The Dusty, Dirty Trail
Dirt loves to hitch a ride on the side of a RV and will travel the country side with you until you decide its freeloading days are over. The sooner those days come to an end the better for both your RV and car if you are towing. Dirt, bugs and oil all damage the surface of your RV so don't wait for the next good rain to wash them off. Your extra efforts pay off handsomely when it comes time to resell your RV. How often have you been told to ask an expert before starting a project? When it comes to cleaning a vehicle of any kind, the onslaught of advice from the experts will send you to the store for a bottle of aspirin. Each one will respond differently depending on the products they are selling. Follow the wrong advice and your RV could end up with a damaged sealant and worse. Are microfiber cloths really safe to use on your vehicle? What about this stuff called petroleum distillates? Will car wash products ruin the finish? That confusion is precisely why I spent many hours talking to various companies who manufacture the products that go into making your vehicle. Companies from paint and sealant manufacturers to fiberglass siding manufacturers, metal companies, Dicor who manufactures rubber roofs, holding tank companies and the tire folks have all had to patiently answer my hundred or more probing questions. Those answers are compiled here so you now clean your vehicle with the confidence that 10 to 20 years from now it will still look brand new. Those answers mean I step on a few toes, even my own, when it comes to products. Many of the products that were safe to use on a vehicle 3 years ago are not safe on newer RVs, cars or motorcycles due to a change in paint. Many of the products being sold to clean a RV will damage the sealant over time. Unfortunately the only time you become aware that a problem exists is after the damage is done. Washing your RV: Wash your RV in the morning or evening to avoid water spots. Once they form, it only takes a week or so for them to begin etching into the surface making it difficult at best to buff them out. Wash the top first then section wash and dry your RV or vehicle. We carry both a 100% Cotton Wash Pad and our exclusive 100% Lambswool Wash Pad to clean and polish your RV safely without scratching. Paint companies and fiberglass manufacturers recommend cotton for any RV more than two years old. The Lambswool Wash Pad is best used with newer paints and sealants. Do not mistake 100% Lambswool pads with the polyester imitations. The imitations are made from 100% polyester, which is plastic. Plastic scratches. It will scratch the finish off your vehicle given time. Our CleanEz is 100% natural and does not contain harmful phosphates. You can wash your vehicle without damaging the sealant and without toxic chemicals running into the streams or sewer systems. You only use half a capful to clean your RV or vehicle. Steer clear of harsher detergents like Simple Green and Mr. Clean. They work well to clean grease off engines but should be avoided when cleaning your RV or any vehicle.CleanEz will also remove any oil or tar on the surface. Dab just a bit on full strength wait a minute then wipe with a damp cloth to remove Add one-third cup of distilled white vinegar to your bucket of wash water to boost the cleaning action and help prevent water spots. Caution: Industrial paint and sealant manufacturers warn against washing your vehicle with the popular microfiber products. They are made from 80 to 85% polyester. As stated above, polyester is plastic and will scratch the sealant off your vehicle over time and repeated use. Your RV or any vehicle will begin oxidizing even though you have taken excellent care of your vehicle. This is especially important for the changes in paints since 2003. Due to VOC regulations, paint is now being made from a water base and not lead based. Water based paint is not as hard as lead based paint. Even though sealants are applied over the paint to protect it, if the sealant is scratched off due to microfiber or the wrong kind of petroleum distillate being used in a wax, the paint is then left vulnerable to rapid oxidation, rust and deterioration. I sell microfiber cloths and do not want you using something that I know will damage your sealant over time. At a large industrial trade show I had microfiber manufacturing companies verify this information. If your vehicle is prior to a 2003 using our Sof Wash which is 100% Cotton is safe and does a great job cleaning safely without scratching like many brushes. If your RV is a 2003 or newer then our 100% Lambswool Wash Pad is recommended. It is even softer and gentler than cotton. Removing bugs on your windshield: When we were kids, we spent hours picking grasshoppers or moths off the front of my father's car to float them down the creek on a leaf. Those same bugs now turn into hard labor trying to clean them from the front of a vehicle. Ignoring these bugs will cause pits in the paint. Look at the front where the paint has chipped away. You thought those were rock chips. Those are caused from bugs being left on the vehicle. When you clean your car or RV, wipe down the front using the Sof Wash or Lambswool pad dampened in warm water adding a half capful of CleanEz. Let that set for several minutes while you wash the tires. Then wipe it down a second time. Given a bit of time the bugs soften and are much easier to remove. To help with bug removal on the windshields, front of your RV or cabover apply Advantage twice a month until you have 5 or 6 coats of a protective layer built up. The polymers leave a slick surface on your vehicle. Bugs and dirt wipe right off. Then apply 3 to 4 times a year to rejuvenate the coating. Dirt, grease, grime and bugs have a hard time clinging to a slick surface. Advantage will cut your cleaning time. Apply Advantage to your rear view mirrors and headlights as well for a fast cleanup. The five minutes of extra time you spend will save you an hour of scrubbing each time you wash. Cleaning Tires and wheels: Tires require regular cleaning. Rubber naturally oxidizes with time. That oxidization causes the tire to appear like they are cracking. Scrub tires four times a year with TerraPlus and our Red Scrub Pad to remove the oxidation. If after scrubbing, the tire still appears to be cracked and is under warranty, take them in to be inspected. If you apply a tire treatment before doing so, the dealer will blame the problem on the tire treatment and your warranty will not be honored. Warranties only cover manufacturing defects. Tire treatments are not part of the manufacturing process. When Wheels get to spinning they do collect brake dust on the rims. Our TerraPlus again will quickly clean your wheels. For wheels that are not sealed (sealed wheels are very shiny with a coat of what looks like polyurathane) TerraPlus does an excellent job removing the oxidation. Coming in March of 2007 we will have a cleaner that will not only clean the wheels but shine them as well. Sealed wheels need nothing more than cleaning with our TerraPlus. Do not use metal polish on sealed wheels. It will ruin the sealant and they will be very difficult to clean. Waxes, Sealants and Protectants A word of caution when applying any product that contains petroleum distillates: The new generation of paints used on cars is now water based or chroma based. This means the paint itself is a softer than the lead based paints. Petroleum distillates come in different grades. If the correct grade of distillate is used in a product, it will not deteriorate the sealant. Only you have no way of knowing which type of distillate is in your product until your vehicle begins oxidizing. This means the distillates have dissolved the sealant leaving the paint to oxidize. Even if a bottle of wax does not list distillates, does not mean it is distillate free. If a product contains 5% or less of a petroleum distillate, it does not have to be listed. Distillates are also listed as "hydrocarbon." Paint manufacturing companies now recommed using products like Advantage that are free from petroleum distillates to prevent damage to clear or gel coats. Also if your vehicle contains adhesive backed decals or stripping, or signs, 3M and Avery who make the material for these products specifically state not to use a product containing petroleum distillates. They dissolve the adhesive causing the decal to pull away from the side and also cause them to oxidize or loose their color. This also applies to side mirrors etc that are no longer riveted to the sides. Many are now being attached with a specialized double faced tape. Be cautious about using any wax or protectant containing silicone if the product contains petroleum distillates. If the product contains the wrong kind of distillate, it will deteriorate the gel coat. Only the vehicle cannot be repainted because nothing sticks to silicone. An acid remover rarely removes 100% of the silicone leaving you with an oxidizing vehicle that cannot be repainted. Advantage has been specially formulated for The Organically Green Store. It contains no petroleum distillates, silicone, carnauba wax or Teflon. Click on the link for detailed information. Use Advantage on any vehicle surface without fear of deteriorating the sealant, scratching the finish or damaging the decals, stripping or signs or lettering on your vehicle. If your vehicle is oxidizing then you need a sealant. Look for a treatment that says for heavy duty cleaning or "for removing oxidation." Our Advantage removes mild to medium oxidation and with continued use will bring the shine back to your RV or vehicle. This does not replace the clear/gel coat sealant but prevents further oxidation. We will be carrying a product specifically made for removing oxidation. It works quite well on wheels and the sides of vehicles as well.
