| Author |
Message |
Luis (Sundancer)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 6:33 pm: | |
Okay so now she is painted and polished. But she still does get dirty. I do the cleaning myself but I really hate to dry her cause she is soo big. Does anybody have a solution for this? Will a water softener do the trick? I'm in southern California, and we have the hardest, worst water in the nation. Help!!
Luis |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 6:50 pm: | |
Try driving really, really fast? |
DonGeneda
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 6:59 pm: | |
In a heavy rain first helps too. |
Jerry @NC
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 7:06 pm: | |
Leaf blower |
David Hartley (Drdave)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 7:39 pm: | |
If you use soft water ( water softener style ) you will be adding ionic salt to your metals.
There are autowash/rinse additives available but you may need a large quantity to rinse down the coach. Or maybe a garden sprayer attached to your hose... Hmm... There's an idea !! |
ChuckMC9 (Chucks)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 7:57 pm: | |
Run her through the incredible shrinking bus wash machine?
Seriously, man, IT'S GOOD FER YA to move around and stretch!
And you get to bond with her after her extreme makeover tooooooo!
All purty ladies need assurance and stroking. |
Jon W.
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 7:59 pm: | |
This may sound silly, but my Prevost with the stainless has to be dried or it will get water spots.
It takes about 5 or 6 generous sized bath towels. I use a folding ladder to reach all the way to the top, and if it is hot out I wash and dry sections at a time. I now have a system and it only takes about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half to do the whole thing. After driving all day it is a perfect way to loosen up.
An alternative is to try to get my wife to do it, but that hasn't worked yet. |
Nick Morris (Nick3751)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 8:04 pm: | |
Don't they make things to put on your hose that filter the stuff out of the water to stop the spots. That's the way they're advertised anyhow. |
Jon W.
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 8:20 pm: | |
At home I have every device know to man on my water system and if I don't dry my vehicles they have spots.
The answer is to use surfactants, but I prefer the use of plain water. I do not even use soap. |
LABryan
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 8:39 pm: | |
I have heard that the Mr. Clean spot free carwash system sold at discount stores works well for busses, but I haven't tried it. I'm in So.Cal too, and the polished stainless on my bus gets spotted unless dried well. In order to stop drips from I above, I have to dry the whole danged thing, which is OK with me because it looks great when I do. Here's what I do: Wash bus one part at time using an extendable car wash brush and bucket of mild soappy water. I do about 10 feet at at time. Rinse. Then dry the washed part, first with your extendable windsheild squeegee, and after that, dry again using a big micro-fiber carwash towel (sold at WalMart, etc) draped over your squeegee. They suck up the water really well. I need two for my 40' bus. I hand dry the parts I can reach from the ground with another of those towels. Even when it's really dirty I can wash and dry my whole bus in just over an hour, and without having to use a ladder.
Good luck!
Bryan |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 8:43 pm: | |
Ahhhhhh, ok... seriously..now...
Try using "ZipWax" automobile cleaner/wax. It cleans well
and doesn't leave horrible spots if you don't dry the surface.
I guess it's got a built-in water softener, since we had rock-hard
water in Massachewshitts and still.. no spots! It cleaned the
RVs and S/S surfaces of every imaginable dirt. About the
only dirt it couldn't remove, was Ted Kennedy...
(oops, sorry about the political outburst) |
Tim Jones (Torquester)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 9:10 pm: | |
I use the "Zipwax", works well. |
Kevin Black (Kblackav8or)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 9:42 pm: | |
Depending on the time of year the disolved minerals are worse. Fall is that time for SOCAL. It also depends on the neighborhood you are in, at least in San Diego. Our water in Rancho Penesquitos isn't nearly as it was when we lived in Mira Mesa. It is worse when you have a black dually pickup. People think it is strange when I wash my truck in the rain. If it has rained for a few minutes go wash and rinse before the rain stops. If it rains a while longer you won't get spots. Driving in the rain is what gets things dirty. A truck wash is also an option. |
gusc
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 9:52 pm: | |
Try Fleetwash from Harbor Freight. I used it on my painted aluminum airplane and didn't have to dry it. I haven't bought any in a long time because it lasts so long, mixes with water. They probably still carry it and the price is right.
The comments about driving are correct. Guys who polish their unpainted Al airplanes fly them right after washing or in the early morning to get dew off before it dries. No reason this won't work for a bus on a nice dry day. |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 10:04 pm: | |
All we have to do, is figure out the stall speed for his bus!
I did like the leaf blower idea, tho.. |
Dale L. Waller (Happycampersrus)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 10:09 pm: | |
John,
Luis dosen't have a Prop size in his profile.
Would Prop wash leave water spots??? Might try a bucket or two, just a thought. |
Gus Causbie (Gusc)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 21, 2005 - 11:28 pm: | |
Propwash is easy to clean off with hot air. |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 12:19 am: | |
Plenty of it here!!! |
Luis (Sundancer)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 12:38 am: | |
Drive it in the rain after washing. Now that makes a lot of sense, especially here in southern California which means I'll wash my bus 1 or 2 times a year. I've been going down to the bus yard where they have "goood" water, and it still spots. Not as bad as my faucet water, but still enough to where I have to dry her. As for relaxing by washing and drying her after driving her, I'd rather just sit and drink a beer. How do they wash the cars at car dealers? I'll have to ask and report back. Thanks for all the input.
Luis |
Gary Carter
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 12:55 am: | |
Depends on where we are. In MN I just rinse and forget. In Yuma, AZ you get spots.
I bought a 1.5 gallon plastic weed sprayer. The kind you pump up. Put disstilled water in it along with a couple drops of jet dry for diswashers. I then wash with a car soap. Rinse well and then spray with the distilled water. Takes about a gallon for a 44 foot painted coach. Works well. |
Luis (Sundancer)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 1:39 am: | |
Gary, you may have given me more beer drinking time. Thanks, I will try it.
Luis |
Ron Swanson (Swaneh)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 2:00 am: | |
In Calgary Canada we have very very hard water which leaves a lot of deposits if allowed to dry on the surface. I found a coin wash which uses rinse water made using a process called Reverse Osmosis. It takes out the dissolved solids so when the water drys there are no stains left. I have a black car which shows every spot. I would not want to to be without this as a final rinse.
It seems that many people here are not aware of this product. Maybe it's available in your area. |
dougtheboneifiedbusnut
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 7:05 pm: | |
Hey John, I'm in Hopkinton would love show off my baby sometime email me your phone I'll give you a call. |