Help!!

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by mainah

It is a witch's brew of all kinds of very nasty solvents and things. There are several types the DOT type 3 and 4 are I think the worst as far as paint in concerned. I was a tech for 35 years in the car biz and there were many incidents of brake fluid on paint and the out come was never good. I think a chemistry major may understand what all of this stuff is but I feel if I can’t pronounce it there is no way it can be good. Brake fluid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These 2 excerpts are not great

Overspill from pushing back pistons should be avoided, because glycol based fluid will quickly lift or strip paints and other coatings on contact (it can be removed by quickly washing with water, not wiping).

Brake fluid can be dangerous as it is toxic[3] and flammable but has a high flash point. It can become explosive in the presence of Chlorine powder and acts as a mild paint remover if left on painted surfaces.[4]

Learn something new every day....

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by jpspaz

Ok guys, excuse the ignorance, but what is Krystal Kote? The picture to me looks like the plastic siding I have on the front and rear (top halves) of my trailer. Mine is simply white colored, not painted. The only coloring is the Sunline decal in the rear. I won't offer any suggestions as I can't figure out how to clean it from just the daily grime. It's a textured surface which seems to hold the grime. I was looking at some photos posted on the forum and I'm jealous how good some of your trailers look.

Hi jpspaz,

Krystal Kote is a coating that is sprayed on I believe to the standard white aluminum siding. The coating makes the siding have more scratch resistance. Once cleaned it provides a level is sheen with out having to wax it.

This coating does exist on the front and rear of the camper as well. That siding is different and sort of feels like plastic but it is aluminum as well.

See this pic from Kitty and Gary's parts camper looking from the inside out. You can see the silver aluminum on the inside.


For daily grime cleaning, what are you using?

Hope this helps

John

[jpspaz]

I've tried RV wash & wax, black streak remover, Mother's power plastic polish, and even a Magic eraser. The last two work okay, but it doesn't gleam. Plus, after a couple of weeks, you can't tell I did anything (and I use major elbow grease by the way). I was told that cleaning the roof more regularly might help with the runoff, so I use Tide laundry detergent with water in a bucket as I think was suggested on this forum. It looks a little cleaner, but doesn't last either. I absolutely hate the EPDM roofing material. I hope to see all trailer manufacturers move away from this to a finished fiberglass roof that can be waxed and will hold up 100 times better. Winnebago makes all of their motorhomes this way and it's well worth it. If anyone has any tried and true cleaning methods, I'd love to hear them. My trailer is still in excellent condition inside and out if I could just get it cleaner. You'd think it was 20 years old looking at it.

[mainah]

If it is full of black streaks try some Bar Keepers Friend, it is like Comet but has oxalic acid in it. Oxalic acid is kind of benign but gloves and eye protection while scrubbing would be a good ideal. It cleans aluminum very well and will take any black streaks off of the siding. Hardware stores will have it. I had a Toyota motor home that was parked under trees for years and I cleaned it with Bar Keepers Friend and was amazed at the results did the fiberglass on the front window cover on my T1700 same results. If you use it I'll bet you'll all ways have some on hand works equally as well in the house. (no I don't work for them!)

[kanyonkitty]

You might want to try some "Awesome", available at Dollar General and other stores. It is sold in spray bottles and 1 gallon bottles. Many people have great success with it. Plus, it's not very expensive, I used it on my '06 T-2499, and now use it on the 5th wheel also.

I know Sunline trailers have that Krystal coat on the siding that does not require waxing, but I'd still be waxing or using something like Aero 303 on it to help keep the black streaks down, there is also Protect-All, but I think the Aero is better.

Kitty

[jpspaz]

Alright thanks for the tips. I'll see if I can find these products locally. I am also considering a year round cover like a portable garage or something. Right now I only cover it in winter, but I think year round protection could help it stay cleaner. Expensive, but it might be worth it.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by jpspaz

Alright thanks for the tips. I'll see if I can find these products locally. I am also considering a year round cover like a portable garage or something. Right now I only cover it in winter, but I think year round protection could help it stay cleaner. Expensive, but it might be worth it.

Hi jpspaz

On the Awesome, I'll add to what Kitty said.

* Hose the camper first to make a wet surface.

* Spray on Awesome full strength on the wet siding.

* Only spray about a 2' x 2' or 3' x 3' area to not let it dry and get ahead of you. If it dries you have to do it all over again.

* To enhance the Awesome, use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Together both products work better.

* Hose off the area right after doing the cleaning to not let it gum back up.

* Rinse well

* Redo any missed spots.

Do not leave it on the camper full strength for any great length of time. Rinse, wash and rinse then move to the next spot. I have been using the Awesome since 2003 and have not had any issues but I have always done the above procedure and did not let it stay on concentrated. We have had some members have bad luck with both the Awesome and Reliable. On the Reliable they left it on too long thinking it would soak in and it did. Right down to the aluminum.

Clean roof first. It does help.

And I 110% agree, the best deterrent of black streaks is a storage building....

Hope this helps

John

[kanyonkitty]

Here is a place that I have purchased 3 carports from: tntcarports.net (sorry it's not a clicky, computer being stupid today). We are in the process of saving $$$ to hopefully have another port installed, but it's gotta be a big one, probably about 20'W X 36 - 40 foot long. Our only issue is that we have "NO" level ground, so Gary will have a good bit of site work to do.

IF we can't get the RV Port soon enough, we might have to do the fabric cover (it would be better than nothing, but a real PIA to install). The previous owner of our 5th wheel always kept it covered, so it IS really nice and clean.

When the workers show up to do the install, boy you never saw such a "working bunch of men". They showed up here one sunday afternoon, asked if they could leave their trailer here and go to their motel, well it was really nice out, we were outside puttering around, and the guys asked "if" would be all right to get started, they had most of it done before they ran out of daylight.

We highly recommend TNT Carports.

Kitty

[UPbuilder]

We had a major hail storm in 07 and my neighbors TT got hit, mine was sheltered thankfully. The insurance company totaled his rig, gave him $6000 and he got to keep it. Now I don't know the full details as he may have been given $8000 and then bought it back for two, either way he came out good and the camper is fully usable.

A total may not be that bad, depending on the value of the camper. Just remember with insurance companies you have to be aggressive and stick to your guns, it's their duty to minimize any losses.

[henryj]

If you Google "Krystal Kote" you will get all kinds of links to concrete. "Krystal Kote Siding" or "Krystal Kote Exterior" will get you more of what you want.

I'm guessing Valspar is the manufacturer of the coating and various siding manufacturers used it. This pdf has care and cleaning instructions for polyester coatings generally. Krystal Kote only shows up in the warranty section at the bottom of p. 2.

Henry

[jpspaz]

Thanks Kitty for the carports reference. I'll check them out.