tough cleaning job... mom's caravan

[lostatlantis]

I decided to clean my mom's white 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan today since I am home for the summer [img]smile.gif[/img] Man, the van was one tough job. I think its last wash/wax was the last time I did it for her... a year ago :rolleyes:

I ran into two major problems:

1) the tinted windows in the back have some NASTY waterspots, at least that's what I think they are. I searched the forum and it sounds like vinegar + water is the common solution. I will try this tomorrow, but in the mean time I'd like to know what else will help this problem.

2) the grill on the caravan is so dirty that it's a different shade of white (or dirty yellowish white) than the rest of the car. It looks really bad since I've cleaned up the hood so much [img]smile.gif[/img] The grill itself seems to be a piece of plastic that kinda extends horizontally until it wraps halfway around the headlights. I wish I have a digital camera, pictures would show how bad it looks. Is there anything I can do to clean this up?

[96_V6_Fbody]

Two words.

Get Clay

[lostatlantis]

Clay bar works on plastic too?

by the way, I can't find clay bars in my local stores... wal-mart, advanced auto parts. Nearest pep-boy is 80 miles away. :( where are you guys getting them?

[lostatlantis]

bad news. White vinegar + water didn't do jack against those waterspots on the back tinted windows of the van. :(

[mcG]

i know how you feel man. my brother has a 99 dodge caravan that he never washes, so i feel bad for the car and wash it sometimes. takes forever since it's so big. and it's that dark purple color too, so it's filthy / dusty an hour afterwords anyways :mad:

[FireFighter]

I work at advance auto, they should have the clay bar.

[lostatlantis]

I found one last Mothers Clay bar kit at my local Advanced Auto Parts, but it was opened so I didn't buy it. That thing is small...! lol looks like a tiny piece of yellow soap, for 14.99... I am assuming that's a fair price?

btw, I still CAN'T get those darn water spots off my mom's van's windows. Can I use the clay bar for this, or is it just for the body and not the window??