Cleaning up the camper

[Fred Voorhees]

In about five weeks, I will be leaving for my annual trip to Syracuse,NY for the big end of the season dirt track stock car race and that means one thing - it's time to bring out the camper for the annual wash and wax job. I bought it new back in '87 and have kept it up well, both inside and out. The finish in spots on the exterior aluminum is definitely showing its age though and it has been tough to get a good shine with waxing. I was wondering if anyone knew how I might get a shine back. As I said, I have waxed every year, but that hasn't done the job to my liking for about five years now.

I have this special pad for my random orbital sander that I picked up somewhere that I have never used and it appears to be perfect for applying a paste wax and buffing. Thinking of using a polishing compound first though. I thought I might try it this year. Anyone have any other ideas?

[Brian Hale]

Careful with the polishing compound! Most aluminum used on campers has a very thin color layer and it's easy to polish thru it. DAMHIKT


I can't be of uch help on getting the shine back other than a good cleaning and a couple coats of quality car wax.

Brian

[Fred Voorhees]

Careful with the polishing compound! Most aluminum used on campers has a very thin color layer and it's easy to polish thru it. DAMHIKT


I can't be of uch help on getting the shine back other than a good cleaning and a couple coats of quality car wax.

Brian

Thanks Brian. Yeah, you can tell by looking that the color doesn't go that deep. I have kept at the camper as far as cleaning, but being exposed to the elements all of these years, I guess I can't expect it to look "showroom" forever. Really, the problem is only where the "skin" is exposed "upwards" and rain and dirt and such can actually sit on the aluminum skin - up front where the body wraps up at an angle to the roof and in the back where it wraps around to the roof. I'm going to try the polishing compound and use care. If that doesn't work, I guess I will have to resign myself to accepting that the camper will not look fairly new anymore after a good cleaning and waxing. For the most part, 90% of the body still looks great after a waxing.

[Andrew Ault]

If you'd like to try something low in abrasion, Nufinish (bright orange bottle) works pretty well. It can do wonders in returning a shine and will last over a year in the Southern California sun. I've used it on old car paint and on my white gel coated fiberglass truck shell. The gel coat was "melting" with white streaks running off it on the paint on the truck. After the Nufinish...no more white streaks and the top has looked great for a couple of years now. That reminds me - I need to wax my truck again so it doesn't melt.

Have fun on that trip!

-Andy

[Fred Voorhees]

If you'd like to try something low in abrasion, Nufinish (bright orange bottle) works pretty well. It can do wonders in returning a shine and will last over a year in the Southern California sun. I've used it on old car paint and on my white gel coated fiberglass truck shell. The gel coat was "melting" with white streaks running off it on the paint on the truck. After the Nufinish...no more white streaks and the top has looked great for a couple of years now. That reminds me - I need to wax my truck again so it doesn't melt.

Have fun on that trip!

-Andy

Andrew, thanks for the tip. Can I find Nufinish at the retail level?

[Vaughn McMillan]

Andrew, thanks for the tip. Can I find Nufinish at the retail level?

PMFJI, but I'm pretty certain I've seen it at my local auto parts store (Auto Zone, in my case). If not there, the local home center.

- Vaughn

[egon reske]

Check with the local RV dealer and find out what they use on their used units.

Egon

[Andrew Ault]

Yes, Nufinish is available at typical retail auto supply stores.

Have a great vacation!

[Fred Voorhees]

Picked up a bottle of NuFinish tonight (Fri) and hope to give it a test shot on a spot on the camper over the weekend.