Waterless wash. Caravan polish

[shakeyblade]

Hi All

on the site we are on they dont want you washing your vans, so i have given mine a cheeky quick once over this weekend. Question is anyone used waterless cleaners.
also what polishes do you guys use.

 

[otherclive]

Hi All

on the site we are on they dont want you washing your vans, so i have given mine a cheeky quick once over this weekend. Question is anyone used waterless cleaners.
also what polishes do you guys use.

If you look on the Will my Coachman roof take my weight here quite a bit on what cleaners and polishes are used. I wash with Fenwicks Caravan Cleaner. Sometimes use Autoglym polish and then autoglym extra gloss protection. But that’s normally in spring. During season it’s just Fenwickbto wash and Fenwicks Bobby Dazzler which keeps it looking good. Late Autumn I wash then spray with Fenwicks Overwintering and that’s how it stays until spring even when it’s used during winter.

Try a search on Polish it throws up a variety of approaches

 

[SeaDog]

iOn our previous caravan we used Grease Lightning Showroom Shine, which is a waterless polish/cleaner. It's very good as long as you keep changing the microfiber cloths. Our latest van we had Paint-sealed and have not put any polish on in five years and it still looks new when washed. I think if I wanted the paintwork protected on this van or on another I would approach a company called Tourershine as they have very good reviews.

 

[Ironduke2018]

I also considered these waterless products but eventual shied away - the reason? whether you have costly diamond bright on your vehicle or not, just imagine this.....When dirty, your vehicle is covered in all sizes of grit. This will range from the microscopic up to chunky bits a little smaller than a match head say. Now, what we are supposed to believe is that this special liquid or cream will make it all go away like magic, its a miracle!!!! But sadly; no. You see,(and I know everybody is now ahead of what Im about to write), you are now rubbing all that grit, like sand paper particles into your shiny surface. How about that then? And what is that going to look like many years up the road I thought? Finally, these products have a high amount of polishing silicone's. But all they do is temporarily fill all those tiny scratches you have just created. Brill!!!
If I cant get a hose on it these days, it stays dirty I'm afraid.
Best of luck. 🤔

 

[shakeyblade]

i was sort of thinking on the same line, but as i said i have managed to give the van a very discreet wash, so im thinking most of the grit and sand may have gone. so now using a waterless cleaner before the polish maybe ok?

 

[paws]

I've been using Greased Lightning Showroom Shine since it was first launched in the UK....

Like others I thought that rubbing dirt and grit particles into my paintwork was a definite no no as I reasoned that scratches would be inevitable...... however I was wrong! I did some research and found that as long as clean microfibre cloths were used and changed regularly ( washed as required and without using fabric softener) the grit and dirt particles were, as it were, "encapsulated" by the chemicals, and held harmless as a result.

Trying it first of all on a small and inconspicuous spot on my car I saw that there was no visible scratching even under low power magnification using a hand lens, so I progressed to an all over clean and still no scratches but a hard surface of (what is said to be) carnuba wax seemed to seal the surface paintwork.
I do the car twice a year with greased Lightning Showroom Shine and it does a great job, needing only intermediate hosing to leave a clean and shiny surface, as the dirt and bird dropping don't seem to be able to get much of a grip.

Impressed with this result I moved on to my caravan and throwing caution to the winds did an all over clean with the same stuff..... with excellent results and no scratching. Now I use it twice a year ( same as for the car) and again with just an intermediate light hosing and it keeps it looking great.

Usual disclaimers (I am just a happy customer, with no connection to them) but my car is now 19 years old and my caravan is 25 years old.... still no scratches ( apart from the one I caused by misjudging the width of my gateway!)
I hope this helps someone, and as always.
Regards to all and of course,
Happy Caravanning
paws

 

[CustardAvenger]

I tow with a ProTec towing jacket, but remove it when on site. The caravan is usually clean but it can get dusty. Before refitting I clean the windows with AutoGlym fast glass and the parts of the front panel the cover touches with Meguiars Quik Detailer and clean microfiber towel.

I've used the Quik Detalier to clean black streaks from the rear panel too. But the van stays pretty clean after I treated it to Gtechniq C2.

 

[Dodger524]

All this talk of washing and cleaning caravans is making me feel quite ill, 🤢 please desist.

 

[CustardAvenger]

...I did some research and found that as long as clean microfibre cloths were used and changed regularly ( washed as required and without using fabric softener) the grit and dirt particles were, as it were, "encapsulated" by the chemicals, and held harmless as a result.
...
Usual disclaimers (I am just a happy customer, with no connection to them) but my car is now 19 years old and my caravan is 25 years old.... still no scratches ( apart from the one I caused by misjudging the width of my gateway!)...

As you rightly say, encapsulating the dirt using microfiber (or lambswool in a wash mitt for contact washing) is the best way to go, a sponge will drag the dirt all over the surface inflicting damage. But, I'm not sure about a water-less wash for a proper clean of the car or caravan when water can be used. Common detailing best practice is to avoid touching the car as much as possible to avoid wash marring... this is not necessarily scratching, but is 'swirls' which usually appear under direct light. Pre-cleaning with a pressure washer (but not on the caravan) and then a snow foam along with the "two bucket method" + Grit Guards minimises swirls.

 

[Lappy]

CustardAvenger.

The best way to eliminate 'Swirls' is to use vertical and horizontal strokes as you add the polish. This gives a better appearance under direct sunlight.

I use Fenwick's to wash and Autoglym to polish. I also have Autoglym Aqua wax, but have not used it yet, as the caravan has only been used once since new.

Regards,

 

[otherclive]

CustardAvenger.

The best way to eliminate 'Swirls' is to use vertical and horizontal strokes as you add the polish. This gives a better appearance under direct sunlight.

I use Fenwick's to wash and Autoglym to polish. I also have Autoglym Aqua wax, but have not used it yet, as the caravan has only been used once since new.

Regards,

I use the Autoglym Aquawax on the car and it works well.

 

[CustardAvenger]

CustardAvenger.

The best way to eliminate 'Swirls' is to use vertical and horizontal strokes as you add the polish. This gives a better appearance under direct sunlight.

I use Fenwick's to wash and Autoglym to polish. I also have Autoglym Aqua wax, but have not used it yet, as the caravan has only been used once since new.

Regards,

While that may help, I believe the swirls visible under lights are formed by overlapping straight lines - putting your car through an automatic car wash will cause this, so will flexible 'drying blades' and poor wash technique.

AG Aquawax is good, as you don't have to dry the car first. Not used it on the caravan though.