Cleaning chemicals to use on outside of Rialta

[rialta mary]

Hi,


My name is Mary and I thought I posted once but do not see it listed. My husband and I just bought a 1999 Rialta.. our first RV. Hopefully, he will retire in a couple years, allowing us more time to get out and enjoy it. While the inside is very clean, the outside paint on the sides have streaks of ?dirt? and the purple colored trim around the bottom must be oxidized or somehow discolored. What is recommended to restore the surfaces? Also, has anyone tried to redue the decals? One side has cracks and peeling and the other side is faded. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.


My best,


Mary

[D0N]

My rialta was very dirty outside when I bought it.



I used a cheap $30, 7" polisher from "Harbor Freight" and a product called... "3m marine cleaner and wax" (found on ebay). It brought the exterior back to like new condition.



Here's a couple pics of the process. The left shows the area that I had done. The right is obviously, not done yet! GROSS huh?!



It's a lot of work but worth it.

[rialta mary]

Thanks, Don. The difference is great. Did you have to replace your decals? How much of the 3M product did it take to do the entire Rialta? Thanks again for your response, Mary

[D0N]

Yes, the difference is like night and day. It took around 10-20 hours to get the exterior back to new condition but it was worth it.



I bought a quart of the 3M fiberglass paolishing product and used only 1/2 of it to polish the outisde of the RV.



The front of the Rialta is not fiberglass like the back and sides so you don't use the 3M product on the front. You'll use a good quality automotive wax on the front (both doors and entire front metal & plastic parts.



My decals were fine. They polished up to like new condition too. I think the early Rialta decals were of a hiher quality than the later model Rialta decals. It seems that most if not all of the later model Rialtas have faded and cracked decals.



I'm pretty sure that only a few of the original decals are still availible from Winnebago. I read somewhere that only the straight decals are availible. Any of the curvy ones are no longer made.



Post up some pics of your new toy

[rialta mary]

What year is your Riata? Ours is a 1999 and I think the flat sides are aluminum, with maybe fiberglass on the corners, etc. Does that sound like yours and did you use 3M product on the flat sides?


Thanks again,


Mary

[D0N]

mine is a 96. I am sure the sides on mine are not made of metal. Possibly the later rialtas were? I'm not sure.



The 3M stuff works great on fiberglass. I didn't try it on the metal in the front doors and hood though.

[rialta mary]

Hi Don,


Well, maybe I have something to share with you. I found a # for the manufacturer, Winnebago, was on hold for quite a while but finally got a man that was very helpful. He said that all the Rialta's have aluminum sides (I specifically asked for 1996 and 1999) and a plastic type of material is used on bumpers, etc. He recommended any car wash or car polish that is for "non-clear coat finish" for the entire vehicle. He said that the newer vehicles are all "clear coat finishes" and to look for that. You had such good luck with the 3M product, I am hoping that it says "non-clear coat finish" and glad I ordered it. He also gave me a # to find out about decals for it, as it is correct, they are no longer available through Winnebago.


Thanks again,


Mary

[D0N]

Mary you are 100% correct... the exterior is aluminum. I was certain that it was fliberglass.



Oh well... I can assure you that the 3M stuff works wonders on the aluminum too.



Good luck!

[Gumppy]

For decals and other Rialta materials go to http://www.winnebagoparts.com They are about 40 miles from the Winnebago factory and pick up all the non-current matrials from Winn. They really go out of their way to help (we had a tire blow out in Eastern Iowa and the Winnebago Parts folks drove to Winnebago to see if they had replacements. unfortunately, only four stock front tires exist in the North American continent and they weren't in Iowa). Check out all the striping and decals (not very cheap, but for what we're paying for used RV's it's still a bargain).