Cleaning RV Exterior

I recently did research here, and started a thread on this topic.  Here is what I tried and what is working well for me.

My camper is an '09 Grand Junction FW with fiberglass exterior.

On our last trip, we arrived home after dark, so the exterior went from needing cleaned and waxed, to a front cap that was desperate for attention.  It was covered with road grime and bugs.  Other parts of the RV were only a bit dull from oxidation to roof water stains, on both the paint and decals.  Products used were Formula 409, Paper Towels, Magic Eraser, and Meguiar's Cleaner Wax.

On the front cap, I sprayed 409 over an area, then rubbed / wiped off  the 409 with paper towels, which removed the road grime, and some of the bugs.  More rubbing with the wet paper towel got about 90% of the bug grime.  A second pass with 409 and clean paper towels was needed to remove all of the dirt loosened by the first pass.
Alternate:  I sprayed 409 over an area, then rubbed / wiped off with Magic Eraser, which removed the road grime, and 95% of the bugs.  More rubbing with the Magic Eraser got about 99% of the bug grime.  A second pass with 409 and clean paper towels was needed to remove all of the dirt loosened by the first pass.
With either method, once the entire cap was clean, I applied the Meguiar's Cleaner Wax with a white wash cloth per label directions, allowed to dry, and wiped off the haze with a clean towel.

On the sides, the issue was some road grime and lots of oxidation, and white roof stains on the decals.  I also had a few spots where the oxidation had been "wiped off" by "attack trees" on our first outing.  This made a good area to test oxidation removal.
I found the 409 did an excellent job of removing dirt, water stains and oxidation with simple spray on and wipe off  techniques.  Often, no second pass with 409 was needed.  This left a clean surface with minimal dirt to be removed by the cleaner polish.
I also tried the Meguiar's Cleaner Wax only on similar areas.  It did an equally good job of both cleaning and oxidation removal, but it took a bit more rubbing and the applicator cloth, which was picking up all the dirt, needed much more frequent replacement with a clean cloth.

IN SUMMARY
Formula 409 did a great job of cleaning general dirt, road grime, white water stains and a bug removal.  For most areas, paper towels work well for this cleaning.  In areas with more grime or bugs, Magic Eraser improved the cleaning significantly.
For most of the camper, only one 409 application was necessary.  Particularly dirty areas required a second application to remove all of the dirt loosened up by the first application.
Formula 409 only did a fair job of hard water stains below the water heater.
Formula 409 did a great job removing oxidation.

Meguiar's Cleaner Wax did a good job of cleaning general dirt, water stains and oxidation.  It required more rubbing than the 409, and required frequent clean cloths.  It was NOT tested on the bug covered front cap without prior cleaning.

Meguiar's Cleaner Wax clearly left a sheen on the front cap, and it is MUCH smoother (wipe a cloth across the surface before and after) than untreated.  It was more of a semi gloss than a high gloss.  I have no idea when it was last waxed.  I am happy with the results.

) )

Good ole 409! Used it for years to clean my fiberglass boats. I usually buy the gallon size at lowes ($10) and use a pump sprayer to spray it on. I scrub with a car wash brush.

Great Post Grashley,

Just a little warning for ya'll. Make sure you don't spray Formula 409 on hot or very warm glass, even the over spray will damage your glass.
Long ago I was cleaning the inside of my truck cab with 409 and over sprayed the back glass window, which was hot to touch etched the glass really bad. 409 is some really mean stuff on dirt and grime, but hell on glass. So, watch whatcha doing folks.

Take dish soap, straight from the bottle.  Put it on a rag and wipe the front of the RV.
when you return from your trip  hit it with a hose and 95% of the bugs and dirt come off. 

Use a mild soap such as dawn.  and if it happens to rain,  mother nature washes off those bugs for you.

Dish soap is not good for automotive finishes - it will strip the wax right off.

Indeed it will strip wax, but that doesn't harm the finish.  409 strips wax too, as will any degreaser product.
You pretty much need to decide upfront whether you need a strong detergent to remove tough grime, or a mild soap that will leave the protectant/wax intact.  If the finish has a wax/protectant in place, most automotive washes will easily remove road dirt without removing the protectant. Bug splats are another story, but they can often be soaked off without removing the protectant/wax.

Anyone ever try Murphy's Oil Soap on an RV or car??

I'm a fan of WD40 for cleaning most everything off the finish of cars or RV.  Great on tar and bugs

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Indeed it will strip wax, but that doesn't harm the finish.  409 strips wax too, as will any degreaser product.
You pretty much need to decide upfront whether you need a strong detergent to remove tough grime, or a mild soap that will leave the protectant/wax intact.  If the finish has a wax/protectant in place, most automotive washes will easily remove road dirt without removing the protectant. Bug splats are another story, but they can often be soaked off without removing the protectant/wax.

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I agree with this and the manufacturers of at least the three RV's we have owned have all highly suggested using a good quality automotive wash which I use and have always had great results.  For getting dead bugs and tar off prior to washing, I have used Griot's Garage Bug remover, Enzit and now Poor Boys World Bug Squash and while did the job, Poor Boys World Bug Squash has been the best and most economical to use.

SpencerPJ said:

I'm a fan of WD40 for cleaning most everything off the finish of cars or RV.  Great on tar and bugs

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What's your experience with WD40 and decals? A friend of mine uses it for black streaks but says he avoids getting it on the decals so I'm afraid to use it at all. I would hate to loosen the adhesive.

Joezeppy said:

What's your experience with WD40 and decals? A friend of mine uses it for black streaks but says he avoids getting it on the decals so I'm afraid to use it at all. I would hate to loosen the adhesive.

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It certainly would dissolve the adhesive.  Never gave much thought to the front decal, but I actually keep mine waxed nice and RV wash soap works well.  I would probably keep away from the decal as well. 

I neglected to include in my initial post a a BIG THANK YOU  to Wally, aka Old Crow, for his helpful suggestions.  They are appreciated, even if I forgot to say so initially!

There are some new enzyme bug cleaners on the market that don?t use petroleum.  I have used Bugs B Gone by Seafoam.. Very impressed by it and it worked great on the front end.

Want to get bugs off fast.  Dip a dryer sheet into water and rub across the buggy surface.  Works like a charm and, at my house, they are readily available.

Bill

This is a great topic.

I use this stuff from AMSoil.  It takes about 10-15 minutes if the bugs are heavy on the front of my TT.  It does a nice job of removing the bugs and road debris while giving the TT a nice protective coat of wax that looks great.  Plus these bottles last a long time. 

https://superoilcentral.com/car-care-products/amsoil-miracle-wash-waterless-wash-and-wax/

grashley said:

I neglected to include in my initial post a a BIG THANK YOU  to Wally, aka Old Crow, for his helpful suggestions.  They are appreciated, even if I forgot to say so initially!

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I'm glad it worked as well for you as it did for me.  When I arrived near Yosemite from Tucson(where I did the cleaning of my coach), I used some Meguier's Spray Detailer to remove the bugs from the front of the coach.  They came off so easily I didn't believe it. 
We go into our spot at the Q tomorrow and park rules forbid washing of the coach at the site.  We'll see how that spray detailer and a lot of rags clean it up after around 500 miles of SoCal freeway driving in the rain.

I use a hydrophobic spray/wax on my vehicles and RV and it makes a night and day difference on clean up. The one i use currently is hydrosilex but if you want a more permanent solution (no wax needed for years) you can do something like ceramic pro just for the front.  Search on youtube to see what it does exactly. Waxing is on it's way out of the door with this technology becoming so popular.

If you coat the RV with this then wiping it off becomes WAY easier. Nothing wants to stick to the surface. It makes the surface more like glass and I can't say enough about it. Check out the hydrosilex website and read more about it. You can apply to rims, tires, fiberglass, paint, etc etc.

So products like cleaner wax, 409, wd40, dish soap , etc are no longer needed. Put a few coats of this spray on the RV and after driving hundreds of miles the grime should wipe off with just water. Apply another quick coat again. The surface is incredibly shiny and smooth to the touch once using it so it's noticeable right away. There are a lot of hydrophibic products popping up that all do the same thing but this is just the one i use. I recommend giving it a try instead of so much elbow grease.

Try telling that to the classic car and bike guys.  Waxes, polishes, swirl-removers, clay bars, etc.  These guys love massaging the exterior of their toys.  To tell the truth, I'm much the same.
I've got hydrophobic coating on my eyeglasses.  Rainwater and such bead up and run off, but they still leave spots on the glasses and they need to be cleaned the old fashioned way.

I took some of that detail spray and did a small spot on the side of the coach yesterday.  Based on a 30 second test, it's going to take about a half-day to get the coach clean and shiny with the detail spray and a rag.  Most of that time will be spent moving the ladder around and switching rags.

?I use a hydrophobic spray/wax on my vehicles and RV and it makes a night and day difference on clean up.?  I too started using one of these on both vehicles & boat.  Very happy and much less elbow grease than wax. RV is new to us, following first wash (roof & rear very dirty) I did the hydro thing. Time will tell