sticky walls

[arodriguez60]

I first want to say how very helpful this site has been for my husband and I(we are newbies).I had sticky walls and although I tried Simple Green, I found that Greased Lightning works great with much less elbow grease.I just sprayed it in and left it for a few minutes and used a sponge scrubber and wiped with a clean wet rag. smooth! Greased lightning can be found at Lowe's or Walmart.Again thanks for you great info-Tamara
P.S. We found our 73 Safari in pretty decent shape, but needs a few things, like tambour repairs and the nasty carpet needs to go.I can't wait to go out in soon.

[silver 67]

Once you get them "unsticky", don't forget to give them a couple coats of Future floor wax. Makes them beautiful and the dirt and grime doesn't "stick".

Good luck with your "new home".

[arodriguez60]

Originally Posted by silver 67

Once you get them "unsticky", don't forget to give them a couple coats of Future floor wax. Makes them beautiful and the dirt and grime doesn't "stick".

Good luck with your "new home".

I tried to find Johnsons floor wax, does't seem like anyone here carries it ,but did'nt know if others would do it, thanks for the info-I am for anything that makes less "house work".

[balrgn]

Originally Posted by arodriguez60

I first want to say how very helpful this site has been for my husband and I(we are newbies).I had sticky walls and although I tried Simple Green, I found that Greased Lightning works great with much less elbow grease.I just sprayed it in and left it for a few minutes and used a sponge scrubber and wiped with a clean wet rag. smooth! Greased lightning can be found at Lowe's or Walmart.Again thanks for you great info-Tamara
P.S. We found our 73 Safari in pretty decent shape, but needs a few things, like tambour repairs and the nasty carpet needs to go.I can't wait to go out in soon.

Welcome and good luck with your project.

[overlander64]

Greetings arodriguez60!

Welcome to the forums and the world of Vintage Airstream ownership!

Originally Posted by arodriguez60

I tried to find Johnsons floor wax, does't seem like anyone here carries it ,but did'nt know if others would do it, thanks for the info-I am for anything that makes less "house work".

Future floor wax is typically available in a number of places, but may not be on the shelves of the typical mass merchandiser. My local True Value Hardware store stocks it as does the local HWI Hardware store, and even the local ACE Hardware store stocks it - - the local Kroger Supermarket stocks it, but I couldn't find it on the shelves the last time I checked the Super Wal Mart and K-Marts in nearby cities. My local True Value Hardware store was able to special order the Johnson's Hardwood Floor wax that I needed when preparing my home for market so if you have a True Value Hardware store in your area chances are very good that they can get Future if they don't already stock the product.

Good luck with your coach!

Kevin

[arodriguez60]

Originally Posted by overlander64

Greetings arodriguez60!

Welcome to the forums and the world of Vintage Airstream ownership!



Future floor wax is typically available in a number of places, but may not be on the shelves of the typical mass merchandiser. My local True Value Hardware store stocks it as does the local HWI Hardware store, and even the local ACE Hardware store stocks it - - the local Kroger Supermarket stocks it, but I couldn't find it on the shelves the last time I checked the Super Wal Mart and K-Marts in nearby cities. My local True Value Hardware store was able to special order the Johnson's Hardwood Floor wax that I needed when preparing my home for market so if you have a True Value Hardware store in your area chances are very good that they can get Future if they don't already stock the product.

Good luck with your coach!

Kevin

We have a Truevalue and an Ace, but I think our Wally world has Future wax,again thank-you all for a nice welcome to the forum-Tamara

[Swanny]

After reading this thread, I thought we had some 'crazies' running around here. But after giving our AS the treatment, I'm a total believer in it. We started with wiping the entire interior down with the Super Clean product and upon it drying promptly put on the future floor wax.

This was alot of work but the results are awesome. Other posters commented about needing 2 coats of future and that is true.

Mitch

[early]

Had great results with future floor wax. Our walls are smooth. Used two coats,also.
Dawn

[Anon]

It has been a year since I used the Future floorwax and mine is still smooth and shiny!

[jaiman]

Has anyone done an adhesion test to see that the Future is still intact. Say after a year or at least a summer. My thought is that if the stickiness is a result of plastisizers leaching out of the substrate, could it be compromising the clear (future). A good way to test is, if you have strong finger nails is to really try and scratch it off in an inconspicuous area.

Thanks

[juel]

I peeled the vinyl wallcovering off my bath sliding door and painted over the sticky stuff with two coats of BullsEye shallac. It is no longer sticky and looks beautiful. I used Marine Clean to clean the ceilings and walls of the Argosy and the difference is amazing. There is no longer any sticky feeling. I recovered the back wall with vinyl wall covering after taking off the old with a heat gun. It looks very, very good now. The wood on the walls was not the quality of the wood on the sliding door, so that's why I recovered them.

[TomW]

Originally Posted by jaiman

Has anyone done an adhesion test to see that the Future is still intact. Say after a year or at least a summer. My thought is that if the stickiness is a result of plastisizers leaching out of the substrate, could it be compromising the clear (future)...

Reading jaiman's post, I thought I would toss out a bit of detail picked up from another list:

Originally Posted by Deborah B.

The stickiness on the vinyl interiors is caused by plasticizers added to the vinyl polymer. They were intended to add flexibility to the polymer, but with age they migrate out to the surface. This is very common and you see it in all sorts of aging plastics - look at old purses and go-go boots at a yard sale. You can find a solvent that will remove the plasticizer from the surface but the process will continue and the stickiness will return until all of the plasticizer is gone. At that point the vinyl will become brittle and you may see some damage to the vinyl, such as cracking, flaking or powdering. I'm not sure what coating the vinyl, as Forrest does, would do - perhaps this would slow down the migration process by protecting the vinyl from air. But the process might continue under the coating, I'm not sure.

Tom

[tin sista]

Hi,
Guess I didn't have much luck, tried both simple green and greased lightning. Used the scrubber and the future two coats--watch those fumes!!
Still sticky . Maybe I'll try the shellac next.
Steph

[airstream6666]

Hi Steph!

Originally Posted by tin sista

Hi,
Guess I didn't have much luck, tried both simple green and greased lightning. Used the scrubber and the future two coats--watch those fumes!!
Still sticky . Maybe I'll try the shellac next.
Steph

Hmmmm. Were your walls sticky after the cleaning step (simple green and greased lightening) but before the wax? Now any cleaning will have to remove the wax as well as the cause of the stickiness.

One product I have recently used as a replacement for my old favorites (commercial application cleaners with scary MDS sheets) is Rubbermaid Professional Plus Concentrated Orange Cleaner & Degreaser. This product is not to be confused with residential products, and should be treated with respect. Use rubber gloves and lots of ventilation.

It is sold at Walmart, but it is located among their other commercial products — not their much larger display of stuff like Simple Green and the citrus-based weenie cleaners.

No scrubber pad (or scrubbing) required to clean an AS whose PO was a heavy smoker. Simply wipe walls and interior ceiling off with a paper towel (actually, lots of paper towels).

I would expect the coat of wax would make things a little more difficult, but I still don't know what else I might use.

[tin sista]

Thanks for the idea Johnny. It is the ceiling mainly--it was still tacky after the one scrub and rinse with simple green. Then the greased lightning---but no dirt on the paper towel so it was clean of dirt. Then I thought maybe the future made it stop the sticky stuff. It didn't work for me, but I am willing to scrub the future off and try again. I know the ceiling and walls are clean even if they are sticky. I'll run over to Walmart and try the orange stuff. Thing is my po kept it nice and no smoke.. Odd thing is, I actually enjoy cleaning the airstream...must be those future fumes have a stepford effect...LOL
Steph

[juel]

I'm telling you that the Marine Clean from the Por people will do the job for you. I have used it on the entire inside of a 1978 Argosy with wonderful results. You cannot imagine the difference between the ceiling you do and the old ceiling that's sticky. You can also use it on the outside for cleaning. It doesn't smell and is not dangerous. I tried all the things you are mentioning until Balgrn recommended the Marine Clean. IT WORKS! The shellac has also done the job you want. I just went out and checked it again after several months just to make sure, it's perfect. Judy

[77 R GO C MH]

I know it sounds too simple but when other options fail, try some odorless mineral spirits. It is the only thing that worked for me and with very little effort.
Have adequate ventilation and keep in mind it can be flammable until dry.

[stagecoachbill]

For cleaning sticky walls nothing beats Krud Kutter. Available at Lowe's or Wal-Mart in the paint section. Spray a one foot square and watch the dirt roll off use a paper towel to wipe. After serveral square feet, try a second cleaning of larger area. Another product from the Dollar Tree store is called Awesome Cleaner in a spray bottle for a buck. Use the same technique. Good luck
stagecoachbill

[Janet H]

Try a product called Awesome. It's a general porpuse cleaner sold at dollar stores and discount grocers. It works - first time - and it's CHEAP. Be careful not to get it on your upholstry.