First Wash for Our 1965 Clark Cortez RV

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I’m going to start off with an embarrassing confession: It took Andy and I about two years into owning our 1965 Clark Cortez motorhome to clean it. In our defense, we were dealing with serious problems, such as getting our RV to start and brake, removing water damage, welding roof supports and roof, and more. One company though possibly saw how dirty our steel beast was, and they reached out to help. SuperClean (a company who makes multi-purpose abrassive cleaners and degreasers, along with other products such as floor absorbents) wanted to know if Andy and I were interested in testing its cleaning products — and, yes, of course we were.

Let me add here despite what you may think at first, this post is not an advertisement for SuperClean. Sure, we will be honest about its products here; but this was also a gratifying job that rendered awesome before and after photos, and that’s what we cannot wait to show you too.

With a bucket full of water and cleaning sponges, Andy and I poured in SuperClean’s all-wheel cleaner. This acidic product was said to break down grime and clean rust, which makes it perfect for our all-steel bodied RV. Our plan was to work top to bottom from less dirty to most dirty so we intended to begin with the exterior and end with the engine.

Climbing onto the roof, I gave the Cortez a quick pre-rinse before Andy and I started scrubbing.

Immediately our pollen and dirt-covered light brown roof turned a shining white.

Other benefits: SuperClean smells great; and the formula is biodegradable so with those great results, we dumped our gross brown water and kept moving …

Next up, Andy and I moved to the Cortez’s passenger side. While I continued to scrub the body, Andy picked up a brush and tackled the cracks, crevices, and door and window seals with SuperClean’s foaming spray. This is the same formula as our other product but was foamy so it clung to longer.

It was around here we got our first true look at how disgusting our steel beast was — 56-year-old black sludge dripped down the Cortez’s side as we worked.

Rinsing the disgust away, we again emptied our brown-bucket of yuck.

Then we scrubbed our foaming spray on the rims and wheels before rinsing each to finish off the passenger’s side.

The result was night and day, giving us excitement to keep going …

Sponge in hand again, I stuck to the metal …

Meanwhile, Andy went back to the nooks and crannies as dirt and grime oozed down.

Another rinse and we stepped back to appraise our job thus far …

Beyond our rusty areas and chipped and faded paint though, half of our Cortez was now stunning.

Our steel beast’s driver’s side beckoned to us next.

“This is disgusting!” Andy said again and again, and I understood why — Our RV was so filthy that it was essentially shameful we had not cleaned it earlier. Still, we were cleaning it now, and this was a rewarding task.

After another rinse, we set out scrubbing the last wheels and rims.

The result was another beautiful side …

This left the back of our RV as the last exterior section to clean so our attention, sponge, brush, and sprays went there. Climbing onto the bumper, Andy finished off the last window seal while I completed the body.

A last rinse showed our Cortez as clean as new.

With the exterior finished washed, we moved inside to our final and more serious challenge. Because SuperClean is supposed to be a powerful degreaser, we figured there was no better place to test its cleaning strength than our grimy engine. Earlier, Andy and I had cleaned our passenger’s side valve cover and intake manifold when we bolted on top our shiny rebuilt carburetor. (For that, I used a mix of oven cleaner and brake cleaner.) However, we never got around to cleaning our driver’s side valve cover, so that’s what we targeted. Using the aerosol can, the same foaming cleaning-degreasing formula quickly covered the valve cover with a foam. Immediately, the thick layers of oil and grease broke down so that by the end, our valve cover was so clean we could see our “Chrysler Industries” sticker again. Truth be told, the oven cleaner’s foam was thicker, but the oven cleaner struggled to breakdown the oil and grease so much so that I felt the grime was being smeared more than breaking down. At the time, I felt frustrated because I then wondered if I wasn’t letting the oven cleaner sit long enough so I sprayed it, waited several minutes, then scrubbed. Moving to the opposite valve cover with SuperClean this time, its foam did work better and faster.

A better and faster cleaner is exactly what I needed too as Andy and I use our SuperClean products to take on our next job, which was changing the oil, oil pump, and oil pick-up pipe in our Cortez’s V8.

Beyond our insulation removal, this was our dirtiest jobs yet, but this story is for another day …

Driving our super clean Cortez back to the shed, Andy and I had full smiles.

Taking a break from being squished in our wheel well, hunched over our engine, and stuck under our fuel tank for laborious job after job is hard to say the least; and while we know all too well this is the life of restoring a classic vehicle, we cannot thank SuperClean enough for giving us a reason to pause, have fun, and complete rewarding work.

Plus, after our test, Andy and I do genuinely recommend its products to anyone else who finds his or herself in dirty situations that need cleaning, too.

With our cleaner-degreasers stashed inside the Cortez for our next visit, we did take the opportunity to scatter SuperClean’s floor absorbent on the shed’s concrete before we left because, let’s face it, a clean can’t remove the number of problems our Cortez still has, including leaking from places it should not be leaking. By the way, we are massive fans of this floor absorbent and can confirm it is more absorptive than any other product we have used thus far. Plus, it was also organic and all-natural so we felt good leaving it as we cast our last smiles towards our retro relic.

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Interested in using SuperClean? Its products can take battle indoor and outdoor needs from RVs to boats, tile to carpet, appliances to clothing, and more. To track yours down, stop at popular retailers, such as NAPA, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts, Lowe’s, and more. Tell them L and Andy sent you, too.

Just kidding — We are only two idiots with a glutton for punishment restoring a rare, antique RV! I doubt those working in the stores care, but leave us a comment and let us know about your filthy job because we do care and it does help to know we aren’t alone in mucky decisions.