Polishing motorhome

[HKF]

Its important to clarify what material you wish to clean. So taking it you have some sort of Ducato base or van etc The front cab van part and usually all the plastic trim like bumpers can be cleaned and polished in the same manner and with the same products as a car. The Motorhome body presuming you have a coachbuild will be made of GRP (Gelcoat) - glass fibre reinforced plastic. This is what they use to build yachts. Use a good yacht cleaner and wax, don't use auto cleaners and auto waxes as it reacts differently. GRP is porous so holds onto oxidation and leaches it out again weeks after being cleaned so sometimes after removing oxidation you need to redo it 2 weeks later before you seal with a wax. This is why sometimes people are unhappy with the finish they achieve after putting in all the hard work and why some can find it difficult to get back to the showroom shine with GRP.
Everyone will have their own regime depending on many factors such as time and weather and condition of the vehicle and what level of shine or protection you are trying to achieve.
For me I clean once a year with fairy to strip all the old wax off, then I use a product called Starbrite black streak remover where needed around window seals and so on. I then will clay bar and if needed polish using a starbrite oxidation remover followed with a decent boat wax. The van probably gets 3 standard washes (if its lucky!) for the rest of the year using a boat wash that does not remove wax and if I have time or its looking dull I will top-up with another wax layer.
Please bear in mind I only de-oxidise if necessary, My van stays outside all year.
The boat waxes are also heavily doped with UV protection as you can imagine there is no shade on the ocean. There are many good products but I suppose my main point is to treat it like a boat not a car when it comes to buying your products. Check out youtube boat detailing and you will find a host of information. Find a nearby boat Chandler and get your products there.

Thank you for this information. So, is the Greased Lightning Showroom Shine no good for my coachbuilt, please?

Also, my coachbuilt is covered in mould on one side and the rear. It lives outside and we have trees nearby but not overhead. We use a woodburner in the house in the winter. I've tried Fairy, black streak remover and Shine Shine to remove it but the only thing that gets rid of it is Cillit Bang Mould Remover. I spray it on, leave it for 2 -3 minutes and rinse and it's gone. I was thinking that, after I've got rid of all the mould, I could use the Showroom Shine all over it but now I'm not sure what to do

 

[driftwood]

Thank you for this information. So, is the Greased Lightning Showroom Shine no good for my coachbuilt, please?

Also, my coachbuilt is covered in mould on one side and the rear. It lives outside and we have trees nearby but not overhead. We use a woodburner in the house in the winter. I've tried Fairy, black streak remover and Shine Shine to remove it but the only thing that gets rid of it is Cillit Bang Mould Remover. I spray it on, leave it for 2 -3 minutes and rinse and it's gone. I was thinking that, after I've got rid of all the mould, I could use the Showroom Shine all over it but now I'm not sure what to do

I looked at Grease Lightning website and could not find the specs but they do mention the following:

Safe to use on metal, glass, plastic and paintwork. Suitable for cars, caravans, motorbikes and even boats. Showroom Shine can be used on all non–porous surfaces so you can use it on paintwork, plastic trims, chrome, glass, mirrors and alloys.

They say Non-porous - its also not mentioned in their caravan section. I would say its fine for your cab and bumpers and all plastics. These Auto products in general (I can't speak for them all) won't damage your van but they won't work as designed on gelcoat.
Think of gelcoat the way you apply sunscreen to your skin, some of the wax fills the pores and the rest creates a barrier. Auto paint is generally considered a hard sealed coating so the wax's are designed to stick to them and shed water. I would recommend a boat specific product, many have PTFE included which fills the pores and creates a very slick surface that dirt does not stick to so easily

Regarding the mold issue may I hazard a guess it may be a form of algae rather than mold? There is nothing on your van for mold to live off and it should be well ventilated outside. I'm guessing the affected side and back face North and East and get no direct sunlight? possibly? if so, if cleaned thoroughly and waxed with the right product (some probably are available with anti-biological properties) it might do the trick or at least if well waxed prior to parking up for the winter any new growth should hopefully wash directly off when you take it out of storage. Try parking the van the other way around for a while to see if the problem swaps sides, then I would guess its an algae issue.

For full disclosure - I do not work in the trade etc. I just spent many years researching many of these issues myself wanting like all of us to treat my van as good as possible.

 

[HKF]

I looked at Grease Lightning website and could not find the specs but they do mention the following:

Safe to use on metal, glass, plastic and paintwork. Suitable for cars, caravans, motorbikes and even boats. Showroom Shine can be used on all non–porous surfaces so you can use it on paintwork, plastic trims, chrome, glass, mirrors and alloys.

They say Non-porous - its also not mentioned in their caravan section. I would say its fine for your cab and bumpers and all plastics. These Auto products in general (I can't speak for them all) won't damage your van but they won't work as designed on gelcoat.
Think of gelcoat the way you apply sunscreen to your skin, some of the wax fills the pores and the rest creates a barrier. Auto paint is generally considered a hard sealed coating so the wax's are designed to stick to them and shed water. I would recommend a boat specific product, many have PTFE included which fills the pores and creates a very slick surface that dirt does not stick to so easily

Regarding the mold issue may I hazard a guess it may be a form of algae rather than mold? There is nothing on your van for mold to live off and it should be well ventilated outside. I'm guessing the affected side and back face North and East and get no direct sunlight? possibly? if so, if cleaned thoroughly and waxed with the right product (some probably are available with anti-biological properties) it might do the trick or at least if well waxed prior to parking up for the winter any new growth should hopefully wash directly off when you take it out of storage. Try parking the van the other way around for a while to see if the problem swaps sides, then I would guess its an algae issue.

For full disclosure - I do not work in the trade etc. I just spent many years researching many of these issues myself wanting like all of us to treat my van as good as possible.

Thank you so much for this info

So, for the gelcoat (which I knew nothing about before), which product would you recommend, please? I'm back in the UK soon, so can pick something up.

The MH is parked with the bad side facing North West and the back facing South West. I don't want to try it the other way round, as I'll then have to do the whole thing with Cillit Bang, which is the only thing that will remove it

 

[Folkranger]

Wish I had the time to do all the clay bar, polishing, waxing being spouted on here. If I had, I'd spend the time going away more often.

It's only a motorhome, it's not concourse, it's work horse.

 

[KASPAR]

Wish I had the time to do all the clay bar, polishing, waxing being spouted on here. If I had, I'd spend the time going away more often.

It's only a motorhome, it's not a concorde, it's work horse.

FTFY

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[HKF]

Yesterday, I cleaned the back of my MH with Cillit Bang Mould Remover. It's now completely clean with no trace of the mould/mildew that was on it before (see pic, which shows the difference). However, I now need something to finish it with to protect it. As driftwood said above, I'm looking for something boat-specific that has PTFE in it, to fill the holes in the gelcoat but.....I have no idea which product to choose. I'm currently in France, so I'm looking to buy something here, maybe from Amazon.fr. Can anyone recommend a product for me, please? What does everyone else use on their porous gelcoat? Thank you

 

[HKF]

Yesterday, I cleaned the back of my MH with Cillit Bang Mould Remover. It's now completely clean with no trace of the mould/mildew that was on it before (see pic, which shows the difference). However, I now need something to finish it with to protect it. As driftwood said above, I'm looking for something boat-specific that has PTFE in it, to fill the holes in the gelcoat but.....I have no idea which product to choose. I'm currently in France, so I'm looking to buy something here, maybe from Amazon.fr. Can anyone recommend a product for me, please? What does everyone else use on their porous gelcoat? Thank you


View attachment 952242

Just bumping this up, as i really need to buy something before the harsh weather sets in.

I've seen this on Amazon

https://www.amazon.fr/-/en/dp/B007JJHRY2/ref=pd_lutyp_ci_mcx_mr_typ_d_d_sccl_2_3/259-4129199-8617847?pd_rd_w=8G90N&content-id=amzn1.sym.7c1a512f-46a9-459c-9fcb-1c7b8864b865:amzn1.symc.0e04ee4a-2b8c-44d8-b829-f6d01bf2800a&pf_rd_p=7c1a512f-46a9-459c-9fcb-1c7b8864b865&pf_rd_r=BSZPJ87FHZVTZWAYGSQ7&pd_rd_wg=JdtKh&pd_rd_r=5bd1ca93-ac7e-4c78-abf7-235f1c1eaac7&pd_rd_i=B007JJHRY2&psc=1

but it doesn't mention PTFE and it says it's a polish. Will it do for my gelcoat MH or not, please? If not, can someone recommend something I can get on Amazon, please? driftwood , can you help me at all, please?

Thank you

 

[nerka]

Best to do one panel a day by hand if you use a buffer wrong look at paint work in the sun …

 

[Northernraider]

Best to do one panel a day by hand if you use a buffer wrong look at paint work in the sun …

I've always done my vehicles by hand , but my current van I used a machine polisher and what a difference it made. Deep shine that lasts