Hi all, I am just asking whether you should use a pressure washer to clean your van to get the streaks and road film off, or will it damage the decales and bodywork or shall i stick to doing it by hand?
Would you recommend to use a pressure washer to clean your van?
- Thread starter AbbeyOwner
- Start date
AbbeyOwner said:
We use a high pressure washer, but avoid going around windows and seals. It will not remove streaks. Thoses will need to be done by hand using something like Fenwicks. Where the streaks appear, apply some polish. The next time they appear, they will wipe off with very little effort.
Parksy
Moderator
Hi Abbey Owner
I wouldn't really recommend the use of a pressure washer for cleaning a caravan and a pressure washer won't remove black streaks from caravan paintwork.
As you mentioned, the caravan graphics could easily be damaged by a pressure washer and mastic joints could be damaged which would lead to water ingress.
If you have a lot of black streaks which keep coming back you need to clean the roof of the caravan. When the caravan is not in use set the jockey wheel so that the caravan is nose down which will prevent water and grime from collecting on the roof.
Use a normal hose pipe to wash and rinse the caravan with caravan shampoo, then use a good car polish which will remove any remaining black streaks and road grime.
You only need to polish once a year if you add a coat of wax ( not polish- there's a difference between the two) and buff it up. With a good wax coat, applied at the start of the season, the streaks and grime will wash off much more easily.
I wouldn't really recommend the use of a pressure washer for cleaning a caravan and a pressure washer won't remove black streaks from caravan paintwork.
As you mentioned, the caravan graphics could easily be damaged by a pressure washer and mastic joints could be damaged which would lead to water ingress.
If you have a lot of black streaks which keep coming back you need to clean the roof of the caravan. When the caravan is not in use set the jockey wheel so that the caravan is nose down which will prevent water and grime from collecting on the roof.
Use a normal hose pipe to wash and rinse the caravan with caravan shampoo, then use a good car polish which will remove any remaining black streaks and road grime.
You only need to polish once a year if you add a coat of wax ( not polish- there's a difference between the two) and buff it up. With a good wax coat, applied at the start of the season, the streaks and grime will wash off much more easily.
Absolutely not! Modern vans appear to have enough problems with water ingress without encouraging it!
I've applied wax earlier on and polish, but do you think i could use the foam gun attachment to foam the van and then clean by hand?Parksy said:
If you ask Swift ,I suspect they will say no and possibly such use may invalidate the water ingress guarantee.
There is no easy way to clean a caravan other than good old elbow grease!
There is no easy way to clean a caravan other than good old elbow grease!
I use a foam gun to apply snow foam it connects strait to the hosepipe.
It has less pressure than a powerwasher, a quick brush while the foam is still on & then rinse it all off.
It has less pressure than a powerwasher, a quick brush while the foam is still on & then rinse it all off.
When I went to pick up my caravan from the dealers after its service they were washging it using the on site car wash. They did make it clear that they use only the low pressure setting as the power wash could blast the sealant out of the joints.
Hi AbbeyOwner . I have replied you quest in The General Topic. CERTAINLY NOT to the pressure washer.Now to join together some of these comments on here I have used Mr Sheene but when you have removed the Black Streaks wash and wax with a good wax polish. Also if you go to your dealer you can buy a beading that goes all the way your awning channel and stop water running down from the roof or as Parksy has said when you park up park sligtly nose down and let the water run down the front. Good Luck .
Sir Roger.
Sir Roger.
I always use the pressure washer on the caravan as it pumps water from the water butt and applies detergent on the low setting
I also rinse off with the high pressure but from a distance and on fan spray
The pencil spray is great for removing decals
I also rinse off with the high pressure but from a distance and on fan spray
The pencil spray is great for removing decals
hi Abby Owner, I would definitly never use a pressure washer, I have a 8 year old bailey that is bone dry. I would much prefer it stays that way wouldn't you. last spring during the hose pipe ban, there was a thread about cleaning the van without water it was recommended that posters try (greased lightening showroom shine) as it can be used without pre washing in fact used on dirty paint work straight from the bottle, so I bought some used it, and it was brilliant, the shine lasted all season, it did get a a bit grimey going down to devon in the rain, but once parked up on site though after a good soaking no grime just a clean shiney van. it all washed straight off. "TRY IT"
you wont need a pressure washer a hose pipe or even a bucket of soapy water, ever again.
it is the best way I could answer you question.
you wont need a pressure washer a hose pipe or even a bucket of soapy water, ever again.
it is the best way I could answer you question.
Many dealers wash your caravan with a pressure washer and if you do it right no issue, but if you lack common sense don't try it. Simple answer.
Hi Sir Roger, Thank you for the advice yesterday i rubbed the black streak with one of my cleaning cloths and it came straight off, But still going to give it a clean this weekend so i will pop into poundland and grab a bottle and also a new bottle of super resin polish and dig my clay bar out of the garageSirRogerFFS said:
not that simpleSurfer said:Many dealers wash your caravan with a pressure washer and if you do it right no issue, but if you lack common sense don't try it. Simple answer.
front. 3 windows and front locker plus 2 lights,
left side. 2 windows plus 3 flaps
right side, one window and door plus 2 flaps.
rear. 2 windows 2 light clusters
roof, 3 vents,
so what do you pressure wash !!! the A frame.
Parksy
Moderator
Super resin polish - YesAbbeyOwner said:............... But still going to give it a clean this weekend so i will pop into poundland and grab a bottle and also a new bottle of super resin polish and dig my clay bar out of the garage
Clay bar - Nooooooooooooooooooo
Polish contains very minute abrasive particles which remove old wax from the caravan paintwork, and the abrasive also makes the caravan look clean and free from black streaks by rubbing them out. Most polishes also contain polymers which will add a shine of sorts. A miniscule layer of paint surface could be removed by polishing over time, but under normal circumstances not enough to be visible.
A clay bar is just another forum of mild abrasive, if you plan to use resin polish then using a clay bar as well is a waste of time and effort.
You would be better off if you wash and polish the caravan until it's clean and dust free, and then go over it with a wax sealant or better still a car wax which contains carnauba wax.
This will give a long lasting shine which protect the paintwork and allow water to run off the surface which stops the black streaks from sticking to paintwork. All you have to do for the next 6 months is to wash and rinse.
You're slipping Parksy!!
You didn't mention Maguires or Autoglym, never mind that elbow grease stuff you use
You didn't mention Maguires or Autoglym, never mind that elbow grease stuff you use
Thank you all for the advice, would it ok to use to get rid of the road film from underneath and use the foam gun on the van from a distance so that it doesnt damage the window seals and decals, But it currently has a coat of super resin polish so shouldn't take a lot of effort to remove the black streaks.
Parksy
Moderator
There are a bewidering array of products on the market now DD and because Abbey Owner mentioned super resin polish earlier in the thread he might prefer wax sealant, which is made by Autoglym as it happens.Dustydog said:You're slipping Parksy!!
You didn't mention Maguires or Autoglym, never mind that elbow grease stuff you use
The reason that I prefer Meguiars step 3 (there- I've mentioned it now!) is because the carnauba wax gives a deeper longer lasting shine than the wax sealant which is synthetic but it's a matter of personal preference
At the end of the day it's your foam gun and your caravan, you've seen the advice from other caravanners, some for and some against using a jet washer.AbbeyOwner said:
Make a decision based on which advice you think suits your own circumstances the best.
I own a Karcher jet washer with a foam gun etc which I use on the car on the rare occasions that I give it a thorough clean. The jet washer is great for removing salty deposits, mud and grease from underneath the car.
I don't use mine on the caravan but the caravan is stored inside a farm building so all I have to worry about apart from mud from caravan sites is a bit of dust.
I have to connect the jet washer to my hose pipe but why would I bother? I
It's much easier for me to just use the spray attachment on the hose to rinse the caravan without having to get the Karcher from the garage and plug it in. Even if I used the Karcher I'd still have to use the wash mitt by hand to rub in the Fenwicks shampoo that I spray on first, so it makes no sense for me to use the jetwash even if I wanted to ( which I don't because of the decals etc)
Decide what works for you, what is the best way to acheive the result that you want and the easest way to do it without risking damage to your caravan in any way.
Thats the last thing I want before i go away a water ingressed caravan, I cannot take a risk with using high pressure to clean it, but is there a cheaper price for fenwicks as Halfords are charging £11.99 for it, It also takes a lot of effort to set up and put away so probably will stick to using elbow grease to clean it and then leather using bobby dazzler (hopefully no rain will cause black streaks )Parksy said:There are a bewidering array of products on the market now DD and because Abbey Owner mentioned super resin polish earlier in the thread he might prefer wax sealant, which is made by Autoglym as it happens.Dustydog said:You're slipping Parksy!!
You didn't mention Maguires or Autoglym, never mind that elbow grease stuff you use
The reason that I prefer Meguiars step 3 (there- I've mentioned it now!) is because the carnauba wax gives a deeper longer lasting shine than the wax sealant which is synthetic but it's a matter of personal preference
At the end of the day it's your foam gun and your caravan, you've seen the advice from other caravanners, some for and some against using a jet washer.AbbeyOwner said:
Make a decision based on which advice you think suits your own circumstances the best.
I own a Karcher jet washer with a foam gun etc which I use on the car on the rare occasions that I give it a thorough clean. The jet washer is great for removing salty deposits, mud and grease from underneath the car.
I don't use mine on the caravan but the caravan is stored inside a farm building so all I have to worry about apart from mud from caravan sites is a bit of dust.
I have to connect the jet washer to my hose pipe but why would I bother? I
It's much easier for me to just use the spray attachment on the hose to rinse the caravan without having to get the Karcher from the garage and plug it in. Even if I used the Karcher I'd still have to use the wash mitt by hand to rub in the Fenwicks shampoo that I spray on first, so it makes no sense for me to use the jetwash even if I wanted to ( which I don't because of the decals etc)
Decide what works for you, what is the best way to acheive the result that you want and the easest way to do it without risking damage to your caravan in any way.
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