Sticky walls

[john k smith]

I have a 1989 29' Excella. The ceiling and part of the walls have a sticky feel to the touch and nothing seems to clean it. Any suggestions?

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by john k smith

I have a 1989 29' Excella. The ceiling and part of the walls have a sticky feel to the touch and nothing seems to clean it. Any suggestions?

You are describing a phenomena that I have encountered on some vinyl surfaces in old cars. I have had some success in using old time lighter fluid (Naphtha) in getting a smooth, non-sticky surface. Some plastic parts do the same thing. I have not had much luck in bringing those back. Try a small area.

Brian

[Wabbiteer]

I tried many different solvents even combination and found not much which beats spic'n span and a scrub brush.

I lucked out and found a circular nylon brush I could put in a cordless drill that has since seen rough duty on stripping insulation. Be wary of some hardware store brushes meant to use with a drill, they have abrasives embedded in the bristles.

Some will say just use Mop & Glo floor 'no-wax floor wax' as a sealer to make the surface non-sticky, yes it may work but may cause worse problems a few years down the road trying to take it off. Maybe use it as a sealer once the surface is clean and smooth.

[4RXLA]

Krud kutter works like a charm.

[drboyd]

Second that for Krud Kitter. No need to pay more or use anything flammable.

[Dingo Girl]

I used Marine Clean purchased from VTS over a year ago. It's still not sticky. I did not use a sealer such as Mop and Glo or Future floor polish.

[TOPORANGER]

My 91 Excella 25 had the same thing. Somewhere on this forum I read a tip, use Odorless Mineral Spirits. It is what worked for me. I just wetted heavy duty paper towels and wiped it down.

Super easy. No mess, no clean up.

[sgschwend]

Sadly the chemistry of the plastic (vinyl) is breaking down and parts of the "vinyl" is loosing its polymer bond, when this happens the physical properties change from a solid to a liquid. I bet areas that are near the windows and doors are the worse places, since they would likely receive more energy from the sun.

It sounds like the some of the fixes suggested are placing a new solid surface layer over the old (such as waxing); covering up the older liquid layer. In our trailer the vinyl has had 30 years to reach this point, so it is likely that any of these fixes will last several years if not a decade or two.

[OilnH2o]

Originally Posted by drboyd

Second that for Krud Kitter. No need to pay more or use anything flammable.

Ditto x 3 on Krud Kutter. Buy the 64oz size or even a refill! Protect the floors/furnishings. Spray on, use the soft scubby side of a sponge (the kind that can be used on non-stick cookware without damage) and then rinse. We had to do this on ours two times. Our vinyl was so bad and had so much lint, pollen and who knows what that had stuck to it over time that we thought it was what people meant when they referred to "mouse fur." (NOT the same thing!)

The only thing else you need is elbow grease. Seriously, because of vinyl's properties if you use anything stronger you may damage the vinyl - and do a lot of research before you decide "I'll just remove it..." because that is a real chore!

[dwightdi]

To make the vinyl compound used to coat the aluminum flexible the manufacturer adds a liquid called a plasticizer. Actually, most PVC contain two of them. They degrade or oxidize over time and become incompatible with the polymer. They migrate to the surface, which is called spewing. You need to solubilize them and remove them. A good coat of acrylic wax will help prevent them from coming back to the surface.