Cleaning, bleach on paint?

[jjrbus]

 I found this nice little park in Cape Coral FL. Reasonable rent, quiet area. Big shade trees close to everything.
I have been here about 3 months. I went to clean the bus and the roof is coated with something from the trees. The trees look like a Kapok tree but they are not. Someone said they are in the Ficus family. I tried several different things including tar and bug remover. After the initial dirt is gone, and it does not come off easy there is something left. It almost looks like the paint is etched.
I talked with the park manager and he said to use pure bleach. I did a small test area and it works but am concerned that it will hurt the paint. I have a 2 part Dupont polyurethane about 5 years old. 
Will it hurt the paint? Anything else I can try   This stuff is also on my awning it is an A&E fabric not vinyl, and the directions for cleaning say do not use bleach!
I'm moving to the other end of park before I clean bus

[Kwajdiver]

Funny you should ask this..... I have some white crab from a tree in Panama City, Florida, where my bus was in storage for three weeks.  I wash the bus the normal way, and it didn't remove the crap.  Added a little bleach to the soap, sprayed the bus with some household cleaner, and with a lot of scrubing, some came off.  Oh yes,,,, the beach didn't hurt the paint, or do much good.  The Ajax on the brush did the most good.

Good Luck,

Bill
In Gulfport, Ms

[Ncbob]

Ouch! Ajax on the brush?  It'll make for an easy repaint...less sanding.  Egads guys!  There's lots of cleaners out there which will remove mildew and tree, as well as animal, deposits without tearing up the paint.

We too live under trees and get all the goop and algae. My solution was full strength Simple Green and a soft nylon brush with a long adjustable handle from the ladder.  Greased Lightening is another good cleaner particularly where grease is concerned.  I use it on my tires too and follow it with the Tire Wet. Makes for a classier look.

Hope this helps.

NCbob

[jjrbus]

Bob, thanks for the response. I've tried the available cleaners, plus oil, finger nail polish remover and hydrogen peroxide. The coating comes off with difficulty but leaves a coating that looks like the paint has been etched. The only thing that touches it is straight bleach. Seems like pretty nasty stuff to use , but the only other thing I can think of is polishing compound.
My awning is also coated with this stuff, I'm looking for help on that also.
I guess I should have stayed at Conrads Class A Executive Motorcoach Resort!!! Never had a problem there.

[bubbaqgal]

Jim, Walmart carries a product called Spray Power.  It is found in the regular household cleaning products section.  It works great on taking stains out of clothing with no damage to the fabric.  We put it in a spray bottle for small uses or a pump sprayer, like for pesticides, for larger uses.  Another plus is that it is not expensive.  Cat

[FloridaCliff]

I like Clorox Outdoor.

Part bleach, part cleaner.

I just wet down, spray on, rinse, only scrub if needed.

Cliff

[brojcol]

Just get a bottle of Tide liquid.  That gets most anything off.  I washed trucks my freshman year of college and that's what we used to get love bugs, etc off.

[JohnEd]

A problem with Florida indigenious tree "crap"?  Advice from a guy named "Florida"Cliff!   HMMMMMM

John

[skihor]

try "Awesome" found at dollar stores here around Denver. Cheap but amazing.

Don & Sheila

[JohnEd]

JJR,

When I was getting Imron paint jobs the paint was single stage with a hardener/catalyst.  One of the main disadvantages with that stuff was that that paint WOULD NOT stick to itself when cured.  If you sustained damage you had to get an entire section repainted and that was a spendy deal for labor alone.  In your post you mentioned there being an Imron clear coat and that really stood out for me.  I haven't touched this stuff in 20 years so I guess there have been improvements but I rather think the stuff you had applied was not "real" Imron.  Said before that the new two stage stuff looks every bit as good as Imron used to.

John

[DrivingMissLazy]

JJR,

When I was getting Imron paint jobs the paint was single stage with a hardener/catalyst.  One of the main disadvantages with that stuff was that that paint WOULD NOT stick to itself when cured.  If you sustained damage you had to get an entire section repainted and that was a spendy deal for labor alone.  In your post you mentioned there being an Imron clear coat and that really stood out for me.  I haven't touched this stuff in 20 years so I guess there have been improvements but I rather think the stuff you had applied was not "real" Imron.  Said before that the new two stage stuff looks every bit as good as Imron used to.

John

I had DML Imron painted in LA about 15 years ago. They did have a clear coat available also but it had to be applied while the color coat was still wet I believe.

I did not elect for the additional cost of the clear coat, but the original paint still looks great. At least it did in the picture I saw of it at the Texas Roundup.

Richard

[Kwajdiver]

Hey Guys and Girls,

Just for the record, I was talking about the TOP of the bus.... Not the sides....  Of course you don't wash the sides with Ajax.



Bill

[jjrbus]

I've almost finished cleaning the roof of the bus. I've used everything we could think of. The dirt has come off, but there is still a residu on the finish. The roof is white so the reidue could be white. The best description I can use is it looks like the paint has been etched.
I find useing Ajax and a scrub brush a little aggresive for my tastes. I'm going to get polishing compound and try that.

[Kwajdiver]

My roof has a rough finish on it. Call me crazy, but it works.

Good Luck,

Bill
In Gulfport, Ms

[JohnEd]

Richard,

I was also pleased with my Imron paint jobs.  That stuff was so shiny and had a wet look.  Clear would have been gilding the lily.

Nice to hear from you.

John