TheWM
Free Member
- Feb 24, 2015
- 445
- 450
- Funster No
- 35,228
- MH
- Rapido 9010df
- Exp
- Newbie, but over 10 years in a campervan
So - I've been thinking for a while now to give the MH a good clean, but as my ankle break earlier this year and operation (see avatar), I've been unable to do much more than think, and then the detailing forum has come on here and has made me very keen to get going! So, it's been just over 3 months since my op and I have partially stopped using crutches 3 weeks ago. The truth is I'm nowhere near ready to be going up and down ladders etc... However, I'm an impatient guy, besides what's the worse that could happen...?
So. This wasn't at all intended to be a detailing my MH thread, my only intention was to protect my MH. It's the most expensive thing I have ever bought (bar my house) and I've also never spent more than £2,000 on a car, so normally haven't been that bothered about getting a full on show finish ever.
I just wanted to share my experiences on washing, but as you'll see things progressed a bit. This was my go as a completed novice. Whilst I have done a bit of reading and spoken to friends who own show cars, I was doing this from a standing start, so I hope this helps someone (even if it's what NOT to do)
Whilst I washed the MH when I bought him in June, I could tell that he had not had much in the way of polish previously. Whilst I bought it from a dealer, she had told me the previous owner had been ill for 2 years and not had the chance to use the MH much, so effectively, I've got a few years of dirt and grim to remove. I went out and bought some goodies:
I knew I had to get the MH clean, before I could protect - so how do I go about doing it? I know the guys in the detailing world always start with snow foaming with a pressure washer and snow cannon. I went out and bought some goodies:
Revolution wheel cleaner and Bilt Hamber Auto Foam for the snow cannon.
A Farecla G3 clay mitt - this is used for taking off nasties off the body work, getting it prepped ready for a good wax (you don't want to wax over the dirt and get it trapped in right?)
Collinite 476s wax and a foam applicator.
Some spray bottles for the wheel cleaner and the lubricant for the clay mitt.
I had this lying around which I was going to use for my lubricant, mixed with water - I used a ratio of 1:10.
Not shown are a wash bucket with grit guard, a karcher K2 pressure washer and a snow cannon (shown below).
So, let's get started! I was very eager to use a snow cannon. In my mind I was going to spray the MH and as if by magic, the dirt would just fall off and that would be it. Here is a pic of my roof:
Loaded up the snow cannon:
I used 4:1 mix (water:autofoam) and a drop of Mer I had lying around and mixed with warm water.
Off I went spraying I sprayed and waited 10-15 mins, used the Karcher to jet the roof down and guess what? It looked almost exactly the same. In my downbeat frame of mind, I didn't even take any photos as there's nothing to see (you'll see some later so you can see). Lesson #1 - there are no short cuts here. This is going to take time. Lots of it.
I had kinda bargained on having to do the 2 bucket method of washing after I had snow foamed (all this means is one bucket with car shampoo and another with plain water to dip your mitt so the dirt doesn't get put back onto the car). But, I didn't think that I would essentially have to do all of the hard work by hand.
So off I went up my ladder, with the 2 buckets and started cleaning. Here's a pic of the roof part way through. You can see what the snow foam left on (note to self - clean the hallway window!)
How do you get to those hard to reach places, like under the satellite dish? Raise the dish!
You will note there are stubborn brown marks in and around the satellite dish. These bugged me and I couldn't remove them and spent a while trying. Let's hope the clay mitt works.
To be continued as I cannot attach more file in this post, stick with me folks....
So. This wasn't at all intended to be a detailing my MH thread, my only intention was to protect my MH. It's the most expensive thing I have ever bought (bar my house) and I've also never spent more than £2,000 on a car, so normally haven't been that bothered about getting a full on show finish ever.
I just wanted to share my experiences on washing, but as you'll see things progressed a bit. This was my go as a completed novice. Whilst I have done a bit of reading and spoken to friends who own show cars, I was doing this from a standing start, so I hope this helps someone (even if it's what NOT to do)
Whilst I washed the MH when I bought him in June, I could tell that he had not had much in the way of polish previously. Whilst I bought it from a dealer, she had told me the previous owner had been ill for 2 years and not had the chance to use the MH much, so effectively, I've got a few years of dirt and grim to remove. I went out and bought some goodies:
I knew I had to get the MH clean, before I could protect - so how do I go about doing it? I know the guys in the detailing world always start with snow foaming with a pressure washer and snow cannon. I went out and bought some goodies:
Revolution wheel cleaner and Bilt Hamber Auto Foam for the snow cannon.
A Farecla G3 clay mitt - this is used for taking off nasties off the body work, getting it prepped ready for a good wax (you don't want to wax over the dirt and get it trapped in right?)
Collinite 476s wax and a foam applicator.
Some spray bottles for the wheel cleaner and the lubricant for the clay mitt.
I had this lying around which I was going to use for my lubricant, mixed with water - I used a ratio of 1:10.
Not shown are a wash bucket with grit guard, a karcher K2 pressure washer and a snow cannon (shown below).
So, let's get started! I was very eager to use a snow cannon. In my mind I was going to spray the MH and as if by magic, the dirt would just fall off and that would be it. Here is a pic of my roof:
Loaded up the snow cannon:
I used 4:1 mix (water:autofoam) and a drop of Mer I had lying around and mixed with warm water.
Off I went spraying I sprayed and waited 10-15 mins, used the Karcher to jet the roof down and guess what? It looked almost exactly the same. In my downbeat frame of mind, I didn't even take any photos as there's nothing to see (you'll see some later so you can see). Lesson #1 - there are no short cuts here. This is going to take time. Lots of it.
I had kinda bargained on having to do the 2 bucket method of washing after I had snow foamed (all this means is one bucket with car shampoo and another with plain water to dip your mitt so the dirt doesn't get put back onto the car). But, I didn't think that I would essentially have to do all of the hard work by hand.
So off I went up my ladder, with the 2 buckets and started cleaning. Here's a pic of the roof part way through. You can see what the snow foam left on (note to self - clean the hallway window!)
How do you get to those hard to reach places, like under the satellite dish? Raise the dish!
You will note there are stubborn brown marks in and around the satellite dish. These bugged me and I couldn't remove them and spent a while trying. Let's hope the clay mitt works.
To be continued as I cannot attach more file in this post, stick with me folks....