How do you get those black streaks off?

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The best thing I have found to use is Mean Green. You can find this at any Dollar General store and is 5 bucks a gallon.I just spray it on and rub it down with my rv brush and then rinse off. This stuff works great for cleaning the rubber roof as well.
 
Full strength Simple Green works for me -  spray it on, rub with sponge, and rinse off immediately.  Beware of using it on laquer striping - it is a pretty good laquer remover too.  Try on a small, unnoticable location.
 
I used evrything in the RV store including mean green and simple green and every other color....... but Soft scrub and a little elbow grease was the ONLY thing that worked!!!!!
 
Save yourselves a few dollars....

I have discovered that the dollar store citrus cleaner is good for bugs, black streaks, whatever I wanted to clean.

Joe
 
This may be wrong but I used mineral spirits.  There were lots of black streaks on this old 1991 and they all came off.  Then I waxed it, so far so good, but I'm sure they will be back again over time.  It doesn't seem to have hurt anything or discolored it.
 
The best black streak remover I have seen is Korkay. We use it at a dealership where I had a part time job. Not to be used extensively on a painted surface but will work well with all trailers. I use it sparingly on my Class A coach with no problems. It really does work.
 
The reason you see so many different answers is that the chemical make-up of the streak varies considerably. Part of it is probably chalk (for RVs with a rubber roof), but the rest is dirt and grime from the air and rain water that has accumulated on the roof and then runs down. In some areas that means acids (acid rain content), smoke stack residue, tree saps, greases, bird dung with various berry and nut juices or insect residue, etc.  And the degree to which is penetrates the finish on the RV depends on the material, paint vs fiberglass or aluminum, gel coat, clear coat or none, etc.  You may find something that works great on your rig but has little effect on somebody else's. Or the streak content may change if you camp in a different region.
 
The best cleaner ever is "Awsome" from Dollar General Stores. I will not damage your finish and will remove all black streaks. It also cleaned the molding on my 5er.
 
waroland said:
The best cleaner ever is "Awsome" from Dollar General Stores. I will not damage your finish and will remove all black streaks. It also cleaned the molding on my 5er.
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Well, I saw this posted elsewhere, so we went and got some.  It actually does work pretty danged good.  Now, the Simple Green we had also worked, so I think that maybe my black streaks weren't so bad.  My trailer is still pretty new, so it hasn't had time to streak real bad.  But I will certainly put in a good word for the Awesome.  It is some pretty good stuff.
 
My motorhome sat for several years and I thought the black streaks were going to be a permanent paint scheme.  I tried numerous products and techniques, with little or no success.  What I found worked best was Windex with a touch of liquid TSP added.  I sprayed it on, then wiped it immediately with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser... No trace of the streak at all.  Just to be safe, I sprayed the area with straight Windex and wiped with a clean towel... looks like new.
 
I agree with Waroland!  I have used Awesome for several years & have never found anything better.  I get it at Dollar tree in a spray bottle for $1.00.  I use rubber gloves & rib it on the streaks full strength & rinse with the hose.  Just do not get it on the glass full strength.  It will leave a cloudy film that as far as I know will never come off.  Don't ask how I know!
 
On my fiberglass sided camper I recently sold most of the cleaners listed worked well BUT the 02 metal sided TH I just bought has the Black streaks from he11!  :mad: My cabinet of cleaners barely put a dent in these streaks. The black has seamed to penetrate the paint. Rubbing compound has come the closest but way to much work and still not 100%  Looks like mineral spirits will be my next attempt then a good waxing.  Good luck to all of you and happy camping ;D
 
Yes, enamel  paints will take stains that are all but impossible to remove. Acrylic paints, especially the  clear-coated types, are harder and don't stain as easily. Many fiberglass RVs have a clear coat on them even if they are not painted. And a gel coat finish on an RV is hard and should be fairly easy to clean, though I had one in pure white that was a real pain as well.
 
I just apply some auto wash & wax full strength and then wash with a RV/truck wash brush. Also works for bug removal.
 
If after the area is cleaned, even if you don't wax your rig; it would be worth it to wax this spot if it gives your trouble. Less of the grime will stick, and was does stick, won't have a very strong hold due to the wax.
 
HI
We detail RV's here in Richmond VA and we recently finished a detail on a Class A Hurricane Fourwinds, 30ft.  It had black streaks from the roof and rubber moldings holding dirt and grime.  I used Meguiar's Cleaner wax and Automagics Strawberry Wet Wax and polished it using a DA Polisher.  It came out beautifully.
 
Hi MirandaDetailing, glad to have you aboard and sharing your expertise.

Be sure to read our forum rules re commercial advertising or solicitations.
 
I've always used Simple Green. I have a few bottles of it in the garage mixed at different strengths. If the weaker mixes don't clean them off I go to the full strength.
 
I have used a product called "RV Wash ". It works well on the white fiberglass RV's for removing black streaks. I have found that it works on painted surfaces, but it is harder to rinse on darker colors.
 
This post isn't about a product that will remove black streaks, but rather a product that prevents them!

Before we went on our late summer trip of 5100 miles, I resealed all our DICOR seams on our roof with Eternabond Tape.  I think most of the black streaks must have been from dirt captured in the sticky DICOR stuff, because after 5100 miles and lots of rain...

There have been NO NEW black streaks on the RV!  I did, of course, clean the roof, and the dicor before putting down the Eternabond Tape.  But it has made the cleanup much easier without black streaks!

Ron
 
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