Trailer Washing---Not as Easy As You May Think

[Rusty Davenport]

Everytime I see a "Black Streak" remover I feel a little uneasy. I have done a lot of experimenting and here is what I have found so far. A majority of the super-dooper trailer cleaners-black streak removers will permanently ruin your trailer IF you get one that will actually take the black streaks off. As time goes by, you realize you have stripped the aluminum panel factory gloss ( wax does not fix this either) and even worse the fastener finish is permanently done, the rust deterioration begins on the screws and looks like heck. The other cleaners will do very little or nothing for black streaks. I'm not for waxing the trailer either, that takes the factory finish off too, that idea is not a good solution. Anybody got any "formulas" for cleaning without damaging your trailer you would like to share with EXPERIENCE ???

[rickseeman]

Yes, if the chemical is strong enough to work without you doing anything, it's too strong for your paint. I spray on Superclean, then immediately use a brush with water and Blue Coral (Wal-Mart) car wash mixed in a bucket to neutralize, then rinse. The Superclean is on there less than 30 seconds before the wash brush finishes the job.

[FED 387]

or another solution try simple green( Wal Mart has the best price about $8 p/gal) spray it on either full strength(works best) or diluted in water 1/2 and 1/2, ONE SECTION at a time do not allow to dry on the trailer surface---wash either by hand or with one of those soft brushes a section at a time then rinse well after washing that section before moving on to the next area- Wash from the top down too!!!--cleans all the crud off a little of the luster then it's ready for buffing/waxing/polishing--we have used it both on my trailer and motorhome especially after winter storage

[Keith 944]

powdered laundry soap. this works great as a wash and for streaks. i have also used purple power (super clean knockoff) but be careful with that, it can leave streaks. i usually mix the powdered soap w/ a little super clean and a car wash soap in a wash bucket with water and just wash one section at a time, rinse well. twice a year i will wax after this cleaning. works great on the motor home too...
friend had a white trailer and he used these so called streak removers, took white down to bare aluminum in spots. now cant do anything but repaint.
also i think that my next trailer i am going to paint the top white. this will reduce most if not all of the streaks coming from that area, and be a little cooler too...

[Doug Domm]

Keith you hit the nail on the head. My H&H enclosed has a white roof and has sat unused other than for storage for a number of years and does not present that black streak problem I've seen from the unfinished roofs. As for the color my son had a black Featherlite and with the two parked side by side there is no way I would have wanted to leave my stuff stored in his trailer because of the INTENSE heat created by being black. Perhaps if it was insulated and ventilated the temps should be significantly less. I wish we would have done an actual temp measurement of the two but I can tell you it was a huge. Yes I said he HAD a black one but it is now long gone replaced with a white one. Some say size matters but to me color is just as important.

[FED 387]

I re-did my roof several years ago with the "liteweight" version of mobile home sealer think its called "igloo" white stuff also put those styrofoam panels in the ceiling then luan and installed a Maxxair roof vent trailer keeps cool when stored and with a roof top AC unit is not hard to keep cool when using the AC cuz of the white and the insulation probably 20* at least PLUS the trailer does not get the streaks from the aluminum or galvanized roof oxidation

[68camaroSS]

Had similiar bad experince with black streak remover years ago, tarnished all the aluminum trim. Will never use again. Just bought a 3 yr. old aluminum trailer which had never been maintained and sat outside. I used orange cleaner to remove black streaks, rinsing quickly. Spent many hours cleaning up aluminum trim. Also, noticed the roof was bare aluminum. Primed with aluminum primer and then put 2 coats of white paint on top of that. Store trailer inside, so black streaks should not be a future problem. I look at the price they charge for these so called "higher end" trailers and wonder why any company will not spend the extra few bucks to paint the roof from the factory to stop a major source of the black streak problem. Would go a long way toward customer satisfaction. Keeping a trailer nice is a lot of work. by the way, tried different things but currently using an aviation product called Flight Jacket on the painted metal.

[dragsterdoug]

We bought a 26 ft haul mark in 1990. Has always been outside. 5 years ago we replaced the galvanized roof with white rubber. The sides were streaked pretty bad. I had a local body shop repaint using clear coat. This guy had painted a few trailers in the past. Wonderful job. Washes up real nice. Looks like new. We care in the Central PA area. I would pass contact info on to you if anyone was interested
Doug

[Steves68Nova]

Originally Posted by FED 387

or another solution try simple green( Wal Mart has the best price about $8 p/gal) spray it on either full strength(works best) or diluted in water 1/2 and 1/2, ONE SECTION at a time do not allow to dry on the trailer surface---wash either by hand or with one of those soft brushes a section at a time then rinse well after washing that section before moving on to the next area- Wash from the top down too!!!--cleans all the crud off a little of the luster then it's ready for buffing/waxing/polishing--we have used it both on my trailer and motorhome especially after winter storage

My neighbor uses Simple Green in his parts washer. I never thought about it but his parts come out great. I use what the chemical place sells and have to find a place to put it after using it and he just drains his out in the street.

[drgrcr1156]

My 30ft trailer is Maroon and it appears the wax is what has turned dull. If I clean a spot with wax remover, the original panel gloss will show through. The problem is, ITS A 30 FT TRAILER. Using cleaner wax and NU-Finish kinds of products leave the sufrface steaky, so there does not appear to be any short cuts.
Any sujestions to make reduce this enormous task

Bob