Necessary RV Products?

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

I have been detailing cars for the past few months and I am looking to get into RV's (boats as well). I usually ONR wash everything, will that still work with a 15ft tall RV? I would like to know of some of the things you guys use to make life easier and more efficient. I am sure a ladder is at the top of my list right now. Any insight is appreciated!


Ben Bailey - Owner, Innovative Auto Detailing in Shreveport, Bossier City, and Haughton, Louisiana. [email protected]/www.innovativeautodetailing.com/864-398-7167
Active Duty USAF Meteorologist
#1312 2013 Grabber Blue Boss 302/1998 Mustang GT
Business: 2016 Transit Connect 2.5L LWB XL

 

[ronkh57]

Friday night 7:30
Velocity channel

That will explain all.

 

[KirkH]

I clean up RVs for a guy who flips them. The ONR will still be useful. The big differences in RVs and trailers are:

Gelcoat: it is much harder than car paint and requires gelcoat polish. You will have to use an orange pad even for an All In One polish.

Black streaks: The black streaks are a real thing. I use McKee's Black Streak Remover.

Faded out door handles: The rubber that coats handles and other things fades to an ugly gray. I use plastidip to refresh those.

Mildewed spotted window caulk/trim: If you figure out a way to clean those, let me know.

Mildewed roof: There are 2 kinds of roofs, vinyl and gelcoat. I use All Purpose Cleaner for vinyl roofs because I have heard degreaser will harm them though I have not tested.

 

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

Friday night 7:30
Velocity channel

That will explain all.

I do not really watch TV, I watch YouTube when it comes to learning things. I think Competition Ready season 1 is on YouTube. I think I will watch that now haha.


Ben Bailey - Owner, Innovative Auto Detailing in Shreveport, Bossier City, and Haughton, Louisiana. [email protected] / www.innovativeautodetailing.com / 864-398-7167
Active Duty USAF Meteorologist
#1312 2013 Grabber Blue Boss 302/1998 Mustang GT
Business: 2016 Transit Connect 2.5L LWB XL

 

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

I clean up RVs for a guy who flips them. The ONR will still be useful. The big differences in RVs and trailers are:

Gelcoat: it is much harder than car paint and requires gelcoat polish. You will have to use an orange pad even for an All In One polish.

Black streaks: The black streaks are a real thing. I use McKee's Black Streak Remover.

Faded out door handles: The rubber that coats handles and other things fades to an ugly gray. I use plastidip to refresh those.

Mildewed spotted window caulk/trim: If you figure out a way to clean those, let me know.

Mildewed roof: There are 2 kinds of roofs, vinyl and gelcoat. I use All Purpose Cleaner for vinyl roofs because I have heard degreaser will harm them though I have not tested.

Awesome information, thank you! What kind of AIO do you use for RV's? Could you use a boat AIO, since boats/RV's are both mostly Gelcoat?

McKee's Black Streak Remover is another one I have been looking into. I take it that it works haha.

As for the faded out door handles, would any sort of Trim Restorer make any difference? Plastidip would probably still be the easiest.

Mildew anything, I would go for the APC. I have seen where Marine 31 has a Mildew kit I may look deeper into.

Also, is a telescopic brush necessary? I am looking at one of the Boar's Hair $99.99 brushes. Would it be worth going that route or grabbing the cheaper Carrand? This would be used on both RV's and boats.




Ben Bailey - Owner, Innovative Auto Detailing in Shreveport, Bossier City, and Haughton, Louisiana. [email protected] / www.innovativeautodetailing.com / 864-398-7167
Active Duty USAF Meteorologist
#1312 2013 Grabber Blue Boss 302/1998 Mustang GT
Business: 2016 Transit Connect 2.5L LWB XL

 

[KirkH]

Awesome information, thank you! What kind of AIO do you use for RV's? Could you use a boat AIO, since boats/RV's are both mostly Gelcoat?

McKee's Black Streak Remover is another one I have been looking into. I take it that it works haha.

As for the faded out door handles, would any sort of Trim Restorer make any difference? Plastidip would probably still be the easiest.

Mildew anything, I would go for the APC. I have seen where Marine 31 has a Mildew kit I may look deeper into.

Also, is a telescopic brush necessary? I am looking at one of the Boar's Hair $99.99 brushes. Would it be worth going that route or grabbing the cheaper Carrand? This would be used on both RV's and boats.

McKee's has the best products for Rvs. I tried using what I had around and found that going with RV specific products makes it easier.

Trim restorer won't do anything for whatever the rubber/vinyl/plastic junk those door handles are made of, once the go grey. I tape off the area and plastidip it black and then use the plastidip glossifier.

Whatever junk material the window trim is made of, once it mildews, fuggetabout.

I do have one of those telescoping brushes. I also have one of those folding stepladder things that makes a platform about 3' high.

 

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

McKee's has the best products for Rvs. I tried using what I had around and found that going with RV specific products makes it easier.

Trim restorer won't do anything for whatever the rubber/vinyl/plastic junk those door handles are made of, once the go grey. I tape off the area and plastidip it black and then use the plastidip glossifier.

Whatever junk material the window trim is made of, once it mildews, fuggetabout.

I do have one of those telescoping brushes. I also have one of those folding stepladder things that makes a platform about 3' high.

Ok awesome, I will definitely look into McKee's RV products. The plastidip trick looks to be a good one. Ooo yes, I want one of those step ladder things. I do not want a roof rack, I want one that fits in the Transit Connect. They are a tad pricey though.


Ben Bailey - Owner, Innovative Auto Detailing in Shreveport, Bossier City, and Haughton, Louisiana. [email protected] / www.innovativeautodetailing.com / 864-398-7167
Active Duty USAF Meteorologist
#1312 2013 Grabber Blue Boss 302/1998 Mustang GT
Business: 2016 Transit Connect 2.5L LWB XL

 

[Eldorado2k]

I maintain this 40' RV for 1 of my customers. It's actually what kept me busy this past weekend.

You'll definitely need a ladder.

Also, is a telescopic brush necessary? I am looking at one of the Boar's Hair $99.99 brushes. Would it be worth going that route or grabbing the cheaper Carrand? This would be used on both RV's and boats.

Same goes for a brush, because IME trying to rinseless wash an RV when it's actually dirty just doesn't cut it + turns out to be more work than just washing it the real way. As far as a fancy $100 boars hair brush? Eh I dunno about all that, If I were to spend that kind of money on that brush it'll be used on clearcoat instead of gelcoat.
I use a soft flagged tip brush [similar to what's known as body & fender brush, but shaped like a mini push broom] for the majority of the washing process, meaning the top half of the sides where you can't reach with your arms. I wash the lower half [below the beltline] the traditional way using washmitts.

As far as the roof: I get up there with the hose and some diluted APC and spray away, then scrub clean using this brush: It's made for boats and the bristles have just enough bite while still being soft enough not to do any damage.

Meguiars Hyper Dressing @1:1 spray n walk away works great on these huge tires.

Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish works great if you want to upsell and really knock it out of the park.

My last tip is to use a drying aid. Spray wax or something that you know adds a little extra gloss for that finishing touch + it really helps because even more than on a regular vehicle, you're likely to be dealing with random water spots as they drip from the awnings as you're drying.

Try to work in the shade or as early as possible, because these things are huge and can kick your butt if you're not ready to kick its butt! Lol.

 

[Eldorado2k]

As far as soap, I get the best results using Meguiars D111 Shampoo Plus. I tried Mckee's Power Wash, Gloss & Wax in its place this past weekend and to be honest I wasn't impressed.. Shampoo Plus simply leaves a better shine and cleans better.

Make sure to have some mesh bug sponges available to wash underneath the rocker panels along the sides and the painted wheel well arches.. They'll save your wash mitts from that extra grimy duty.

 

[Guyb]

At Detail Fest i found that the McKee's Heavy-Cut Oxidation Remover would fit well with my RV supplies. Then I got home and bought an RV to try it on! Still won't get to try it for about three more weeks.

 

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

As far as soap, I get the best results using Meguiars D111 Shampoo Plus. I tried Mckee's Power Wash, Gloss & Wax in its place this past weekend and to be honest I wasn't impressed.. Shampoo Plus simply leaves a better shine and cleans better.

Make sure to have some mesh bug sponges available to wash underneath the rocker panels along the sides and the painted wheel well arches.. They'll save your wash mitts from that extra grimy duty.

Hyper Dressing looks great on the big tires! I use mostly Optimum products and I have their spray wax and sealant. I use drying aids all of the time on cars and motorcycles. I have Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish, those wheels look awesome! I definitely will keep that in mind. Shampoo-wise I have some OPT Car Wash I could go with first and then try out D111 after. That is a good tip on the bug sponges, I have a handful of them that will work amazing for that application.

I may pick up a cheap flow-through brush then, I really was not big on wanting to spend $99.99 on a brush.

Huge thanks for the tips, that RV looks amazing!


Ben Bailey - Owner, Innovative Auto Detailing in Shreveport, Bossier City, and Haughton, Louisiana. [email protected] / www.innovativeautodetailing.com / 864-398-7167
Active Duty USAF Meteorologist
#1312 2013 Grabber Blue Boss 302/1998 Mustang GT
Business: 2016 Transit Connect 2.5L LWB XL

 

[InnovativeAutoDetail]

At Detail Fest i found that the McKee's Heavy-Cut Oxidation Remover would fit well with my RV supplies. Then I got home and bought an RV to try it on! Still won't get to try it for about three more weeks.

I went ahead and picked up the Marine 31 variation, I am hoping that will work on both RV's and boats. I am interested to try it out, I am not sure if I want to purchase an RV to find out haha!


Ben Bailey - Owner, Innovative Auto Detailing in Shreveport, Bossier City, and Haughton, Louisiana. [email protected] / www.innovativeautodetailing.com / 864-398-7167
Active Duty USAF Meteorologist
#1312 2013 Grabber Blue Boss 302/1998 Mustang GT
Business: 2016 Transit Connect 2.5L LWB XL