Brexton externally mounted luggage trunk surface maintenance

[RROCGlr]

Greetings,

My '39 Rolls-Royce Wraith has a Brexton luggage trunk that is mounted on the boot lid door. My question is regarding the preservation of the outside of the trunk. It appears the surface material is "Oil Cloth" like and likely sensitive to the elements. Does Meguiar's have a product that will condition and preserve this trunk?

Regards,
GLR

[Mike Phillips]

Hi RROCGlr,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

This is the first time a question like this has ever come up; I'm not sure what the best product for this would be but I'll pass the link to this on to R&D and our DOT and see what they say.

Until I get a reply from them is it possible you could post a picture of your car and the trunk?

I'm sure our members would love to see what a 1939 Rolls Royce Wraith looks like.

If you need help, here's an article on posting photos to forums like this, or just e-mail it to me and I'll post it for you.

How to put pictures into your posts

[Wayfarerwalk]

YES! We need pictures!!! I love the class and elegance of the pre-war Rolls. Is it restored or in original condition? Inquiring minds want to know! And as Mike said, Welcome to MOL.

[Mike Phillips]

My first thoughts were that Oil Cloth is an early version of what we call Vinyl in modern times.

A quick google search discovered the term is actually one word,

OilCloth

From

http://www.bartleby.com/65/oi/oilcloth.html

originally, cloth treated with oil or other substances so as to be waterproof and used for fishermen’s and sailors’ wear, for coach robes and covers, and later as a floor covering, called floorcloth. Subsequently it was made of heavy canvas, jute, or burlap, sized with glue, and coated with a thick oil paint, several coats being used and successively rubbed down with pumice stone. It was machine printed, dried in a drying room, varnished, and rolled. Linoleum and various kinds of vinyl products have superseded oilcloth as a floor covering. A variety of oilcloth fabrics is now produced for wall, table, and shelf coverings, for raincoats, and for many small wares.


From this pdf page,

http://www.naturalovens.com/lib/content/default/sci_articles/f3699021daa627c153c0cfecb516b526/History_of_Flax.PDF

It states the Chinese created oilcloth by applying Flax Seed Oil to Canvas over 2000 years ago.


I then typed the words,

Oilcloth care

into google and came up with this page,

http://www.mendels.com/fabrics_oilcloth.html

Where they say to clean using warm, soapy water but they don't mention any products for conditioning and preserving.


Using the search terms Automotive Oilcloth history into google came up with this website

http://www.speedace.info/general_motors.htm

Where down the page a little it talks about an

A black oilcloth window storage bag was provided to protect the 1953 Corvette's removable plastic side windows when stowed in the trunk

Here's website that talks about oilcloth being used on the roof of Woodies

http://www.ohtm.org/woodies.html

Wooden bodies require meticulous care in order to preserve them, including refinishing the wood every year, and coating and replacing the canvas or oilcloth roof periodically.


So it sounds like the oilcloth used for your Rolls Royce is a type of vinyl.

I would recommend seeking out our #40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner



Shake this product well, then test it in a small area by first applying a little to a peice of terry cloth toweling and then rubbing it onto the oilcloth on your Rolls Royce.

Rub it in gently, then wipe off any excess and inspect. It should leave the surface looking richer in color.

[teterd]

Re: Brexton externally mounted luggage trunk surface maintenance

Originally posted by RROCGlr
Greetings,

My '39 Rolls-Royce Wraith has a Brexton luggage trunk that is mounted on the boot lid door. My question is regarding the preservation of the outside of the trunk. It appears the surface material is "Oil Cloth" like and likely sensitive to the elements. Does Meguiar's have a product that will condition and preserve this trunk?

Regards,
GLR

Please, please? I love the classics.