Friday, March 8, 2013

Detailing the Motorhome

I've been a busy girl. 

Real busy. 

Real, real busy.

Time for a break! 

This job, I did last Sunday. I detailed the truck part of the Motorhome, which was tough work. I'm sure glad it's done though. Then on Tuesday, I replaced some bulbs on the clearance lights, with the intention of caulking around the covers, but could not get it done. It started to get too late & I was hurting too much. 

I tried again yesterday to do the lights, but could not make it up any ladder. Still hurt too much, leg kept getting cramps & my foot hurt like someone had twisted it backwards. I need to listen to my body. 

BUT I don't have anyone to do these things for me. I don't have an expense account to pay someone to take care of these things for me. 

AND I'm a perfectionist. Which makes myself my own worst enemy, yet, it gets the job done right. Very few service centers pay attention to the stinky little details like I do...so I do it all myself. I probably saved myself a few hundred dollars of work this week anyhow.

So onto the truck part that I did last Sunday. It looks marvelous -- even if I say so myownself!

We'll go step by step & I'll add a video at the end of all that went into detailing the truck. 

Here are my supplies:
See photo below - 
Rubbing Compound because the hood was so covered in caulk, sap, debris, glue (grrrr), & needed to be deoxidized. 
Turtle Wax for the truck part only. The last step in the process. 
A car wash brush on an extended pole. I also have a window squeegie on an extended pole. Both are a MUST!
A rag for the rubbing compound. 
The yellow chamois is to keep moistened to wipe rubbing compound away as I go. 
The blue chamois is to wipe any dust off the places I'm working on before hand. 
I washed the rig the day before, so it was still pretty clean.

Photos below are what I was dealing with. 
Notice all the stuff on the hood. It's caulk, it's sap, it's gray oxidation & two spots were glue :-(  
 From now on, IF I ever have to have the overhead cab worked on again, I will supply a canvas TARP for them to cover the truck with! I swear, it was a real mess. 
Some of it was because it really needed a good deep cleaning, but there's no excuse for the caulk & glue. One spot of glue would not come off, so I had to leave it....

 The rust scrape below is probably from their scaffold. Fortunately, the rubbing compound did a marvelous job of removing it! Whew! Their scaffold is rust colored.



Below, rubbing compound. One thing I was told I did right was that I got Turtle Wax brand. The person that told me shows cars, so he was glad to tell me it was the proper product as it's not as abrasive as some of the other brands. Use it carefully on painted surfaces though. It can scratch & if you go to intensive, you can do some damage to your paint.
I dipped my moistened rag into the compound & worked small areas at a time. 
Then wiped each area as I went along with the damp yellow chamois to keep it from drying on the surface. 
It states not to let it dry onto the painted surface.

Oh & I used the typical kitchen yellow gloves that I bought at the 99 cent store to save my hands & nails.







Then I moved onto the other parts of the painted metal surfaces. I lightly compounded the entire truck part because I soon discovered that cleaning up small spots with the rubbing compound left white spots against the area that needed to be deoxidized anyhow. Be careful when doing this, but you won't be sorry of the end result if you do it right! 
So I compounded it all, wiping it off with my wet chamois as I went along.


OK, now time to wash the truck part again. Need to be sure to get all this comfounded compound off...sorry, I simply could not resist saying that ;-) 

I use the Gel-Gloss heavy duty RV wash & wax soap. I use that on the entire rig, it does a pretty good job. 


Note how much better this hood looks! Smashing! Wait, I'm a little afraid to use that phrase...strike that...outstanding! Wait, that's a little scary too. Well, you get my point. It just looks damn good! 

Note how the water is puddling & not beading though. 

So now to protect the surface, I waxed the truck part! I'll spare you photos of that process. 
Why? 
Because I forgot to take pictures - heehee. But I did capture it on video! 
Why wax since it all looks so shiny & clean? To protect the paint from all that work I just did!

OK, now ElFinished! YAY!!! Collective cheers world wide! Do you hear it? I do. Even if it's in my own head. C'mon. Try. YES, YOU CAN HEAR IT!!!!


Just look at that beautiful hood! YAY!!! 

Just look at that beautiful shiny motorhome! Yay!!!

Ellie enjoyed her day at the spa. So much so, that she requested that I put her bonnet on her to keep her windows clean. She needed to close her eyes for a much needed rest. We girls really do feel better after our spa treatments & must get our rest!

And if you've not been driven to suicidal boredom, there's even a video! But don't blame me if you need mental help after wards. Really. I did warn you....












 

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~

18 comments:

  1. Good job. ?lots of work, but you can be proud to drive her. Want to come do ours? We have a big driveway.

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    1. Ha, you have a BIG RIG! Forget that big driveway! ;-)

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  2. Your RV is looking good. I plan on doing mine sometime this month.

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    1. Thanks Teri. This is the first time I've had to ever use rubbing compound. I've never used it before on any vehicles I've owned. It did a wonderful job of cleaning all the debris off though. Well actually, it didn't do the work, I did! ha!
      Be glad you don't have decals. I want mine off!

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  3. Seems to me tat any rig would love to stop by your spa. Very nice work.

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    1. Thank you John! I kind of like doing this kind of stuff. When I can that is. Course, this time of year is perfect for outdoor work!

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  4. Fantastic job! You do good work! You've inspired me to make a video of my rig sometime.

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    1. Thanks Kim. Yes, we'd love to see a video of TheGoodDealBus!

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  5. That looks wonderful and so shiny. We just got home and ours is covered with bugs. Hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow and we can get it cleaned up.

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    1. I'm sure you'll get it done in due time. Rest up & many hugs to Poppy!

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  6. Your home looks so nice and pretty, shiny and clean. I know that is a job, and I'm sure you are glad to have it behind you. Did your arm ache after wards??? Now you won't want to drive her because you might get her dirty. :)

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    1. Thanks Tammy. I'm surprised, but no, my arm didn't hurt at all. My hand did some & swelled up some, but that didn't last long. But standing all day & walking around doing all that killed my foot! Although I could not do anything for several days afterwards, I'm still glad I got it done. Um...it's been dry, dusty & windy here, so there's a lovely layer of dust on her now. :-/

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  7. Great job!! Looks great.

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    1. Thank you! Can't wait to see the rig of your dreams soon!!

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  8. Look at that shine!!!! That's what you call the full deal...nice job!

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  9. Wow, fantastic job!!! I need to do the same to mine after having her sit in wintercamp all those months!

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    1. Oh I don't know how you cope with that awful cold white stuff all over the place there! brrrrrrr

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