I have a tiny little bit of "Reliable" rv cleaner left and I'm taking it to him this morning.

I also have an odd spot on my T-2499, but I'll try to remember to get suggestions at the GTG for that.

Thanks,
Kitty

[2beagles]

I've been struggling with the same problem all week. There are areas of black that wiil just not come off.
I've gone so far as to try straight Awesome with a non scratching Scotch Brite pad. It got a lot of the black off, but not all of it.
I went ahead and waxed the coach with Meguiars NXT Generation wax (thanks Rich2500!), and it got more of the black off, but it's not all gone. That's some nice wax!
The coach looks better, but I wish I could get more of the black off!

[Janalee]

As I had written about before--be very careful!! What we thought were stubborn black streaks on my friend's 1998 2653, were actually spots where the underlying aluminum was "shining" through giving it a black streak appearance!! The Krystal Kote is very thin in these areas. Don't know if it was from a former owner's mistake of some sort or if the coating was defective--from a distance it looks black but looking at it in bright sunshine up close, you can see the underlying shine. I called the company that produced it and they deny having had such a situation before---I have since found some very same (although less noticeable) areas on my 1998 2653--they appear to be in the same line as where you would find black streaks coming off the awning rail ends and in the front coming off the clearance lights....Pennsylvania acid rain maybe??? I noticed some people have referred to a faint 'ghost shadow' left after washing their unit--I believe they may have the same problem.

[henryj]

Interesting post, Janalee. I know rubbing compound and clay bars in the wrong hands can wreak havoc on automotive paint. A previous owner may have thought he was going to remove those streaks once and for all!

Assuming no damage and you can get the streaks off, here are some tips for keeping up with them.

The streaks of course come from the rubber roof and putty tape around windows etc. You don't see them on $300,000 MH with full body paint. They seem to be the bain of Al siding and filon fiberglass. With your Al roof, Kitty, do you still get black streaks?

Here's my spring cleanup and management technique:

1. Remove black streaks ASAP as they seem to bake on with time. I've had some experience as my coach sits outside all winter and I think melting snow is worse than rain. I haven't been able to find Awesome up here so just use an RV streak remover to get rid of winter's streaks.

2. Wax and polish the coach with a terry towel. Save the towel.

3. Apply clothespins as pictured. I can't remember where I saw this because I read so much RV stuff on the Internet and magazines so I can't give proper credit. I'm not sure why this works, other than leading the runoff further away, but it does work, even on the front window.

4. Polish off black streaks after every rain using the terry towel you saved. The wax residue seems to help. I also dampen one corner of the towel because streaks in some locations seem to come off easier with moisture.

5. Do not use black streak remover or any cleaner. If it removes streaks, it probably removes the wax and then you're back to square one. A well waxed coach is key.




Henry

[Sunline Fan]

Jan,

You are right. I've had those on most all if not all mine. I plan to wax my whole coach as soon as I can. I waxed all the striping, logos, and fiberglass earlier today, but even though they say you shouldn't wax the Krystal Kote, I plan to do that after the party next weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to do it before Buttonwood!

Jon

[Janalee]

I'm afraid I may have been misunderstood---I didn't mean we can't get the regular black streaks off--I meant that the finish is worn off in those areas and the shiny aluminum from beneath is showing through..! It actually has a sparkle to it in the sunlight! So be careful or you may scrub your finish right down to bare metal!!

[Sunline Fan]

Hi Jan,

No, I just had a long day yesterday. I started the response and then I don't know where I went with that second paragraph. I did do that though and what I thought some of those stubborn black streaks were was actually the bare aluminum. Using the brillo pad just made it worse. This was on the non-Krystal Koted aluminum, but I've always had the issue of it on the Krystal Kote, but there's not much I could do. I've seen it show up first in the non-Krystal Koted areas. If I recall, my 2363 had it real bad right below the rear logo. It looked like I had black streaks going down below the logo (and most of the time that was true), but after a good wash is was still there, and like you said, in the sun, it would shine. I never attempted a fix as I thought I'd make more of a mess trying to touch it up.

Jon

[Janalee]

Jon,
So now I wonder--how many of us have had this problem and is there any fix? Strange that the people who provided the Krystal Kote "don't have any complaints or other instances"...hmmmm...who is lying to whom? Fortunately, mine isn't real noticeable and I wouldn't have seen it if it wasn't for our friends camper who has it really bad--then went looking for it on mine and lo and behold! there it is!! I am trying to convince him to just "look the other way"--he wants to have it painted..the Krystal Kote people don't recommend painting....seems as though it might have been just a couple of years that were affected????Jan

[kanyonkitty]

Henry, yes even with my aluminum roof I get "some" black streaks, but not near as many as with a rubber roof. I am well aware of the "rub the siding til the paint is removed" syndrone. The 1993 T-2653 I had was that way.

I too have used so dang many cleaners, the Awesome did the best UNTIL I discovered "Reliable". My friend George, he just recently purchased a 1994 T-1950 with pretty bad black streaks. Well, nothing was taking them off. We went camping this weekend, and I had a very, very small amount of "Reliable" left in the spray bottle. So he tried it, and it removed the stubborn black streaks.

Reliable is very hard to locate around here in a store/dealer. Closest place to me is over an hour away, but I found their website, here is the link:

http://www.reliableproductsonline.com/

I am probably going to do a joint order with George.

Kitty

[Bobo]

Try a little Soft Scrub with Bleach on a soft bristled brush. I used it to remove what was left after the Awesome was used. Seemed to work for me.

Bobo

[donreitz]

At most organized flea markets you will usually find a booth selling cleaning products, most of which you've never heard of. On occasion I pick up full-strength (dilutable) cleaner from these vendors and some of them I've found them to be very effective on black streaks and road tar when used at the proper dilution. If you happen to run across such a vendor, you might pick up a bottle or tub of their product and give it a try.
Don

[BobNKaren]

The best cleaner I have ever used is Martins Extra Duty Spray Cleaner. Haven't found anything that will clean better. I put about 1 cup in 1 gallon of water, then wet the rig down with water then spray the area with Martins, Use a soft brush dipped in the diluted solution and wash away. Then rinse the rig down.
('')


I get Martins at Coltons RV.

http://www.coltonrv.com/

[rich2500]

have any of you folks tried a magic eraser on the black streaks,I have used a magic eraser on other things with good luck but I never used it on black streaks(not an issue for me because I keep my roof spotless and my putty tape has been replaced with urethane sealer)
http://www.homemadesimple.com/sites/...ra_power.shtml

[frank]

There is one thing to keep in mind about the magic eraser - it is a fine abrasive, much like very fine sandpaper. As such, it could cause some dulling of the finish in the area which it was used.

- Frank