“The Beast” Gets A Super-Shiny Wax-Job
Once a year “the beast” gets a full-service RV spa treatment. She gets washed, dried, caressed and waxed so that her owners can stand back in smug self-satisfaction and declare “Oooooooo, she’s so shiny!”. It’s a job I admit that we rarely look forward to (except the “ooooing” part), it always takes waay longer than expected, and…undoubtedly no matter what the weather forecast…it always bleedin’ rains the moment we’re done.
So, being experienced RV spa-treaters we checked the weather forecast EXTRA carefully this time. We had the girl scheduled for a wash at an external service (we can’t wash the way we usually like to at our current RV park) and delayed the date twice so that we would be absolutely and completely, without a shadow of a tingling of a smidgen of a doubt sure of perfectly good weather.
Finally the day came. A week of slightly cloudy but not-a-hint-of-rain perfectness. Our girl got a full body wash for $85 with Frank’s Mobile RV and Auto Service (619-341-5736 -> he does a thorough job in San Diego and I’m happy to recommend him) and then sped on home for her at-home waxing. Now every RVer out there has their favorite waxing products and asking which one to use is always guaranteed to produce at least a 10-page response on any RV forum. Our main requirement is that every product we use needs to be easy on-off (this gal don’t do no machine buffing), so these are what makes our list:
- RejeX = for Body waxing. This is actually a thin-film polymer rather than a wax which seems to make alot more sense for gel-coated RVs in my mind. We love the simple on-off and how it slicks the surface and consider it one of the best products out there.
- 303 Aerospace Protectant = for decals, rubber, weather-stripping, vinyl and tires. Originally developed for the aerospace industry this is a really cool super-UV protectant.
- RainX = for the windows. This stuff is awesome and saved us at least once in the mother of all thunderstorms in LA last year. The water beaded so quickly off the front windshield we didn’t even need to use the wipers!
- ProtectAll = For in-between jobs. We use this good ‘ol standby from Walmart for the rest of the year, boondocking (I’ll use it waterless) and everything in-between (even the toilet bowl get’s a layer!).
There are lots (and lots…and lots) of other products out there including waterless jobs like “The Solution” (which gets good reviews), but our staple stays with the 4 guys above. So off we went…huffing, and puffing, and rubbing ‘till our arms felt like lead balls. It was hard work and hard hours, but oh what a shine -> teflon- smooth, brilliant surfaces so very shiny even the reflections had a hard time sticking around.
We stepped back to admire our handiwork. Everything was perfect.
Well aaaalmost everything
The only slight tinge of a concern was ominously dark grey clouds gathering in the distance, and the only wee damper was those first drops of rain falling so very happily onto our newly waxed beauty. Darn stupid, useless &&&%%%**!! weather forecast. But like the Zen masters of waxing we are we do not take this personally. WE know how super-shiny “the beast” is underneath it all (they do say beauty is within n’est ce pas?), and NEXT year we’ll nail that weather forecast….without a doubt.
so I am in Utah…wanna come and do mine…we just had a wind storm…:)
We are waaaay too pricey…although we can be paid in wine & chocolate 🙂
Nina
We agree with you about the products. We’ve already put Rejex on our new rig since we used it a couple of times on our older mh. 303 works nicely on the tires. I like to do a touch up on the front every time it’s washed if I have a chance. Rest your arms now.
Syl
The front gets extra attention for us too, especially if we drive thro’ bugs.
Nina
Have you thought about having a detailer come and do the wash AND wax? I’m considering it in Austin. Pricey, but spending a ridiculous amount of time washing and waxing the RV last year – that kind of sucked.
Yeah, we think about it (just about every year in fact!), but the >$350 price tag for our rig always makes us re-think. I figure it’s only once a year…and we’re still young enough to handle it. So for now it remains in-house. At some point I’ve no doubt we’ll be more than happy to pay the detailer.
Nina
By the way enjoy Austin (one of our FAV towns). Don’t forget to sample all the food trucks!
Nina
Hi, Nina, the “Beast” looks Beau-ti-ful!
I used to use ProtectAll in the shower about once per week and Rainex on the shower door. At home, I shine the toilet seats–they feel so ultra clean when I’m finished (used to do that in the motorhome, too).
I have to get the truck detailed, and the trailer is a mess after all the storms–I’ve just neglected it completely since my back went. Fortunately, I had done it once not too long before, but it really needs it, again.
I’ll pay to have the truck done, but I’ll have to look for the Rejex. I’ll get my kids and grandkids over here for a pizza party and see if I can con them into doing the trailer.
LOVE the idea of the pizza & waxing party. Gotta think of a way I can get this going in the RV park for next year 🙂
Nina
Does your rig have full body paint, and do you do the decals with 303 after the Rejex? I’ve been using regular wax (Nu Finish) on the gel coat and 303 on the decals but they still seem to deteriorate. I also do mine by hand, taking my time over a few days as the sun moves past each side.
We have full body-paint so not alot of decals to deal with (just our HR emblem on the side and in the back). I’ll use the 303 over the RejeX kinda like an extra sunblock.
Nina
son of a gun! What IS it about wash, wax and rain!?!! BUT, the pics show pride in a beautiful job well done! Good-un-ya!
As for me…er, well, old rig, intentions of painting something artsy-fartsy, so why wax if I have to sand it off before I paint, but uh, I never got around to the artsy thing, too busy playing at the slabs and making trash art…maybe next year? Oh heck, maybe I should get it washed and waxed before heading out…after today’s sand storm I’ma-gonna-need to do some serious cleaning. (Made a sand-wich on the cutting board and got my teeth polished) hehe
Well sand is kinda like roughage so it’s the desert’s way of keeping you regular 🙂 Even with all our cleaning & primping we *always* have sand around the RV. Spending time in the desert, and then on the beach PLUS paws just tracks that stuff everywhere. We usually only manage to stay gleaming clean for about a week before we go back to “normal”.
Nina
Speaking of sand…holey moly we got hit hard (pics on my blog- ok the first one is of the middle east, could not resist, cuz that is what it felt like, lol). spent two hours with the gen and vacume going trying to get it out of the window sills, etc. What a job! We got blessed with a BE U tiful evening with the full moon reflecting off the sand (outside the rig that is) and calm as ever. Life is GOOD!
There sure ain’t nothing to humble you like a windy day in the desert. It’s scary stuff. Glad to managed to get *some* of the sand out.
Nina
She is beautiful! How are the ole’ arms feelin’? Any interest in some kayaking?
Oh yeah!! Let’s do it! Nina
I just so happen to have a fine bottle of wine and a gaggle of Ghiradelli 72% dark chocolate. Whattya Say?
Thanks for the tips.
Veeeeery tempting, but might have to make that a 1978 Montrachet with Belgian Chocolate…..:)
Nina
Good grief I had to put my sunglasses on just to read this. All honor to you guys for such hard work. It takes us DAYS!
Haha…I was joking with Paul today that I couldn’t see the rig anymore because it was just so darn reflective. We’re usually exhausted for a week after waxing.
Nina
That is such a good looking rig. You obviously take great pride in it!
Our son who used to detail yachts gave us a couple of great tips.
1. Use a buffer to apply the wax! Much faster than applying by hand and super easy on with the right wax. Rubing it off with a cloth is a breeze (relatively speaking).
2. He told us to use Nufinish and put it on all the windows as we wax. Found it to work as well and much easier to apply than Rainx. I’ll bet the Rejex would work just as well on your windows.
Jerry
Nice tips Jerry! Thanks for sharing them!
Nina