Black streaks

[Wordsmith]

On our Prowler, I always used black streak remover to clean those ugly marks, but we did not have nearly the same level of decals on that unit as we do the Montana and I wonder how it might affect them. Has anyone used black streak remover on their Montanas? I HAVE noticed that the streaks show up on the Montana far more quickly than they did on the Prowler, which is a major pain!

[faeb and genb]

All I have ever used is clorox concentrate. spray it on wipe it off, then wash trailer with zip wash & wax. I even use it on the awning, this is the second rig I have done thaiw way. & no problems.
Gene

[sreigle]

I use the Black Streak Remover Wipes that come in a round can with a slit in the top to pull the wipes through. For me it seems to work better than the spray type does even though the same people make both. Much better, from what I can tell. I've never seen a problem with it affecting the decals.

Also, some of use clothespins on the scuppers to route the water away from the sides of the rig. That really helps. However, it doesn't help the other locations, like streaks coming off the scare lights.

[Wordsmith]

Thanks for the input; I just did not want to damage the decals any more than the bugs do on the nose.

I just wish the Montana stayed black strek free a little longer than it does. It appears to have numerous places for black streaks to appear.

[melnjoy]

WAX,WAX,WAX
I have used black strick remover in the past but I have found over the years that a good wax and the black comes off with little or no problems.
Mel

[melnjoy]

Also wax keeps the decals from chipping or peeling
Mel

[Wordsmith]

Thanks—I suppose the next question then is what type of wax works best?

[Montana Sky]

I put a good coat of wax on the coach every spring and fall, and put the Aerospace 303 product over the decals to help keep them clean and protect them from cracking/peeling from the sun. Have only found one small chip in the front decal from road travel.

[sreigle]

Wordsmith, a clean roof reduces the black streaks. I'm not sure that's not more work than removing the streaks, though.

I have three or four different waxes I bought with full intent to use, including Meguiar's. I also have 303. They're probably all good but every time I think about waxing this monster, I manage to talk myself out of it. Meanwhile, I use Zip Wax (or is it called Zip Wash?) to wash the rig. Mix a capful or two in a pail of water, then wash the rig with a telescoping wash brush, rinse it off, and I'm done. It leaves a light coat of wax. If I do this every month or two it seems to do a decent job of keeping it waxed. However, someday I still want to give it a hand wax job. Or maybe someone will come along who wants to do it for me for a reasonable fee.

[Wordsmith]

Steve, I hear you about washing/waxing these Montanas. It is NOT the most fun of tasks. Nice to know I am not the only one to talk myself out of it—I have managed to do a very good job of doing just that when it comes to cleaning the last two rubber strips that had mildew on them. I keep telling myself they are not on the front side of the 5er.

Man, that makes me remember that I need to wash the awning too!

[BillyRay]

that's all I ever use and never had a problem yet. it also works good removing bugs!

[sreigle]

I also need to wash the awning. We're not supposed to wash the rig in this park so I'll probably wait until the next place.

Today we were cleaning out the inside of the truck. Vicki was using some Armor All wipes I had in the console. On a hunch I took a wipe over to the Montana where i saw some black streaks. It worked as well as anything else I've tried.

[Montana_1424]

Ill tell you, washing and waxing is an ALL DAY project, LOL, I do it in the spring when I take it out of storage. I have a buffer, and I recommend using that, becasue that does cut down the time. I also lube all the seals and slides at the same time. I havent even done the roof yet, I an doing that on Monday. Wax does a good job getting the streaks off. It also helps with the bugs. With a good coat of wax, the bugs come off the front easier. I cant wash my rig at my house, so I dont alwasy wash it after my trips, so the bugs sit there for a week or 2, and they seem to come off easier in the beginning of the season, when the wax is fresh.

[snowbunny]

This may not be news to any of you, but I think I have found a better way to remove black streaks.

Last year I spent two full days, with black streak remover and many rags cleaning our Montana. We don't have rain gutters so we get black streaks everywhere there isnt a slide or an awning. Even there, we get black streaks above the slides or awning.

This year I did the following. I used my Karcher pressure washer with the fan sprayer that isn't as hard as the other tip. The fan sprayer puts out a lot of force but not enough to lift the graphics. I tested it by putting my hand in the stream about 15" away from the nozzle. It doesn't hurt. I have been silly enough to put my hand in front of the high pressure nozzle and I thought I was going to loose the fingers!
Anyway, I soap up the whole side with RV wash and leave it for a minute and then rinse it off. Then I use the black streak remover in the pump sprayer and leave it on for a minute. Then I take a soft telescoping wash brush and lightly scrub the streaks. They come off with little effort. Finally, I rinse with the pressure washer fan sprayer. It took me less than 5 hours to to the whole rig and I think it looks better than it did after all my efforts last year.

Next week I am going to get some spray wax and use it with the pressure washer, just like they do in the car washes!

[Montana_2779]

We're having pretty good luck with the house-brand black streak remover from Wal-Mart and the telescoping, soft-bristled brush that they sell in the RV department. We've also put the laundry clips at two of the corners (need to get a ladder to get the other two), and we've seen GREATLY reduced streaking there. I don't know what we'd do without you guys and gals that have been doing this for a while!! Sometimes I think the MOC is more valuable than a college education!

[sreigle]

Pete, can you reach the gutters from the roof? That's how I put the clothespins on ours. I cleaned off what black streaks we had yesterday (mostly on the nose and rear caps) and noticed two of our clothespins are pretty grungy looking. I'm wondering what the roof must look like to get the pins that dirty looking. Lots of trees around here so I hate to think about it.

[Montana_2779]

Did a roof cleaning about two weeks ago. Was hesitant to go that route to hang the clips (slip slidin' away-- as the old song goes). I have a ladder on my list, so I figured I'd take care of the rest once I had it.

Although we get absolutely no shade, I like the fact that our park is generally tree free. The roof looked pretty good after six month of ownership (no idea if the roof had ever been cleaned by the dealer or factory-- kinda doubt it). It had a few "bubble" spots (mostly along the line where the roof goes up to the bedroom), but I understand that this is not really a cause of great concern (any thoughts on that one?).

[sreigle]

Pete, I don't think those small bubbles are a big deal so long as they don't start growing. We've had a couple of small ones on ours, too, and they've not grown in almost three years. That's just my opinion.

Our roof is pretty stained from leaves and the like that just don't seem to clean up well. I'm very reluctant to use anything stronger than Dawn dishwashing liquid on that surface.

[fulltimedreamer]

I just finished cleaning our unit in preparation for the summer. I washed it with dishwashing liquid, went back over the coach looking for black streaks which I sprayed with Wally World's Black Streak Remover and rubbed with a brush on a pole. I then used Protectal also from Wally World and she looks like a new unit. I used Protectal last fall and the water was still beading when I washed this time.

After the cleaning I used Rustoleum Industrial grade paint to touch up the frame and steps. Makes fro a shiny rust free frame.

We're camping this weekend at Bald Ridge Creek on Lake Lanier, Memorial Day at Lake Rabun and then campground hosting at Fort Mountain State Park for the month of June. The coach is clean, the truck is clean, let the fun begin.

[Wordsmith]

Not to hijack the thread but, Lamar, where exactly are you going around Lake Rabun? I am looking for new campgrounds in that area.

Hmmmmm…just remembered I started this thread, so I guess I can do a little bit of hijacking!