washing and waxing

[encantotom]

the 02 is definitely a beast when it comes to washing and waxing. so i invited several of the young couples that have stayed with us after they got married (its a long story) and some other friends. so we had ten of us and we washed, polished/waxed and polished the wheels in about 2.5 hours. alot of visiting and 4 large pizza hut pizzas later we were done. it was about 110 this afternoon so not the nicest day to wash and wax a big bus, but got er done.

the only way to do it.

not perfect, but done and done fast.

tom

[fulltiming]

Really coming together Tom. Hope you have a great maiden voyage.

[tuga]

I was told by Newell Coach service that Imron paint did not need to be waxed! I have never waxed any of my 3 Newells.

A good friend of mine, who knows alot about auto paint etc. said that all paint oxidizes and therefore it should be waxed periodically.

Opinions?

[rheavn]

Just compare a Newell that receives regular waxing and a Newell that is never waxed. Or if you have never waxed yours, do a 3' X 3' spot and compare. The good news is that the Imron paint is very forgiving and will come back. I wax the front and rear caps twice a year and the sides and roof once a year. The type of wax you use is a Ford/Chevy argument, but I like a paste wax that contains carnuba.

With all that help Tom has you might consider running it through Tom's Detail shop in Mesa!

[lbrachfe]

The "Huckelberry Finn" Bus wash.

[lbrachfe]

I waxed mine last year and actually saw NO difference from a good wash job. The wheels always do need attention and a cut and buff twice a year.

[prairieschooner]

Tom,
It has been fun watching your progress. I am sure that you are ready for the "acid test", hope it works well.

I agree that IMRON is forgiving! Our '82 was oxidized badly when we got it and now shines well. I started with a Liquid Cleaner/Wax in the beginning and after a few rubes it came out shiny again. When aboard I start in the morning with a couple of hours a day and before long it is done. I found that Mother's Aluminum Polish and Power Ball work well for the wheels the first time and then a Hand Polishing does well in between.

[afrench45]

Tom, I envy your army of cleaners! I spent hours by myself waxing my coach and got halfway done...now it's sitting outside it Miami, hopefully it'll stay clean.
Where are your travels taking you?

[encantotom]

hi tom,

we are headed to dayton ohio to see our son who is an officer in the air force. along the way going to stop in new mexico to see some friends and a day at newell and then on to the midwest.

be gone 3 weeks. its all i could get off of work. taking darlene, our oldest daughter and her two kids who are 4 and 9. her husband is going to stay home, work and watch the cats...

still have some things to fix before we leave so working alot to get done.

tom

[folivier]

Oh boy a 4 and 9 year old? Bring your tools and plenty spare parts! You got plenty of buttons and switches for them to occupy their time with....

[afrench45]

Wow, 3 weeks is awsome. It's hard for me to get away for 1.5! If your at Newell before the 7th my coach will still be there. Its Nice living close to the factory, I can take it and leave it for a few weeks and know its in good hands.

[encantotom]

the finish on mine is quite good so it wasnt very hard to do. i used a meguires professional cleaner/wax combo. buy it in half gallons. bought a gallon and ended up using about a quart.

my biggest problem is the front cap has that diamondshield crap on it and it looks awful. i have started to try and take it off but it looks like it will take the rest of my life to get it off.

for several years we have had young married couples stay with us to help them get started. they are friends of our kids and it is nice having someone around in the big ol house we have.

it was time to call in favors and they graciously came to help, past and present. as well as a friend of mine and his two 20 something kids.

tom

tom

[afrench45]

Tom, that is really neat what you and Darlenne do. It's people like y'all that make the world go round.

Concerning the braw, those can be a pain. Several time at Newell I've seen them taking one off that's all cracked. My neighbor had his redone because it looked so bad. I got a quote and it was $2000 to put one on my coach, reason being is my coach is black in front and shows a lot of rock chips.

Enjoy your trip, and the new coach. Be careful with the 60 series, it's a hotrod for sure!

[leskorcala@hotmail.com]

Tom, have fun traveling in your coach, you worked so hard and now you will have fun see oall the hard work rolling on the road! new wheels, new interior ( bedroom etc.. )

We are officially on the road for several years, started 10 days ago! put two houses for rest, dont miss the rainy Northwest weather, staying at Jellybeen campground outside of Missoula for week, than to Rock Creek for week of fly fishing.

I to put coat of wax on our coach, also used that spray stuff Newell recomented from local NAPA, its amazing! it kept my Newell like new for long time!
What i do is wash my coach & whan i get to campground, I uesd duster on telescopic handle and go over entire coach with it, it takes me 10 minutes and i have all teh road dust of my paint,
My wheels, I use Blue Magic or Mother's and just rub the stuff in it, wipe it! than somthing not many people know about! I use cooking flour (white powder) and just wipe the entire chrome wheel with it, than just clean it with a soft rag! Done and all the back spots are gone and weels have a super luster!!! try it you will like the results!



Les & Cheryl Korcala
2001 Newell 3 slides

[LynnJeff]

Just a thought for a future addon--we installed a Portable Water Deionizer - Dual Bed StandardModel and attached it to the house water system (super filtered water and no spots) and can use it to wash the bus--no spots!! And Jeff says I can always put out a sign that says "will wash buses" to offset fuel costs! http://www.portablewatersoftener.com/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?rrc=N&affl=&cip=75.146.118.96&act=&aff=&pg=prod&ref=OTG2-DDI&cat=&catstr=