Noob here. How do you clean the roofs?

MongooseGA said:
I don't want to sound rude, but you could just edit your original post so that you don't have to keep making new ones and I don't get a new notification e-mail every 6 seconds.
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whoops sorry about that. That would have been a wiser thing to do. :wall
 
MongooseGA said:
Why would you buy a 7 series when you could buy a Buick with the same kind of features?



Build quality.
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Very true. That's still a big price jump for a stool though. As long as it doesn't break, then what else do you need from it you know?



Idz21 said:
Mr. Terran,



Can we get links where the stools from the brands you listed reside?





Thank you :bigups
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I've never heard of menards (probably don't have them around here), but I went to the lowes website and searched for "work platform" and came up with this, which is probably what fujifast was talking about.
 
Terran said:
Very true. That's still a big price jump for a stool though. As long as it doesn't break, then what else do you need from it you know?
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Yeah, that's true too.



Another example is the ~$30 Harbor Freight Rotary vs. the $200+ Makita, DeWalt, Fein, Metabo rotaries. The Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric might be just fine to use, but there's a huge difference between them and the others listed.
 
Terran said:
I've never heard of menards (probably don't have them around here), but I went to the lowes website and searched for "work platform" and came up with this, which is probably what fujifast was talking about.
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hmmm the price is definitley right, but this one doesn't seem sturdy at all. @ 225 lbs of max load it looks like after 4 or 5 uses it would start to bend.
 
Since you have a minivan, you could open the sliding door and step on the flat doorsill, or at least for the washing process.
 
Terran said:
How would you say this is better than the ones white95max and fujifast have considering that it's like 5x the price?
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The one I use is bigger and more solid. As in, *rock solid*. The larger size makes it more convenient and also safer,those extra inches make a huge difference (*to me*). I'm no klutz ;) but I'm a firm believer in overkilling both the convenience and safety aspects of this sort of thing. No way am I gonna risk slipping/falling or any other kind of injury and it's easy to put your foot over a *little too far* when you're working and concentrating on the work.



Also, I find all sorts of applications for it around the house. Yeah, the pair of them was awfully expensive, but like my industrial-strength ladders, they'll last for the rest of my life despite heavy use.



I've used smaller and less expensive work platforms before, in both home and professional settings, and *for me* the cost difference was worth it. But I can certainly understand people not wanting to spend that kind of money.



Oversteer- Standing in the open doorway of the minivan doesn't compare. For starters, I need both hands, one for the mitt and one for the foamgun ;) Even cleaning the top of the sliding door's jamb goes a lot easier when working off the platform. I can hold the rubber weatherstrip open as I run my little BHB inside its channel, for instance. Even *more* convenient when I'm trying to rinse out such areas without getting water everywhere. But hey, I'm spoiled by having the platforms. I got by without them long enough to decide that they were the right move for me.
 
Accumulator,

I just ordered one of those to clean the top of my wife's Tahoe. I've seen the $40 models in stores and thought they looked a bit on the flimsy side. I'm waist line challenged so a hefty model is a good idea for me. Thanks for the recommendation.
 
I use a ladder and the door sills on the 2nd row. I've occasional step on the rear tires.



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Give NXT a try. It looks great.
 
CustomBikeMike said:
He didn't say it was better.
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And I didn't ask him how he did say it was better, I asked him how he would say it is better, and he answered by saying that it is bigger and sturdier.
 
I have a four foot step ladder to do my CR-V. Remember that you not only want to wash but also apply products to the roof evenly and effectively. Depending on how tall you are vs the height of the van, the 1ft 9" platform may not give enough height to reach the middle of the roof to apply products like the AIO/SG you were considering comfortably. Try your step ladder at approximately the same height at the platforms and see if you can reach the middle of the roof easily for product application/PC work. If you can, great, buy the platforms if you can afford them. If not, you can get a sturdier four foot ladder with a tray if you want. They are not as convienient as the platform, but you should focus on getting the proper height to work safely....especially to avoid back injuries. I also find the four foot ladder useful around the house where the plaform's foot print would be too large for some areas.
 
mtwedt said:
...the 1ft 9" platform may not give enough height to reach the middle of the roof to apply products like the AIO/SG you were considering comfortably....
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That's a great point.. I already picked up the platform/workhorse. Washing was made easy with the Megs Versa-Angle Ultra Plush Wash Mop. Drying wasn't too bad with a large WW pulled across the paint. I did have a problem drying the roof rails.. Ended up wrapping a terry cloth around the wash mop to get those areas.



I did not clay or apply aio/sg this time around (practiced on the Accord this weekend), but i can see claying and applying the aio/sg combo on the roof will be problematic. I'm 5'7", and the workhorse/platform just doesn't cut it. I do have a 6' foot ladder, but I'm not sure if it's a height issue (besides my own), but a reach issue.



That brings up another question, do most people clay/polish/lsp the roofs of minivans and large SUVs?
 
The platform Accumulator linked is rated to 500 lbs. Many of the less expensive models found at Target, Home Depot, etc., are typically rated at 225 or 250. If you're <cough>"Cartman-esque"</cough>, as I am, such things become important.



Tort
 
yeah, the one white95max and i suggested isn't as rugged as the one accumulator owns, but since i'm only about 150lbs, the weight limit was a non-issue when i bought it. for the price it's a nice little platform and does the job quite well. but, if it proves to be a POS for you, you've only lost $30...and i'm sure you've lost more than that on bad products :P
 
I ordered and received the platform recommended by Accumulator. I used it for the first time Saturday morning on my wife's Tahoe. Previously, I had to go up to the 3rd rung of a step ladder to reach the center of the room from each side of the Tahoe. If you use a step ladder like mine, you have to work sideways which can easily lead to painful muscle pulls and you are really stretching so it can be unsafe. The work platform let me get past the center of the roof from each side. No streching, no precarious positions, and no repositioning the ladder 2-3 times for each side. The platform is long enough to where I only had to move it once per side. I really like it. No more safety concerns and the bucket is right beside me instead of perched precariously on the ladder.
 
Autocadillac- Glad to hear you like that Bauer platform. I would hate to recommend something like that and have you think it was a waste of money!



NYC2SoCal said:
.. do most people clay/polish/lsp the roofs of minivans and large SUVs?
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You betcha! I treat the roof that nobody sees about the same as I treat the hood. Well, I *do* have three slight spots on the roof of the MPV where I didn't get all of the marring *completely* out, but I'd rather have thick paint on the roof of that thing than perfect paint. I can live with one bit of marring per year, at least on *that* one panel.
 
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