Cleaning Up Our New-to-us RV

When we first got our nearly twenty-year old 40-foot Holiday Rambler motor home, it looked like a twenty-year old motor home. The fiberglass was dull. The solid oak cabinetry was dated, and well, pretty dirty in a way that’s more dirty than pretty. 

I’m not a person who actually enjoys cleaning, but bringing home our new RV gave me the motivation to get a big job done.

The first thing I wanted to do was to try to shine up the chalky white exterior. I read several RV forums and found out about a process using Zep floor polish, TSP and Barkeeper’s Friend. [For more info, just do an internet search for RV fiberglass Zep or some similar phrase, and you should get several results from various RV forums where the process is detailed.]This is a simple but very labor intensive, time consuming process that takes the place of a wash and wax - or - a wash and application of an expensive fiberglass restoration product. It took Michael and me about five days to finish, but only because it kept raining on us. It probably took us a total of about eight to ten hours in all. Keep in mind that our RV is pretty darn big.

I am now kicking myself that I did not take a “before” photo. I won’t say that the process made my RV look new again; it doesn’t. I wouldn’t even go so far to say that it looks amazing; it doesn’t. I would, however, say that it looks about ten years newer, and I am more than pleased with the results. Nonetheless, if I could have afforded the $80 bottle of the expensive made-for-rvs-and-boats polish, I would have got it simply because it contains UV protection while Zep doesn’t.

The next big project I tackled was cleaning up the wood inside the RV. I really wanted to completely change the look of the cabinetry with new stain or paint, but a thorough cleaning with Barkeeper’s Friend, a product that runs less than $2 and is usually found next to the Comet cleaner at the store, made a big difference. It completely took the dirty black stains off the wooden handle by the door, and the cabinets no longer have any grimy oil splatters. I’d still like to change the cabinets at some point since oak is not my favorite look, but that is a project for another day.

Our walls and ceilings were also in need of deep cleaning, as were all the little bits like switch plates and controls and vents. I used my Barkeeper’s Friend for most of it. No, I don’t work for them. I just bought the one can of it to clean the outside of the RV and have enough left over to clean other stuff for the next year or two. I am somewhat amazed at what a good job it does. It reminds me of a powdered form of a Mr. Clean Eraser.

So, now I have a clean, shiny RV sitting in my driveway, ready for a big adventure.

Update: July 27, 2015. Sadly, our RV has yellowed after using the Zep. I hope to redo the process with a product containing UV protection once we are back home this fall. I'll let you know how it goes.