Cleaning your Van

[bigman0510]

Hello,

Has anyone got some good cleaning tips?

Personally I use the 3M polish/cleaner that came with the van, along with fibreglass boat wash.

I am interested in what ideas you have for the checker plate detail on the outbacks, I have watermarks I can't get rid of.:doh:

 

[crystal674]

hi bigman,we use meguires detail products which are available from your local auto store or big w.we use these on our show car and they seem to work well on the van.also another little trick we use when detailing the car is lightly spray the polished aluminium with crc or similar product and wipe off just leaving slight film to polish in which removes water marks.crc is also good to spray under the wheel arches of both van and car to stop mud from sticking there

Hello,

Has anyone got some good cleaning tips?

Personally I use the 3M polish/cleaner that came with the van, along with fibreglass boat wash.

I am interested in what ideas you have for the checker plate detail on the outbacks, I have watermarks I can't get rid of.:doh:

 

[bigman0510]

very nice,
have also heard from truckies that "purple polish" works really well on the checker plate also:

 

[cruza driver]

The purple polish does work well on alloy bullbars, alloy wheels and truck alloy fuel tanks so I think it should work on the cheker plate too.

Maybe Autosol would do the same thing........might be a job for the weekend.

 

[Brad]

I back my van up and into one of those car washes where you keep on feeding the coins in and select a different spray / soap function on the dial. Not sure of the soap qualities for fiberglass but the van definately shines after a scrubbing in one of those joints.

 

[cruza driver]

Do you use one of theie brooms or take your own?

I wash mine with a Enjo cloth.

 

[Brad]

I use their broom because the broom spits out all of the soap.

 

[cruza driver]

The reason I ask is a mate of mine washed his Jayco Freedom this way when he was in Alice Springs and the broom had been used to off mud or something similar.

He cant polish the scratch marks out of his fibreglass. The bristles seem a bit harsh.

 

[achjimmy]

I only ever took the old van to a car wash once, I didn't think it was that good IMO and the pressure hose seemed to get water in all the wrong places. I have been using the Jayco supplied 3M polish but reckon the meguiars wax I use on the Paj is better.

 

[cruza driver]

After a bit of discussion about polishing the checker plate on the OB's I thought I would do mine today (half is done :smile

A couple of things, make sure its not a really humid like it is here today as you work up a sweat :violin:
I washed the Expanda first then dried to off.
I then raided the wardrobe for old windcheaters :washing: and turned them inside out as there fluffy I thought that wouldn't leave any marks in the checker plate.

It took about three goes to get it shiney as the black in the alloy covers the rag, so I did it twice then went over it with a new cloth to finish off and bits that needed extra attention.
I did it in small sections 1st to make sure I was happy with the result and whether all the effort was worth it.

Today is overcast here but you can see the difference. the hardest part I guess was around the vents and plugs etc and as the surface isn't flat you have to work inbetween the rises in the plate.

Overall I'm pretty happy just need to finish it off :laser:

 

[chartrock]

Nope, can't see the difference, just the can & tube of polish.

 

[cruza driver]

But see how shiney they are :rofl:

After wiping the sweat out of my eyes and heading back out for another look I dont think its made a huge difference. Yes its a bit shinier (is that a word :smile

I'm yet to decide whether I'll do the other side.

 

[cruza driver]

A bit of an update on the cleaning of our Expanda. After our last trip which was into Sheepyard Flat which is 17km of graded dirt rd and with rain on the way in and it had also just been graded, lets say the Expanda got a bit muddy.




When we had our '07 Hawk OB it was the the 1st of the fibreglass mdl in the camper trailers and I actually never polished it but it was always thoroughly washed after every trip like the Expanda is. The difference with the Expanda is I also have polished it about 4 times in the 15 months of having it. The difference it makes to cleaning it after each trip and the way it seems to protect the fibreglass is well worth the effort imo. Even just hosing the Expanda the dust and dirt comes off easily. When towing in the rain you can see the water beading off the fibreglass so the polish must be helping to protect the fibreglass. Gum leafs also dont stain the fibreglass particularily the hard lids when the Expanda is set up. I use an Enjo car glove to wash it as it is soft and doesn't leave swirl marks in the fibreglass like a sponge could and I throw it in the washing machine between washes too.

This is what I have always used to wash the Expanda and previously the Hawk with, I also do the cars with it too.


This is my experience anyway :thumb:

 

[casiochris]

Looks like the car could do with a wash!!!! Mine does as well though.

 

[cruza driver]

Looks like the car could do with a wash!!!! Mine does as well though.

HAHA thats my wifes I washed mine :tongue:

 

[Ducfat]

very nice,
have also heard from truckies that "purple polish" works really well on the checker plate also:

View attachment 6548

Manic stuff the Purple Polish! It'll do the trick for sure!