Earthmover Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Hi, I know it's been discussed many times before, but things change with regard to the products available, So whats now regarded as the best way to get rid of black streakes totally. Whiich polish produces the best finish and protection. (ps the roof of the motor home is kept very clean) Regards Em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandlisa Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Earthmover - 2016-11-16 10:44 PM Hi, I know it's been discussed many times before, but things change with regard to the products available, So whats now regarded as the best way to get rid of black streakes totally. Whiich polish produces the best finish and protection. (ps the roof of the motor home is kept very clean) Regards Em. Hi Em, My past and present experience of owning caravans and motorhomes has told me you can never totally eliminate the "Black streak syndrome" which is produced from the rubber seals around the windows, doors or the likes. The best product I`ve personally used is (Fenwicks concentrate cleaner) it does exactly what it says on the label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 The best polish I've ever used is Harly Wax. It's got carnauba tree wax in it. It doesn't leave white marks on the black trim and lasts longer than the others. Carnauba wax marvellous stuff, they even coat pills in it to stop them sticking together. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba_wax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 I've got 'Black Streak Remover Heavy Duty Advanced Sprayable Gel' from Aldi made by http://www.mykal.co.uk/ which has no visible effect on the black streaks on my white van. The black streaks are below the sliding door rail on the side of the van. Even undiluted thick bleach won't shift them, so I am not saying this product is useless, it just doesn't work on my van. Perhaps this product was designed for a different sort of black streak, and someone else has had success with it? Morrison's 'Savers' liquid household cleaner lightens the black streak stains, making them less visible, but doesn't remove them altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 I am still using a tub of 'Silky' cream cleaner which does remove black streaks and most other things such as dead flies etc. I have had this tub for years but it is still available at some caravan accessory shops. For polish I have recently been using 'Showroom Shine' (bought locally in the Yorkshire Trading Store) which also contains Carnuba wax. It is sprayed on then polished in with one micro fibre cloth before buffing with a clean micro fibre cloth. It is claimed (on the promotional video which shows it being used on a black car covered in cement dust) that there is no need to wash the vehicle first. I still normally wash mine but confess that on one occasion I did use it directly on the surface while on site in Spain although there was only a light coat of dust and it didn't mark the painted surface of the cab or the gel coat of the sides/rear. Very impressed with the ease of use and the finish it gives. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 If you are using polish to successfully remove black streaks then you are probably just cutting the top layer of paint off. Repeated actions will eventually get down to base metal. I have 2 methods I use. The first one is by using a product called 'Elbow grease', available at Pound Shops or similar (like B & M Bargains). It works extremely well. The second product is 'Caravan Cleaner', sold occasionally by Aldi. Using it neat, straight from the container removes black streaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 Contrary to what some believe, after a study that was published some years ago, black streaks are caused by atmospheric pollution i.e. carbon. This is why there is an increase near airports and under flightpaths in particular. The reason that it appears to be around window rubbers etc is that large amounts of polluted rainwater is channelled at these areas increasing the amount of Carbon content. We have had this streaking for years, back to when we had caravans (since1978) but it has become worse in later years, probably due to the increase in activity at our local airport. We now have a panel van conversion and we have the black streaks all along the top and down the sides in places where there are no black rubber items whatsoever. As to cleaning them off I have used, in the past, WD40 which does remove them easily but needs work to remove the oil film left, though for a number of years I have been using Blue Diamond Black Streak Remover, available from cheap shops in our case The Factory Shop (though caravan accessory shops seem to sell it now at dearer prices, Go Outdoors for instance), which comes in a spray bottle and removes them with little to no effort, just spray, on leave a few seconds, good wipe with a sponge or towel and rinse off Does exactly what it says. Normally after using it I use same make Caravan Cleaner and it has kept our van in showroom condition, so much so that on our previous 1998 van we have been asked on more than one occasion if the number plate was a personal one as the van looked too new to be that old! Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjmike Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 What ever your prefered potion for removing black streaks please remember to give the area a coat of wax afterwards. Otherwise you are wasting your time and damaging the van surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 fjmike - 2016-11-17 3:06 PM What ever your prefered potion for removing black streaks please remember to give the area a coat of wax afterwards. Otherwise you are wasting your time and damaging the van surface. I recently tried looking for a plain Wax product and found them hard to find. Most are polish with a bit of added wax. I needed to remove scratches from the nearside paintwork (caused by tree branches). I just used what I already had, namely Farecla Profile, Gelcoat restorer and wax. A nice coat of wax afterwards might ward off the ravages of Winter, or so I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagey Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 hi Fenwicks works for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 747 - 2016-11-17 10:33 AM The second product is 'Caravan Cleaner', sold occasionally by Aldi. Using it neat, straight from the container removes black streaks. I seem to have very stubborn black streaks under the sliding door rail on the side of my white X2/50 van because that had no effect on them. Best I have found is Morrison's 'Savers' All Purpose liquid cleaner which makes them almost invisible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 White spirit works for me.....then a coat of polish ;-) ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjmike Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 pelmetman - 2016-11-17 6:51 PM White spirit works for me.....then a coat of polish ;-) ....... Please don't. I once saw an elderly couple cleaning their van with Cif *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John52 Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 fjmike - 2016-11-17 6:58 PM I once saw an elderly couple cleaning their van with Cif *-) Just tried it (not cif being a cheapskate its supermarket own brand cream cleaner) and its worked a treat B-) I realise it might be a bit savage, being a thin white paste might leave a white residue that might show on non white vans, but its the only thing thats worked :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgnbuk Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 I wash with Aldi's Caravan cleaner, work over any remaining stubborn stains with their Black Streak remover gel & then polish with AutoGlym resin polish. The polish easily removes the light remaining staining in areas that get a more concentrated rain water run-off. This has worked well for me on both an aluminium bodied van & a GRP body, without any noticable detriment to the finish of either. Nigel B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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