Can I clean the painted aluminium van with vinegar?

don't know about vinegar but i use gumption on mine, doesn't appear to scratch, try some an an inconspicuous area

Hello Swampy, I can't answer your question ref the vinegar, but I think it to be a highly Alkaline chemical, so if that is the case I wouldn't use it. But I would be happy to be corrected!!

We use common truck wash on our Jayco & when dry we dampen a cloth with Shellite and wipe it over the surface & it brings up the gloss the same as an automotive polish does on duco.

I got onto the Shellite when I asked our local Jayco dealer what they used to make all their second vans for sale look so good & shiny. Cheers

Hi swampy - I had a similar thing with my van and it came up nicely with a cut and polish using a "light" brew.

cheers
T.R.

Along similar lines, what cleans unpainted aluminium? e.g. caravan door frames.

cheers
T.R.

Thanx for the responses so far, here's an update,

I just tried Jif (figuring its similar to gumption) correct me if I'm wrong. It removed the calcium - with a fair bit of effort.

I've just tried the truck wash too - and - like my enjo glove - it cleaned the van nicely - but could not remove the calcium - which appears etched into paint.

Some wax on wax off turtle polish didn't remove the calcium.

Vinegar does an extremely good job of removing the calcium - easy to apply and wipe off - but at what cost to the paintwork or aluminium.

Any more ideas !!!

Thanx in advance again

swampy

Hi Swampy
Vinegar is acidic PH of about 2 from memory.
Calcium is alkaline approximately Ph 12.
Basically at the right dilution the vinegar will needled the calcium, for each 1 point above or below 7 equals 10x so vinegar is 5 below and calcium 5 above so it should neutralise.
Make sure you wash any residue off with neutral water, wipe down with a micro fibre cloth.
Hope this helps
Regards
Ted
Ps I taught cleaning at TAFE.

Diluted CLR.