Answering A Few Questions On Exterior RV Care

First, I’m no expert on waxing, polishing, cleaning and maintaining exteriors of RV’s.  Paulette might add I’m no expert on cleaning anything – period!!  However, that aside, a few readers have asked me in recent days what I use to clean our 5’er.  That’s probably because I posted a blog a few days ago about washing our rig and mentioning that my next job was going to be a complete wax.

There are a bewildering number of cleaning products available

In the past, I’ve usually just gone to a store like Canadian Tire and looked at all the hundreds of different types of cleaners and waxes made by Mother, Simoniz, Meguire and many others.  RV stores, like Camping World, they had lots of stuff too from Thetford, Gel Gloss and others.  What’s a guy to do??

A few days ago, I wandered into a Lordco auto supply store - the  largest distributor of automotive parts and accessories throughout British Columbia. 

I found a guy working there who seemed to know what he was talking about when it came to cleaning and waxing vehicles. When I told him what I wanted, he took me right over to their Marine/RV section – who even knew an auto supply store had a Marine/RV section?

3-step cleaning system is on sale for $24 at Amazon (reg. $36)

There, he showed me some cleaners and waxes that were specially formulated for fiberglass and gel coat finishes not just vehicles made of metal.  To do a complete, thorough job on our 5’er, which is what I wanted, he recommend a 3-step Fiberglass restoration system from Meguire – Oxidation Remover, High-Gloss Polish and a Pure Wax.  I decided to give it a try.

Gel coat finishes on RV’s oxidizes just like auto finishes.  Salt water and sun can really accelerate the oxidation process which results in in a dull, chalky haze that really hides the color of RVs.

After months of the hot sun beating down on our 3 year old Big Country 5’er, I noticed a few areas near the front cap, rear cap and bumper that had suffered a bit from oxidation.

My first job was to try and get rid of the hazy, dull oxidation. I used the Meguiars Marine and RV Mirror Glaze #49 Oxidation Remover and was very pleased with the results. This stuff cut right through the oxidation and it left the gel coat finish looking great. It was easy to apply and buff off too.

The sides of our 5’er were just fine with no real oxidation I could see so I thought I’d continue with Step 2 on the sections where I’d used the Oxidation Remover.

This polish was applied pretty much the same as in Step 1.  I rubbed the polish into the surface with a dry microfiber towel and used a clean towel to buff off the haze.  It was pretty easy too.

According to Meguire’s this liquid polish penetrates the porous gel coat finish of an RV and really helps to restore the original color.  I just liked the way it looked when I finished a section.  The surface was shiny and smooth!  My next job will be to apply a coat of this High Gloss Polish to the entire rig.

The final step for me in restoring our 5’er to as close to showroom condition as possible will be applying a good coat of Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze #56 Boat/ RV Pure Wax.

This wax is made of pure Brazilian carnauba wax, silicones, polymers, and resins that promise to to provide extraordinary gloss and long-lasting protection.  I take it that means at least a year!

Yesterday, I only tried this Pure Wax on one small section and it sure does a nice job – silky smooth and glossy. 

This little gizmo should help a lot with waxing and polishing

In thinking about all this work some more, I figured all this elbow grease could take me most of the summer.  This called for a new gizmo so off I went to Canadian Tire.  I was in luck as they had a Simoniz 8” Random Orbit Polisher Kit on sale for only $29!!  I’ll just use it for buffing probably so it’s going to save me hours of time.  Paulette?  She just rolled her eyes and said “good deal”!!

Cuban Resorts are beautiful and a popular destination for Canucks

Maggie and her fiancé are off to Cuba in a few days for a week’s vacation at an all-inclusive beach resort.  More and more Canadians are opting to travel to Cuba for some fun in the sun as it has simply awesome beaches, it’s quiet and safe and even the resort food is beginning to match what’s available in other Caribbean hotspots and Mexico. I often wonder what Cuba will be like when U.S. citizens are finally free to travel there.  How will Cuba change?

Have a great Wednesday, and thanks again for visiting!