We are new to caravanning, having bought our first van in May this year, and we love it! We stayed at a CC site last week where unusually we were allocated a pitch - under a tree when there were loads of hardstandings not under a tree. Naively we didn't think too much of this until we got home and went to give the van a wash before putting the cover back on. The roof is really badly stained and OH set to with Mudbuster and black streak remover but hasn't been able to completely remove the stains. I've taken this up with the CC ( why on earth did the warden allocate that space to us?) but had a feeble reply recommending Fenwicks products. You live and learn I suppose but if anyone has successfully managed to deal with leaf stains I would be grateful to hear how. Thank you!
Our roof is badly stained from leaves
- Thread starter NicNic
- Start date
NicNic said:
The Caravan Club (CC) don't normally allocate spaces, you choose your own. Are you sure it wasn't the Camping and Caravan Club (C&CC)?
We're in the process of renovating our 24 year old van which had some real hard core stains on the roof, I found meths removed said stains but then again I also found elbow grease removed stains/black streaks but it's up to you what you use on your van.
Sean.
Sean.
Hi Sean,
My caravan is practically brand new compared with yours.....( being not quite 20 years old!)
I find the best thing is to use really hot water (as hot as the hand can stand) in a bucket of water with car/wax/wash shampoo added at double the suggested dose!
I apply this by long handled brush from my trusty aluminium steps, and it really does work on my old ABI
It seems to leave a good coating of wax onto the roof that seems to "seal it" from the normal dust, dirt, leaves, bird droppings and general gunge that seems to accumulate on caravans during the winter etc.,
After you have given it the treatment once ( and removed a good proportion of the gunge) it becomes a lot easier for subsequent applications... the green algae, and general gunge seems to just float off after a while and with little effort compared with the elbow grease and effort needed the first time.....
I keep my van in the garden ( under trees) and when I first got it, it had so much green slime and gunge on it that I thought I would have to drag the lawn mower up there to deal with all the growth!
I use the cheapest carwax/shampoo I can find (from Asda) and managed to buy a large 2 or 3 litre container that should just about see me (or the caravan out!) I think it was only about £2.50 or so.
I do the caravan with it before the start of the season (around Easter for me,) again in June or July, and a final going over before the winter starts, Some folks use Fenwicks which is good but fairly expensive, but I've found the Asda stuff and very hot water for the really stubborn growth and marks works wonders... once the roof is reasonably clean the water only needs to be warm not hot.
I'm not sure that the manufactures or valet firms would approve of using my technique, but I took the view that with a fairly old van it was worth taking the risk.... I've been doing it this way (3 times a year) now for the last 8 or 9 years with no problems, but as always it your call..
I find the most difficult part of the whole process is now.... avoiding falling off the steps!
Good luck, and of course,
Happy Caravanning
paws
My caravan is practically brand new compared with yours.....( being not quite 20 years old!)
I find the best thing is to use really hot water (as hot as the hand can stand) in a bucket of water with car/wax/wash shampoo added at double the suggested dose!
I apply this by long handled brush from my trusty aluminium steps, and it really does work on my old ABI
It seems to leave a good coating of wax onto the roof that seems to "seal it" from the normal dust, dirt, leaves, bird droppings and general gunge that seems to accumulate on caravans during the winter etc.,
After you have given it the treatment once ( and removed a good proportion of the gunge) it becomes a lot easier for subsequent applications... the green algae, and general gunge seems to just float off after a while and with little effort compared with the elbow grease and effort needed the first time.....
I keep my van in the garden ( under trees) and when I first got it, it had so much green slime and gunge on it that I thought I would have to drag the lawn mower up there to deal with all the growth!
I use the cheapest carwax/shampoo I can find (from Asda) and managed to buy a large 2 or 3 litre container that should just about see me (or the caravan out!) I think it was only about £2.50 or so.
I do the caravan with it before the start of the season (around Easter for me,) again in June or July, and a final going over before the winter starts, Some folks use Fenwicks which is good but fairly expensive, but I've found the Asda stuff and very hot water for the really stubborn growth and marks works wonders... once the roof is reasonably clean the water only needs to be warm not hot.
I'm not sure that the manufactures or valet firms would approve of using my technique, but I took the view that with a fairly old van it was worth taking the risk.... I've been doing it this way (3 times a year) now for the last 8 or 9 years with no problems, but as always it your call..
I find the most difficult part of the whole process is now.... avoiding falling off the steps!
Good luck, and of course,
Happy Caravanning
paws
As I discovered last year the best stain remover on the roof is a combination of elbow grease, concentrated undiluted Fenwicks caravan cleaner ( they do sell it it badged as concentrate ) and the pink Muc Off that comes in a handy spray. I broke all the rules and used one of those little green sponges with a nylon soft scourer on the back.
Once cleaned as said above give the whole roof a generous deep wax polish..
Once cleaned as said above give the whole roof a generous deep wax polish..
Once you've got it clean and waxed try applying Fenwicks Bobbydazzler on top of the wax. This seems to form a very thin shiny film which rinses off easily with a hose ( but seems not to wash off in rain).
It's one capfull to a bucket and no rubbing required.
I was pretty doubtfil about the claims, but trid it and seems to work as they claim
It's one capfull to a bucket and no rubbing required.
I was pretty doubtfil about the claims, but trid it and seems to work as they claim
Dustydog said:
Just to be pedantic wax and polish are two different things, polish is slightly abrasive and will cut into the surface to which it is applied (and will produce a slight shine because the surface will be cleaner), whereas wax provides a lustre film over the surface without scratching it. Hence it is recommended to polish a surface first and then protect that surface with wax.
deep wax polish..
Sorry Sir WC but I have to disagree and maybe I will be pedantic. :woohoo:
In the context of my sentence Wax is a noun whilst polish is a verb , not a noun nor the resident of Poland. :kiss:
I find a good easily applied synthetic or carnuba wax on the roof works wonders and lasts. Autoglym super resin polish ( noun) is also very good.
How many people do you know who use a Dyson vacuum cleaner say they are doing the hoovering :silly: :lol:
hmy: Semantics.
Sorry Sir WC but I have to disagree and maybe I will be pedantic. :woohoo:
In the context of my sentence Wax is a noun whilst polish is a verb , not a noun nor the resident of Poland. :kiss:
I find a good easily applied synthetic or carnuba wax on the roof works wonders and lasts. Autoglym super resin polish ( noun) is also very good.
How many people do you know who use a Dyson vacuum cleaner say they are doing the hoovering :silly: :lol:
hmy: Semantics.Thank you all. We'll try undiluted Fenwicks followed by muc off, unless any further 'debate' suggests anything else! I will hold the steps firm while OH applies the elbow grease. Recommendations regarding waxing are also taken on board.
Yes Woodlands Camper, we did book the site though the Caravan Club. It seems it is a privately owned site which they have an arrangement with, as do the Camping and Caravanning Club. I gather forum rules forbid direct criticism of a named site and I don't want to fall foul of Mr Parks :S
Yes Woodlands Camper, we did book the site though the Caravan Club. It seems it is a privately owned site which they have an arrangement with, as do the Camping and Caravanning Club. I gather forum rules forbid direct criticism of a named site and I don't want to fall foul of Mr Parks :S
Dustydog said:How many people do you know who use a Dyson vacuum cleaner say they are doing the hoovering :silly: :lol:
My OH uses a Miele to do the [strike]hoovering[/strike] vacuuming and we write with a ball point pen that isn't made by Biro.
NicNic said:
Yes, I'd forgotten Affiliated sites (AS) do sometimes allocate pitches.
The AS we were on near Banbury earlier in the year gave us free choice of pitch, as do the main CC-owned sites. Wax usually only gives a shine if it's got fillers in it, wax should be used as a protector like a sealant which should not contain fillers, Meguiars professional range would be a great foundation to that perfect paintwork finish, best results with a DA machine.
Sean.
Sean.
Hi ,
after spending nearly 3 weeks in France on a lovely site in the dordogne but put on a poor pitch under trees then having 4 to 5 Days of torrential thunderstorm weather and rain , our caravan roof was subjected to a lot of leaves & sap on top and black lines running down the back off them , I cleaned it on site twice in the few weeks we were there but obviously could not get on top but was shocked at how black and slimey the top of the roof was when we got back home as i seen it from the upstairs windows on my drive . It took me nearly an hour to rinse the leaves off to , but after a good clean it come back white as with good caravan cleaner , hot water and elbow grease .
after spending nearly 3 weeks in France on a lovely site in the dordogne but put on a poor pitch under trees then having 4 to 5 Days of torrential thunderstorm weather and rain , our caravan roof was subjected to a lot of leaves & sap on top and black lines running down the back off them , I cleaned it on site twice in the few weeks we were there but obviously could not get on top but was shocked at how black and slimey the top of the roof was when we got back home as i seen it from the upstairs windows on my drive . It took me nearly an hour to rinse the leaves off to , but after a good clean it come back white as with good caravan cleaner , hot water and elbow grease .
I washed the caravan last week for the first time since may and was shocked at the amount of leaves and leaf stains on the roof.I have not yet managed to remove the stains completely. I used Fenwicks caravan cleaner in cold water but may try again with warm water and a lot more elbow grease.
There are plenty of products to try. Have you read our cleaning product reviews?
Click here for our test results. We haven't suffered leaf stains, just mud, black streaks, mould and algae stains, so please let us know how you solve this one.
Click here for our test results. We haven't suffered leaf stains, just mud, black streaks, mould and algae stains, so please let us know how you solve this one.
Parksy
Moderator
Whenever I've used Fenwicks or Muc Off on the caravan roof I've sprayed the undiluted product on using a small spray bottle from Wilkinsons, left it for a minute or two before using a dry extendable car wash brush to agitate the shampoo into lather. I don't rinse it off until it's had a few minutes to loosen the dirt.FrintonMike said:
We never park under trees,learned this early on and since have avoided trees,we don't even go to forest or heavily wooded caravan parks.
Remember if you are allocated a pitch you don't like you can always request a move to another pitch.
Remember if you are allocated a pitch you don't like you can always request a move to another pitch.
Just back from the storage site and went armed with every known cleaning agent known to man, ok maybe just Fenwicks caravan cleaner and a few clothes.
I was ready to use a lot of elbow grease to get rid of the leaf stains that I could not remove when I washed the van about 10 days ago.
The stains had gone when I got to the van so it looks as if all that is required are strong winds and heavy rain and the stains disappear
I was ready to use a lot of elbow grease to get rid of the leaf stains that I could not remove when I washed the van about 10 days ago.
The stains had gone when I got to the van so it looks as if all that is required are strong winds and heavy rain and the stains disappear
Facebook
Twitter