Polishing the Thetford bowl

[Bill]

On our long trips each year, the build-up of bugs and road grime on the front of the TM is annoying, and I have been looking for a way to make the crud stick less and clean off more easily. Last year bought a bottle of Protect-All from WalMart or Camping World, and put it on the front wall of the front shell.

Results are not yet in for this use, but I found another use for it - polishing the bowl of the Thetford toilet.

A couple years ago, I had removed the vinyl skirt from the toilet (it is a kind of sleeve or chute that directs waste into the appropriate area), as suggested by Dave/Shrimp Burrito in several discussions. The skirt seems to serve no real purpose, but it does make the toilet a bit harder to flush. When I removed the skirt as Dave suggested, I was pleased with the improvement. But once in a while, flushing was still a sticky situation. So before our last trip, I cleaned out the bowl really well, and then polished it with Protect-All. Very good result! The flush clears the bowl quickly and easily, and prodding is never necessary any more. Even my wife commented on the difference!

Just a thought.

Bill

Hi -

Great tip Bill on (protect all) I will get some. On the other hand I just got my (Vinyl Skirt) today and my new (Break Controller) on the same day, this might be something to think about. I should be in good shape now, I got all things covered If things go wrong I am set with the vinyl skirt

Dave

[ShrimpBurrito]

Interesting, Bill. Roughly how many days of use after application have you still noticed improvement? Just curious to hear how long it lasts, as I would expect the methanol in the Aqua Kem to clean it off fairly quickly. Maybe not....

Dave

[Bill]

Good question, Dave, and I don't have an answer yet. I applied it before we left Arizona, in advance of our trip to Maine. We were in the TM 5 or 6 nights during the trip, with a fresh charge of Campa-Chem every night. It hasn't washed off yet.

Although the MSDS for Campa-Chem identifies methanol as an ingredient, it doesn't give the quantity. Quite possibly it is very little, since Campa-Chem is also available as a dry powder, which means no methanol.

We'll see what happens. It is easy to reapply, of course. Just spritz it on and polish with a dry paper towel.

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

I haven't had a problem since removing the vinyl skirt and replacing it with a simple slick vinyl flap, but this is good to know just in case!

Dave

[ELM-JLM]

Originally Posted by Bill

On our long trips each year, the build-up of bugs and road grime on the front of the TM is annoying, and I have been looking for a way to make the crud stick less and clean off more easily. Last year bought a bottle of Protect-All from WalMart or Camping World, and put it on the front wall of the front shell.

Results are not yet in for this use, but I found another use for it - polishing the bowl of the Thetford toilet.

A couple years ago, I had removed the vinyl skirt from the toilet (it is a kind of sleeve or chute that directs waste into the appropriate area), as suggested by Dave/Shrimp Burrito in several discussions. The skirt seems to serve no real purpose, but it does make the toilet a bit harder to flush. When I removed the skirt as Dave suggested, I was pleased with the improvement. But once in a while, flushing was still a sticky situation. So before our last trip, I cleaned out the bowl really well, and then polished it with Protect-All. Very good result! The flush clears the bowl quickly and easily, and prodding is never necessary any more. Even my wife commented on the difference!

Just a thought.

Bill

Thanks for the motivation Bill, not many would consider polishing a toilet bowl! LOL! I have polished every bowl in the TM and they all look new again! Fixtures and stainless like showroom new! Black rub marks on the ceiling and the plastic trim behind the toilet and opposite outer wall came off remarkably well with Goof Off and then cleanup with Orange Awesome! Here I had thought they were wear marks from our trip across The Yukon Territory and needed sanding and paint!!

FWIW! I had my hand in the toilet drop and was about to grab and pull the skirt off! It seems that the skirt was bunched and pleated around the small oval areas creating a catch all! I was able to rework and push them outward! If they still catch, I'll just cut them out! It appears the skirt in the main flush thrust area acts as a splash guard and prevents residue buildup in the stainless screen! This weekend will answer that catch all question for me! We will have a housefull of family and we can escape to our "Home Away From Home" in our backyard!

Time for me is plentiful but "MOTIVATION" is another story!

[Civil_War_Buff]

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

I haven't had a problem since removing the vinyl skirt and replacing it with a simple slick vinyl flap, but this is good to know just in case!

Dave

Dave, what did you make the flap from? My vinyl skirt fell off a few years ago and I never thought about replacing it, but maybe I should do whatyou did, or leave it off completely.

How did you attach it? How thick is the vinyl?. . . . ?

Thanks.

I use Rainx in mine works well

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by Civil_War_Buff

Dave, what did you make the flap from? My vinyl skirt fell off a few years ago and I never thought about replacing it, but maybe I should do whatyou did, or leave it off completely.

How did you attach it? How thick is the vinyl?. . . . ?

All ye questions are answered here:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...?t=8112&page=4

Dave

[Bill]

Bob / Rumbleweed -

Good idea. It is quite possible that Rain-X would be a tougher product than the Protect-All stuff I used, and would last longer. The good news is that either one seems to help with a sticky problem (sorry!)

Bill