Advice for VERY dirty aluminum siding!

[efhole]

Hello to all. Its been awhile since I posted on this site, but once again, the advice of the pros are needed. I purchased a new-to-me 2004 5th wheel over the winter in immaculate condition, except for the aluminum siding. I have washed it twice now, once with RV cleaner, and once with a detergent and Simple Green mixture. There are still lots of places on the RV that are stained and look very dirty. I have even bought 2 bottles of Black Streak Remover from Walmart and this didn't seem to phase it either. I'm at a loss at what else I can do to get the stains off this thing. Its clean as can be, but still looks dirty. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your responses!

 

[R1Kirby]

I had the same porblem on my first motorhome. You need Gel-Glos in a spray can, and lots of elbow greace.

 

[Cant Wait]

I've used a product from Auto Zone called "Purple Power" on tough spots use it full strength. It comes in either a qt spray bottle or a 1 gl jug.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

It's a painted surface, soyou can use any automotive polish to clean up the aluminum siding, e.g. the Gel Gloss that R1Kirby suggested. Try your favorite car polish on it.

 

[efhole]

I have spent the evening scrubbing on the front of the camper with Simple Green straight out of the bottle. Spray on, let it set 5 minutes, then scrub until the dirt breaks loose. The diffrence is literally like night and day!!!  I also went today and purchased the Gel Gloss, and although it works fairly decent, it doesn't cut the grime like the Simple Green does. I will spend some more time on the camper cleaning with the S.G., then go behind that and polish with the Gel Gloss. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Gel Gloss isn't the best painted surface cleaner around - it is intended for fiberglass gel coat surfaces.

Glad you found something that works for you.

 

[Big D 83]

Streak-x from rv tech works fantastic.

 

[IrishBrewer]

A friend of mine has a TT with aluminum siding and it cleans up great with the exception of the paneling that bears painted stripes.  The rest of the RV is just white aluminum siding, the kind with the ribs and it looks great.  The panels with the striping is very noticably different because it has a lot of the dark grey streaking that is very noticable between the stripes.  We were speculating that it looks like the manufacturer (Wilderness) did something to etch those panels prior to painting and probably did not apply an effective clear coat after the striping was applied.

If that is the case, it sounds like if you were able to find something to get these areas cleaned off, you would have a recurring problem on your hands unless you followed up with a good clear coat.

Just curious if you noticed anything similar with your issue.

 

[efhole]

A friend of mine has a TT with aluminum siding and it cleans up great with the exception of the paneling that bears painted stripes.  The rest of the RV is just white aluminum siding, the kind with the ribs and it looks great.  The panels with the striping is very noticably different because it has a lot of the dark grey streaking that is very noticable between the stripes.  We were speculating that it looks like the manufacturer (Wilderness) did something to etch those panels prior to painting and probably did not apply an effective clear coat after the striping was applied.

If that is the case, it sounds like if you were able to find something to get these areas cleaned off, you would have a recurring problem on your hands unless you followed up with a good clear coat.

Just curious if you noticed anything similar with your issue.

Funny, my 5th wheel is also a Wilderness. I am in the (slow) process of cleaning each panel and I am using Simple Green exclusively. It seems to be the best cleaner I've found so far, but because the RV sat so long without being washed, the grime is really almost baked in the siding. Thus far, i have cleaned the front and 1/3 of one of the sides and it looks like a two-toned RV. The difference is amazing. I haven't noticed anything with the graphics, except that they show zero signs of peeling or fading, which tells me they may be clear coated on. With my last TT (same year as this one), the graphics were both fading and peeling, but it had fiberglass siding, so I'm not sure if there is a difference or not.

 

[Greg H.]

I use "awesome", it does a fantastic job.  You can get it a the Dollar store or Walmart.  Just make sure you wet down the camper before applying it.

 

[BigDfromTN]

We recently got a new to us TT also.

It had been set up for some time. Most of the outside cleaned up nicely with a rv wash and bleach in the water.

On one corner especially where the roof drain was had some really bad streaks.
This corner however was much more stubborn.  Dont cringe here, but...  I used an SOS pad. The kind of steel wool stuff with soap in it.  Came very clean and did not scratch the finish.  I did use VERY light pressure.  The streaks were bad enought that I tried several products with brushes etc and then figured.  What the heck, even scratches will look better than that stuff.

Best of luck!

 

[efhole]

Thus far, I have spent roughly 4 hours on the camper and have only gotten to front, facing the back of the truck and 1/3 of the back behind the slideout done. Whew!!! This sucker is 27 foot long!!! With a sore arm and aching back, I can already tell this is going to take a while AND a toll on me!

 

[Big D 83]

Efhole,

trust me I don't have any stock in rv tech streak-x, its is expensive 50 bucks for a gallon (concentrate) but you will be so happy with the results. I purchased my TT last April and it had been stored outdoors and had bad black streaks, tried all the home remedies with not very good results. I went on the computer and googled black streaks on
TT and found this product, took a chance because of the price being expensive but it was definetly worth it. This year my wife and myself washed and waxed our 28 foot Innsbruck in about 4 hours and looks great. Good luck with your project.

 

[efhole]

Efhole,

trust me I don't have any stock in rv tech streak-x, its is expensive 50 bucks for a gallon (concentrate) but you will be so happy with the results. I purchased my TT last April and it had been stored outdoors and had bad black streaks, tried all the home remedies with not very good results. I went on the computer and googled black streaks on
TT and found this product, took a chance because of the price being expensive but it was definetly worth it. This year my wife and myself washed and waxed our 28 foot Innsbruck in about 4 hours and looks great. Good luck with your project.
[/quote]


Thanks for the tidbit. I will definately track this stuff down and give it a try.

 

[efhole]

Well, I broke down and ordered some Streak-X from RV Tech. Will give a full report after I give it a try. Since I've tried several different things, I will be able to provide some good insight for rememdies for very dirty aluminum sided travel trailers.

 

[Greg H.]

I use "Awesome", you can get it for $1 in the Dollar store.  I think Walmart also carries it.  It works great!  I just hose the camper down with water first, then I spray on the Awesome, then I take out my long brush and brush down the side.  I typically do one side at a time.

 

[Big D 83]

Well, I broke down and ordered some Streak-X from RV Tech. Will give a full report after I give it a try. Since I've tried several different things, I will be able to provide some good insight for rememdies for very dirty aluminum sided travel trailers.

Efhole, let me know how it works out for ya. The first time I used it I mixed 3 gallons water with about a quart of the concentrate, for the real stubborn areas I have a pail with about an inch or so straight streak-x. I just use a normal car wash brush that has an extendable handle so you can wash everything from the ground. My TT is a 28 footer and usually have some left in the pail when I'm finished and put a cover on it and use it later on.

 

[efhole]

Efhole, let me know how it works out for ya. The first time I used it I mixed 3 gallons water with about a quart of the concentrate, for the real stubborn areas I have a pail with about an inch or so straight streak-x. I just use a normal car wash brush that has an extendable handle so you can wash everything from the ground. My TT is a 28 footer and usually have some left in the pail when I'm finished and put a cover on it and use it later on.

Well Big D...I am SOLD on this product. It is absolutely incredible and does one heck of a job! My black streaks are so bad, I am using it undiluted, so my only regret is that I didn't order the gallon jug. What took me 4 hours to do with Simple Green, took me about 30 minutes to do with Streak-X. Thank you for the recommendation and I can honestly say that, after all the "concoctions" and products I have used, this stuff wins by a country mile. Its very easy to use and cuts through the grime like hot butter. Thanks again!!!!

 

[Big D 83]

Well Big D...I am SOLD on this product. It is absolutely incredible and does one heck of a job! My black streaks are so bad, I am using it undiluted, so my only regret is that I didn't order the gallon jug. What took me 4 hours to do with Simple Green, took me about 30 minutes to do with Streak-X. Thank you for the recommendation and I can honestly say that, after all the "concoctions" and products I have used, this stuff wins by a country mile. Its very easy to use and cuts through the grime like hot butter. Thanks again!!!!

Awesome Efhole glad it worked out for ya now you have to be like the karate kid and wax on wax off there daniel son!!! Just make sure your wax has carnuba in it. I have an extra gallon of the Streak-x if you want to drive to Michigan to get it!!

 

[efhole]

Awesome Efhole glad it worked out for ya now you have to be like the karate kid and wax on wax off there daniel son!!! Just make sure your wax has carnuba in it. I have an extra gallon of the Streak-x if you want to drive to Michigan to get it!!

Hehehe...with the price of this stuff, it might be cheaper to drive to Micigan and get a free gallon!! I finally finished one entire side of my 5ver last night. At the rate I'm moving, I think I am going to wax each side as I complete it, so tonight I will begin the Mr. Myagi wax job. As you might imagine, my arms are really sore from rubbing and wiping so much. I really dread the waxing, but it MUST be done to prevent me from going through this all over again later on down the road. Thanks again to all for their advice!