Best way to clean the roof?

[Dustydog]

Will probably do this in the early spring.
Some are doing it now. Two suggestions are Auto Smart g101 or Wet and Forget. Never used either.
Any thoughts?

Method wise for me is a long morning up the ladder buckets, medium /soft brush, partly diluted Fenwicks caravan cleaner , Fenwicks black streak remover for the stubborn stains, all rinsed and towel dried. Next door polish .

 

[otherclive]

Will probably do this in the early spring.
Some are doing it now. Two suggestions are Auto Smart g101 or Wet and Forget. Never used either.
Any thoughts?

Method wise for me is a long morning up the ladder buckets, medium /soft brush, partly diluted Fenwicks caravan cleaner , Fenwicks black streak remover for the stubborn stains, all rinsed and towel dried. Next door polish .

I always followed the approach in your para2 with the addition of Fenwicks Bobby Dazzler. Prior to winter I used Fenwicks Overwintering even if the van was being used.

 

[Woodentop]

Muck Off bike cleaner and a long arm carwash brush. Soluble, biodegradable, available from Halfords. Put an eggcup full in your screenwasher bottle and you will never have smear or a dirty screen!
MO do a caravan version but it is much more expensive.

 

[otherclive]

Muck Off bike cleaner and a long arm carwash brush. Soluble, biodegradable, available from Halfords. Put an eggcup full in your screenwasher bottle and you will never have smear or a dirty screen!
MO do a caravan version but it is much more expensive.

Why not just use a decent screen wash as Muc Off, good as it is, doesn’t give frost protection.

 

[RogerL]

Why not just use a decent screen wash as Muc Off, good as it is, doesn’t give frost protection.

An increasing number of car washer systems have sensors in the washer bottle which can become contaminated and/or very fine washer jets which can get blocked - even popular screen washes can cause issues so I'd avoid adding anything else like the plague.

 

[otherclive]

An increasing number of car washer systems have sensors in the washer bottle which can become contaminated and/or very fine washer jets which can get blocked - even popular screen washes can cause issues so I'd avoid adding anything else like the plague.

What do you use then in freezing temperatures as Mucoff has minimal frost protection? I use Sonax, Wurth or Prestone and make my own concentration up using water from our dehumidifier which gets more use in winter.

 

[RogerL]

What do you use then in freezing temperatures as Mucoff has minimal frost protection? I use Sonax, Wurth or Prestone and make my own concentration up using water from our dehumidifier which gets more use in winter.

I use Prestone Extreme Performance diluted down to 50% in winter and 25% in summer with the addition of tap water and small amount of meths - this works well - early on in the car's life I tried Halfords Berry screenwash and Rain-X* screen wash and both contaminated the level sensor in the washer bottle - I've heard other owners have issues with Rain-X* screenwash blocking the washer fan-jet nozzles

* Rain-X water repellant that's applied to the windscreen has an excellent reputation and is very different to the Rain-X screenwash.

 

[Beachball]

When we had the caravan our son use to go up a ladder and use a extending brush with Fenwicks caravan cleaner and it use to get marks off the roof and put Fenwicks bobby dazzler it use to leave a super shine finish

 

[Buckman]

I use Prestone Extreme Performance diluted down to 50% in winter and 25% in summer with the addition of tap water and small amount of meths - this works well - early on in the car's life I tried Halfords Berry screenwash and Rain-X* screen wash and both contaminated the level sensor in the washer bottle - I've heard other owners have issues with Rain-X* screenwash blocking the washer fan-jet nozzles

* Rain-X water repellant that's applied to the windscreen has an excellent reputation and is very different to the Rain-X screenwash.

Hopefully you are correct about the Prestone concentrate as just ordered some. Strangely the same amount of Holts concentrate is 5p cheaper, but both are made by the same company?

 

[otherclive]

Hopefully you are correct about the Prestone concentrate as just ordered some. Strangely the same amount of Holts concentrate is 5p cheaper, but both are made by the same company?

You need to watch the Holts as I bought some of their all seasons concentrate and there were no dilution instructions on the container. So I contacted Holts for advice and was told using it neat was good for 10 deg cent. Hence why I transferred my allegiance to Prestone , Sonax (at Lidls occasionally) or Wurth.

 

[Buckman]

You need to watch the Holts as I bought some of their all seasons concentrate and there were no dilution instructions on the container. So I contacted Holts for advice and was told using it neat was good for 10 deg cent. Hence why I transferred my allegiance to Prestone , Sonax (at Lidls occasionally) or Wurth.

The window washer fluid tank on the Jeep holds 5 litres and the Corolla probably about 2-3litres. Several years ago I forgot to use concentrate and the fluid in the washer tank froze and cracked the container. An expensive lesson!

 

[RogerL]

You need to watch the Holts as I bought some of their all seasons concentrate and there were no dilution instructions on the container. So I contacted Holts for advice and was told using it neat was good for 10 deg cent. Hence why I transferred my allegiance to Prestone , Sonax (at Lidls occasionally) or Wurth.

For a while I used VW screen wash from my dealer - it's very effective operationally but not very cost-effective - I tried buying some on ebay but it wasn't as effective, possibly watered down as it's clear anyway.

 

[Woodentop]

I find that most screen cleaners will not remove wax either from the road or a car wash. Muckoff clears everything.
I use 50% diluted screenwash all year round.
I've been using Muckoff with diluted screenwash for well over a decade and never had a problem yet, even on three Passat estates and and our present Karoq which all had/have heated jets.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hopefully you are correct about the Prestone concentrate as just ordered some. Strangely the same amount of Holts concentrate is 5p cheaper, but both are made by the same company?

It's very common for an OEM to supply product to other companies and allow it to be rebranded, but unless its specification is given in detail and they match exactly, often the rebranded products are modified in some way, so you can't assume it's exactly the same product.

 

[Jcloughie]

I go to shops like B&M and select a concentrated screen wash simply by the cheapest option. It is usually a known make. They all seem to work fine.

I remember, a very long time ago, some washes would not cut through the dirt and would leave streaks. But that is in the distant past.

John

 

[Hutch]

Many years ago, I tended to use washing up liquid in the screenwash, all was fine until We left the car for several months without using it.
The fluid in the car bottle had turned into a jelly like substance, took me ages to removed the bottle and clean it all out.
Dusty Dog, use Muc Off on the roof with a long brush and water, then Fenwick's over wintering fluid.

 

[Dustydog]

We live in a very hard water area. Plays havoc with the washer jets .I have two rear spares in the glove box!

 

[davyayr]

Will probably do this in the early spring.
Some are doing it now. Two suggestions are Auto Smart g101 or Wet and Forget. Never used either.
Any thoughts?

Method wise for me is a long morning up the ladder buckets, medium /soft brush, partly diluted Fenwicks caravan cleaner , Fenwicks black streak remover for the stubborn stains, all rinsed and towel dried. Next door polish .

Light jet wash first, to loosen the dirt and grit and wash it all off.
Thick coat of Autoglym snow foam, or similar.
Leave for 20-30mins. Soft brush over roof and rinse off. Repeat every month or so. That's it.

Or when you wash the car, wash the van.

Nothing you use will stop the muck getting on roof.

When the weather gets better, go to town on it.

Allow a full day to do the lot properly.

Towel dried !!!!! If you must polish, use one that can be applied on a damp surface.

 

[Buckman]

When new we had our caravan treated with Paintseal. All it required every year was a simple wash and the dirt flowed off. Even a good rainfall would leave it sparkling even after 6 years.

Our caravan is in storage and although there is a sort of "wash bay" we cannot use the pressure washer for the snow foam covering as no electrical socket in the area.