Wax over decals?

[ChckNDee]

Hi Folks,
Getting ready to buy wax. I'm leaning towards Meguiars 56 or Flagship. Question is, has either of these products caused a problem with the body decals? I see warnings about wax on vinyl and am thinking those decals might be vinyl.
If these products aren't suitable for waxing over decals, what is safe?
Thank you all folks.
Chuck

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by ChckNDee

Hi Folks,
Getting ready to buy wax. I'm leaning towards Meguiars 56 or Flagship. Question is, has either of these products caused a problem with the body decals? I see warnings about wax on vinyl and am thinking those decals might be vinyl.
If these products aren't suitable for waxing over decals, what is safe?
Thank you all folks.
Chuck

I can't answer your question specifically as you asked, but I can say I never intentionally put wax on my vinyl decals. I do use Mequiars #56 Pure RV & Boat wax and I personally hand wax my own RV twice a year. I have a 2019 I bought brand new; so I have waxed about 5 times ( a 4 hr job for me solo) and I will do again this Spring.

I put the 303 protectant on my decals after ever wash (about 5 or 6 times per year) I keep my RV outside in the sun with no cover and it still looks new. Now when I wax; do some wax get on the decals, absolutely because I am not gonna mask the decals every time. But to purposely wax the decals, I would never do Of course I have never done so; thus I can't tell you what happens to those that do. I can tell you if you do not protect the decals they will crack and that can happen within a year with enough UV exposure. Treat your vinyl with 303 Protectant or similar and you will be very pleased.

FWIW, I use RV Gel Gloss Wash & Wax after every trip. It is just great stuff that works. I use both RV Gel Gloss Wash & Wax & #56 on the roof and never see the black streaks.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

I can't answer your question specifically as you asked, but I can say I never intentionally put wax on my vinyl decals. I do use Mequiars #56 Pure RV & Boat wax and I personally hand wax my own RV twice a year. I have a 2019 I bought brand new; so I have waxed about 5 times ( a 4 hr job for me solo) and I will do again this Spring.

I put the 303 protectant on my decals after ever wash (about 5 or 6 times per year) I keep my RV outside in the sun with no cover and it still looks new. Now when I wax; do some wax get on the decals, absolutely because I am not gonna mask the decals every time. But to purposely wax the decals, I would never do Of course I have never done so; thus I can't tell you what happens to those that do. I can tell you if you do not protect the decals they will crack and that can happen within a year with enough UV exposure. Treat your vinyl with 303 Protectant or similar and you will be very pleased.

FWIW, I use RV Gel Gloss Wash & Wax after every trip. It is just great stuff that works. I use both RV Gel Gloss Wash & Wax & #56 on the roof and never see the black streaks.

That’s one shiny roof!

[71_340]

There are thousands of cars on the road with vinyl decals and it is probably safe to say that those cars get waxed. I had several cars with decals and just waxed them, never had an issue.

With that said, I don't know if RV manufacturers use different grade decals??

[alamon]

Yeah, I'm sure many people do it, but you're not supposed to. Waxing vinyl will degrade it over time. As one above said, use 303 vinyl protection. Do not use armor all.

[tim myers]

what is $56?

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by tim myers

what is $56?

A whole nine gallons of gas...

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by alamon

Yeah, I'm sure many people do it, but you're not supposed to. Waxing vinyl will degrade it over time. As one above said, use 303 vinyl protection. Do not use armor all.

You are exactly right. Using Armor All or similar can actually make things worse. It takes a long time to prove, or for one to see actual impacts over one or other. Some waxes can even affect the color of decal and if you have multi color decals it could looks worse. 303 Seems expensive at first, but when you start to use, it last a very long time and you can actually see the difference. I try to treat every 2 months or so; takes me about 15 minutes.

Originally Posted by tim myers

what is $56?

If you were referring to my reference of what I use...

Mequiars #56 Pure RV & Boat wax https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you have not been waxing on regular basis, you may need a more aggressive wax to remove any oxidizing first.

There can be a lot of opinions on waxes, cleaners, and treatments of decals, but if you have ANY DOUBTS; just get with the Manufacturer and get their recommendations. Winnebago put me in touch with Filon Composites and what you see in earlier pictures above is me following their steps, but on steroids

Having said that, I bet I only spend 20 hours of my time per year on my RV?

2 wax per year @ 5 hrs each
5 detailed RV Wash & Wax per year @ 2 hrs each

Maybe $40 in materials