STEP-BY-STEP Shell-Off Floor Replacement

[StreaminGuy]

Originally Posted by A-Merry-Can

Geven came over yesterday and showed me how to polish. All these years, I was just buffing it. The shine Geven can pull out is amazing! Anyway, Here's some pics from the saturday 9AM-11PM polishing party. The street side is finito! I still need to finish up the curbside and the end caps... HOPEFULLY before falluminum! We'll see....

pics pics pics.. I was a MESS by the end of it!

Thanks again, Geven!

JP,

Love the photos! The smile on our faces didn't seem to capture how tired we really were! I kept trying to leave but you just wanted to do "one more panel, just one more panel". I like that Airstream polishing "tan" you have going on. Go to the translator website below and type in "to give bling" and translate it into Dutch.

How to say to give bling in dutch translation

Had a great time at the polishing party, we'll work to finish it up before Falluminum...then we'll polish the Tradewind before the Can Opener! I'll just be sure to wear my sunglasses if I follow you down there again!

Geven

[utee94]

Originally Posted by StreaminGuy

JP,

Love the photos! The smile on our faces didn't seem to capture how tired we really were! I kept trying to leave but you just wanted to do "one more panel, just one more panel". I like that Airstream polishing "tan" you have going on. Go to the translator website below and type in "to give bling" and translate it into Dutch.

How to say to give bling in dutch translation

Had a great time at the polishing party, we'll work to finish it up before Falluminum...then we'll polish the Tradewind before the Can Opener! I'll just be sure to wear my sunglasses if I follow you down there again!

Geven

WOW, you are one good friend Geven, to give so much of your time to help out with one of the filthiest tasks in Airstreaming!

JP-- The Pickle is looking great, glad to see you back on it.

-Marcus

[flyfshr]

That is a fabulous shine. Just how far is Cumming, GA from Phoenix, AZ? Do you make house calls? If not, at least share your polishing method for the rest of us.

Brad
FF

[soldiermedic]

Originally Posted by flyfshr

That is a fabulous shine. Just how far is Cumming, GA from Phoenix, AZ? Do you make house calls? If not, at least share your polishing method for the rest of us.

Brad
FF

Not Truck Box

[76sovereign]

Looks fantastic!!!!!! Thank you for posting the pictures. They are inspiringl!!!!

[Alcoa Roller]

Mr. Silver Pickle, I believe your work qualifies as art. Truely inspirational work here. You are very talented and thanks a ton for sharing your absolutely gorgeous finished canvas.

[whitsend]

As Flyfshr said above ~ would you please share your polishing method with the rest of us????????????

[StreaminGuy]

Originally Posted by Alcoa Roller

Mr. Silver Pickle, I believe your work qualifies as art. Truely inspirational work here. You are very talented and thanks a ton for sharing your absolutely gorgeous finished canvas.

Hey, it's not finished yet, we only got about 60% or so of it polished! Most of the street side is done and the bottom of the front and back. I hope to help him finish it withing the next two weeks. It is a work of art though. It is my favorite trailer of all I've seen. I wish I had the talent to build one like that.

G

[utee94]

Originally Posted by StreaminGuy

Hey, it's not finished yet, we only got about 60% or so of it polished! Most of the street side is done and the bottom of the front and back. I hope to help him finish it withing the next two weeks. It is a work of art though. It is my favorite trailer of all I've seen. I wish I had the talent to build one like that.

G

As I recall, JP was using some variation of the Jestco system-- but not sure if that's what he is now doing since Geven came along and taught him how to do it right.

-Marcus

[Sugarfoot]

Hey JP, how is it that Geven can stay so clean while working circles around you and you're so filthy? I have it on good authority that both those shots were taken after the work was done, EVEN Geven's. That's hillarious!

The Pickle is looking better than ever. Can't wait to see y'all at Falluminum.

[A-Merry-Can]

Geven likes to do the final pass and some touch up work. I was doing the cutting. That's by FAR the dirtiest part of the job. For that, I use the Jestco buffing wheel. It works fast, but REALLY heats up the metal, so you have to keep moving. There's a few burnished spots in one of the panels from me spending too much time in one spot.

I'm hoping to get back on cutting the last few panels this week, sometime if I can squeeze a few free hours out somewhere...

[StreaminGuy]

Originally Posted by whitsend

As Flyfshr said above ~ would you please share your polishing method with the rest of us????????????

Whitsend/Flyfcher,

Send me a PM with your email and I’ll send you the detailed and simple process so as not to hijack this thread. I don't post enough to know all the rules of that. Basically the final polish was done with Diamond Brite truck box polish. Before that, I cut almost 90% of the street side of the Pickle with a big Dewalt buffer/3M wool pad using Nuvite F7, then blue Wenol (which worked slow but we ran out of F7)...then finish with the Porter Cable 9424, the Diamond Brite, some bonnets I'm going to start selling. Jordan had previously done some buffing on that side as well. One of the reasons I wasn't that dirty, you can see in the photo the almost full face mask in my hand and behind me you can see the big Dewalt buffer/wool pad I was using to clean up that side before final polish. I also wear an apron when polishing. I also wasn’t that dirty because I have tried that wheel method before and no longer use it. More on that below.
I have a Cyclo, the Dewalt DW-849, the Porter Cable 9424 and three various orbital buffers. I also have the Jestco system and have tried it, it was very messy and the results I got had to be followed up with a wool pad on the Dewalt with F7 to clean it up before final polish to remove what the wheel from the Jestco system left. I personally got better results from the wool pad (use a low-lint 3M pad) and the Dewalt @ 1000RPM, then of course follow with the Porter Cable/Diamond Brite. For trailers without problem areas, the Porter Cable and Diamond Brite will work and you can polish the entire trailer without getting dirty. With that said, I have personally met Claude (nice guy) who owns Jestco and have seen his Caravel that is like mine and IT IS SHINIER than mine. It is in fact the shiniest trailer I’ve ever seen. It also has a flawless body which mine didn't. Claude has told me that he has been buffing things for years and admittedly knows how to use his system PROPERLY adjusting the speed of the buffer and keep it moving to avoid burnishing the metal. I could not master it. I burnished the metal on my trailer in several spots using this method and so did Jordan. In person, Claude's trailer has no burnish marks on it and it is as perfect of a shine as I've ever seen. He also told me that he followed it up with a final polish with a Cyclo with blue Wenol. When I used the wheel, the Cyclo was not aggressive enough for what it left.
I'm no expert on polishing but I can tell you that I have tried EVERY method that I could find out there and without a doubt I know what gives you the best shine in the least amount of time and without getting dirty. I've also previously used the fleece type wraps on the Cyclo. If you can only polish a little here and there, the method I use is the best, doesn’t leave a mess, doesn’t require any final wipe down around rivets or anything. In addition, the Diamond Brite provides a protective coating/wax that beads water well and makes future clean up easy.

Sorry for the long post!

See attached photos for the results of this method. The last time I polished it, I did the entire trailer by myself with the Porter Cable and Diamond Brite in 6.5 hours and no wipe down & was pretty clean. My trailer is not perfect and still has scrapes and pitting in it. I'm very busy but when I have time, I know how to get them out. I've gotten more enjoyment out of helping Jordan and plan to help him finish. When done, I expect his trailer to have a much better shine than mine. He is a hoot to work with and I can't wait to get back over there. He is a bad infuence though...since I've met him, I've bought three Feather Craft boats and this past weekend bought a vintage refrigerated Coke cooler!


Thanks, G

[StreaminGuy]

Originally Posted by utee94

As I recall, JP was using some variation of the Jestco system-- but not sure if that's what he is now doing since Geven came along and taught him how to do it right.

-Marcus

Hey Marcus,

As I said previously I'm no expert on polishing but I can tell you that I have tried EVERY method that I could find out there and without a doubt I know what gives you the best shine in the least amount of time and without getting dirty.

In the end, if it's shiny, I guess it's was done the right way...there a lot of ways to arrive there though.

With that said, JP is a true Craftsman...some of the stuff he posts doesn't even begin to cover some of the things he has done around his home including custom furniture and on and on. His creativity is seemingly endless. There is no doubt he could have arrived at a great shine by himself. I just feel like I can save him time in getting there from mistakes I've made in polishing and to keep him focused on polishing while I am there. He has many projects going and like me it's sometimes hard to stay with one thing. I plan to get back over there some evenings after work and help him finish the Pickle & have it looking great by Falluminum. I'm pretty confident it will be the shiniest trailer there!

Thanks, G

[utee94]

Oh my gosh, Geven, your trailer is absolutely beautiful!

Thanks for the long-winded post, I found it quite informative. At the risk of hijacking Jordan's thread one more time, I am wondering why you're using the different buffer/compounders instead of just one?

If you've sent PMs with more details to the others, I'd like to get one from you as well. This Winter is the time I will be tackling some polishing work on my own trailer.

(Also, would love to see some photos and details of your Feathercraft projects as well. Jordan has another thread on his own Feathercraft you could probably hijack for that! ).


Thanks, and keep up the good work!
-Marcus

[soldiermedic]

I think it would be great for Geven to start a thread and have a MOD sticky if for all to see. This would prevent an avalanche of emails I am sure he is getting.

Pretty please?

Steve

[2333]

That old vintage wooden dolly in the first pic is really cool. Looking at the shiny airstream almost made me overlook that.

[A-Merry-Can]

Originally Posted by StreaminGuy

...He is a bad infuence though...since I've met him, I've bought three Feather Craft boats and this past weekend bought a vintage refrigerated Coke cooler!

Hanging out with me will fill your garage up, that's for sure!

:-D

Thanks for the kind, yet undeserved words, G.

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Originally Posted by 2333

That old vintage wooden dolly in the first pic is really cool. Looking at the shiny airstream almost made me overlook that.

I got a few of those at an auction locally. Industrial carts from the 40's. They're called Lineberry Carts, and show up on eBay from time to time. Cool things!

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Thanks again, Geven!!

JP

[utee94]

Well, any other photos? Any interior work lately? Come on man, don't leave your audience hanging...