Cold Temperature Cleaning

Dear Jim:

We travel to Arizona in the winter. The drive back is almost always difficult.

We just go to a car wash and use the high pressure wand. We don't use the brush. We don't dry it.

It works great for us, BUT, we may have different expectations for cleanliness. From day 1 we followed Cary's advice to avoid touching the teardrop, to use alcohol to remove finger grease, and to leave it alone so that it will patinize. We have never walburnized or polished it in any way.

When we picked up our Campinn, Cary pointed out another older one to us that was beautifuly patinized. That is our goal.

The only problem we have ever had is getting home in below zero temps, and having all the car washes closed. In that case we just wait until the temps rise and car washes open again.

I hope this is belpful.

Lorie

 

I tried to follow Cary's advice about finger/hand prints however, I missed a couple early on that left their mark. The question is whether to try to touch up those spots or wait for the rest of the patina to catch up. So far we're waiting but it does take a while. Ben

 

Patina... yeah early on I was exiting and didn’t notice I was really sweaty back of the legs so got some vertical marks from legs under the door. It does take a while for patina to catch up. I think I’m the only one who now keeps looking and can still see a bit of a patina difference. There’s also a lovely spot from some bird doo doo I didn’t notice right away above the front windows that also looks different, to me. I just tell myself it’s part of my trailers personality.

 

The coin operated car washes with wands work well when it's cold, and even if it were a little below freezing you should be able to get it cleaned off inside the bay, and wiped down with a microfiber cloth before exiting, with a little touch up drying after pulling out (from drips off the car wash door). Just avoid directing the high pressure spray directly on the door, window, and hatch seals(release trigger momentarily) and take it easy one the Alcan cover too, since the high pressure could damage it. If the car wash you use has the option for a spot free rinse, that works pretty good for avoiding the water spots if you don't get it completely dry. I think I've used this option about 3-4 times over the years.
Once it is warm enough, the best is cleaning it in the shade or on a cloudy day in your drive using a garden hose and doing sections at a time using car wash soap, and a microfiber cloth in the direction of the grain of the aluminum, and rinsing and drying before water spots form. My 2 cents worth, your mileage may vary.

 

I recommend washing it with a neutral ph soap as soon as it warms up. That will not only remove the chemicals but also stop the chemical reaction going on inside the aluminum.