Waxing RV Questions..

[zmotorsports]

17 hours ago, det944 said:

Mike, that coach looks great! I also use 3m products for paint restoration and maintenance on my autos. I've tried some of the newer products but keep coming back to 3m. Haven't done the coach yet, my time is limited so I wash prior to trip departure and upon return.

 

Thank you.  I've tried a few of the newer products as well but find myself sticking to what's worked for me for 35+ years now.  I do however, use the Meguiar's #21 Sealant that I never used in the past as a last step to protect the paint and seem to like it.  I'm usually not one for DA polishers and stick with my old Buffmaster orbital polisher.  The orbitals are a bit more aggressive than the DA's and I've been using it for decades so maybe that's why I stick with it.  Although I do like my Griot's DA polisher for applying the sealant.  It really isn't meant to cut per se, but it applies the sealant in a nice even manner and then I wipe it off with a microfiber towel.  It's just a bit slow going on that much real estate.

 

I don't know about anyone else, but there are times when we are in campgrounds and the coach gets water on it from hard rain or the campground's sprinklers and upon arriving home I have had difficulty removing some of the remaining water spots.  However, I have found a vinegar/water mixture in a spray bottle works wonders to remove these stubborn water spots, about a 2:1 ratio of water to vinegar works well.  A little spritz on the offending area and a wipe with a microfiber towel and the hard water spots are gone.

 

[StellaTariche]

”Waxing your Beaver”
 

What a disappointment this thread turned out to be:

[scoffs]

Not at all what Google promised….

[RedSectorA]

On 12/6/2023 at 8:43 AM, zmotorsports said:

 

Thank you.  I've tried a few of the newer products as well but find myself sticking to what's worked for me for 35+ years now.  I do however, use the Meguiar's #21 Sealant that I never used in the past as a last step to protect the paint and seem to like it.  I'm usually not one for DA polishers and stick with my old Buffmaster orbital polisher.  The orbitals are a bit more aggressive than the DA's and I've been using it for decades so maybe that's why I stick with it.  Although I do like my Griot's DA polisher for applying the sealant.  It really isn't meant to cut per se, but it applies the sealant in a nice even manner and then I wipe it off with a microfiber towel.  It's just a bit slow going on that much real estate.

 

I don't know about anyone else, but there are times when we are in campgrounds and the coach gets water on it from hard rain or the campground's sprinklers and upon arriving home I have had difficulty removing some of the remaining water spots.  However, I have found a vinegar/water mixture in a spray bottle works wonders to remove these stubborn water spots, about a 2:1 ratio of water to vinegar works well.  A little spritz on the offending area and a wipe with a microfiber towel and the hard water spots are gone.

 

I used 3M Finesse-It and Perfect-It before I changed to Manzerma, both work well but I found Manzerma to be a little less finicky in colder weather.  3M had a tendency to leave a residue after buffing when the metal (for a car that is) surface is colder than 70F.  But that's personal preference.  I use Gyon Mohs as ceramic coating on cars as it worked well for me but I'm not ready to invest the time and patience to do the coach, mostly level of buffing necessary for a ceramic coating, with it which is why I use Marine 21 wax yearly.   Marine 21 was developed for boating applications which is notorious for water spots, Marine 21 does not prevent them completely but it does reduce them significantly while making them easy to be removed usually just regular wash.  Just a thought.

[vanwill52]

Let me set this straight from the beginning---I am NOT a detailing guru.  I am NOT offering top-notch professional advice.  I only stopped using dishwashing detergent as my soap a few years ago.  I DO NOT hand wash with a microfiber mitt.  I use one of the extending flagged-tip brushes…still.

 

But, I have learned a few things.  Meguiar's Ultimate Wash & Wax has replaced Palmolive Oxy.  The first time I tried the Meguiar’s product, I was immediately impressed.  Yeah, I know…I’m the last fool to understand that dishwashing soap removes wax you tediously applied.

 

But as the rashest of amateurs, let me add a couple of things I’ve learned.

 

#1:  Random Oribital polishers were a God-send to folks who do not have the skills of Z-Mike.  In my experience, pure rotary polishers are ONLY for professionals.  The slightest bit of too much pressure, too little compound or lubricant, or carelessness at an edge or corner, and you may have done irreparable damage.  If you lift a RA polisher from the surface, and it will “run away” and even if re-contacting the paint isn’t catastrophic, you will sling compound EVERYWHERE.  I love my COLLECTION of Random-Orbital polishers.  I still use them.  But now I have something better.

 

#2:  For an AMATEUR who still likes polishing his coach, but finds it a daunting task for a 75 yo man, I found the ERGO Geared Orbital Polisher to speed up the process greatly.  It is GEARED ORBITAL, meaning its orbit speed is fixed and will not “run away” if lifted off the paint surface.  This makes its cutting  action much faster,  without sacrificing the protection of the orbital design.

 

#3:  Buy one assembly of scaffolding from Northern tool.  It is much easier than using a ladder.

[jacwjames]

I'm on the last leg of my buffing/polishing adventure.  When I first started about ~+25 hours ago (or more) I thought about pulling out the scaffolding which I've used before but I under estimated the amount of time and trips up/down the ladder.  But I figure a couple more hours and I'll be done.   I'm still popping & poopin the Alieve😄

I did buy a variable speed orbital buffer just for this job and glad I did, made it go much faster.  I keep it on a very slow speed and take my time.  I've hadn't got all the scratches out but at least now I only see them when I actually look for them.   I also had some areas that I had painted and clear coated in the past and the polishing helped the clear coat. 

I am using the McGuire cutting and polishing compounds which have worked well and then use Turtlewax Ceramic spray and wipe it off with soft cloths.  Seems to be doing a good job but time will tell. 

This is the first time in ~15 years that I've detailed the coach like this, probably the last.  I'll just try and keep it washed good using a wash/wax product like had done.   

[Paul J A]

I purchased this 9-2022. Did our 2 vehicles, manually, neither is a coach,  and they still have great protection.  

 https://washwax.com/products/wax-all-hybrid-multi-polymer-ceramic-wax-32oz?_pos=2&_sid=3d00e65d4&_ss=r

Folks at Washwaxall advised me to go over the vehicles after i did it with;

https://washwax.com/pages/rv-polishing-wash-wax-all

which i did. It cleans up all the residue left from prior process and seals it. 

 

[RedSectorA]

6 hours ago, vanwill52 said:

 

#1:  Random Oribital polishers were a God-send to folks who do not have the skills of Z-Mike.  In my experience, pure rotary polishers are ONLY for professionals.  The slightest bit of too much pressure, too little compound or lubricant, or carelessness at an edge or corner, and you may have done irreparable damage.  If you lift a RA polisher from the surface, and it will “run away” and even if re-contacting the paint isn’t catastrophic, you will sling compound EVERYWHERE.  I love my COLLECTION of Random-Orbital polishers.  I still use them.  But now I have something better.

 

 

 

 

Cutting through the paint with a rotary is more of an urban legend than anything else, I use both RA polishers and rotaries depending on the job at hand without issues.   What will damage the paint irreparably is the heat caused by the rotary and you need lots of it to go through the paint.  The biggest problem with rotaries is to put too much pressure on the machine which leaves is own set of circular swirl marks or on edges which can damage paint quickly.  Japanese cars are more prone to this due to the softness of their paints.  In contrast European cars can take a lot of abuse due as they are harder, which explains paint chipping of those cars in northern climates. I used a rotary for the coach as I want to cut faster and I'm less finicky about the finished product although I know it will pass anybody's inspection.  I will also use a rotary my European cars except on the last polishing step for darker (ie black) cars where I want to eliminate the last faint residual swirls you can see with a bright light shining at an angle (I'm the guy who throws an hissy fit when someone touches the paint on my cars with their fingers 🤣 ).  On Japanese cars I will use an RA polisher sooner due to the softer paint.   As far as my MH is concerned a medium cut compound and a rotary with a woolen pad is the  furthest I will not polish the top part of the coach every time I do it as most of the damage occurs on the lower portion.

 

Here's a video of interest on the subject of rotaries, he shows the abuse the paint can take before irreparable damage occurs.

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by RedSectorA

[jacwjames]

So I finally pretty much finished buffing, polishing, and using a ceramic spray but still lack the back cap but that shouldn't take long since I'll just polish and use the spray.

I did end up buffing some more on the drivers side, scratches were still visible after the first pass, some were pretty deep.  Not sure they could be completely buffed out and since I'm new at it I decided to call it quits.  Still didn't get them all out but now I have to look hard to see them and a 65 mph it looks great. 

I figure I have ~30 hours into it.  Hoping the ceramic spray does it's job and since I now have a garage to park it in that should help. 

[det944]

Looking good Jim, nice shine!

[zmotorsports]

Turned out good Jim.  Nice job.