I recently purchased this '69 29' International Ambassador. It looks one of the sections in the back was replaced with a panel of brushed alumnium. Does anyone know if the brushed finish can be polished out/off?
It would be a lot of work but it can be done. It probably will never match the rest of the body. You will have to decide if you want to polish the whole thing and have a smaller mismatch or leave it the way it is.
Just have the panel replaced with the regular aluminum, which can be polished to match the rest of the trailer.
were you concerned with the unpolished look, or were you concerned with polishing the trailer and having a mismatched panel??
What it looks like to me is the rear panel that was replaced was done with a prefinished clearcoated panel. If you were to strip the remainder of the rear and re-clearcoat it, it would look the same. If you are planning on polishing it then you just strip it all and polish. It should polish up like the rest of the coach.
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Brett G
WBCCI #5501 AIR # 49
"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey." -- Fitzhugh Mullan
Wise men talk because they have someting to say; fools, because they have to say something. -- Plato
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap— Napoleon
Years ago, I built frozen food packaging equiptment. We had to use stainless steel. When we had time to worry about how someting looked, we took a wire wheel and hit the surface giving it an etched concentric spiral design. I have wondered if this would work on an AS, it gave a cleaner apperance, the water spots didnt show. But it is no longer mirror finish, just shiny. Has anyone tried anything like this?
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The Trumpowers
1979 SLY 31'
1979 GMC 4 door with s/c camper shell
Originally posted by thenewkid64 What it looks like to me is the rear panel that was replaced was done with a prefinished clearcoated panel. If you were to strip the remainder of the rear and re-clearcoat it, it would look the same. If you are planning on polishing it then you just strip it all and polish. It should polish up like the rest of the coach.
I hope so. After I finish with the inside and checking for Frame / Separation issues, I want to polish the whole thing. Nothing quite like that mirror finish to turn heads going down the road.
Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Airstreaming!
I am not certain, but from your photos I might speculate that the panel is original. Based on your location in Arizona, and having read of the history of Plasticoat failures on coaches in your climate; my suspicion is that the Plasticoat may have failed on those top panels and what you are seeing is simply natural corrosion (tarnishing) of the aluminum. Plasticoat often fails from the top down and may involve only certain panels.
Prior to being refinished at P & S Trailer Service, my coach had several areas with Plasticoat issues that appeared very similar to finish on the panels on your coach when photographed. I had one small area on my coach that a previous owner had tried to polish with steel wool or sand paper that added several hours of machine and hand labor to the refinishing process - - hopefully that won't be the case with your problem panels.
Kevin
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Kevin D. Allen WBCCI (Lifetime Member)/VAC/Free Wheelers #6359 AIR #827
1964 Overlander International/1999 GMC K2500 Suburban (7400 VORTEC/4.11 Differentials)
1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre/1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (8.2 Liter V8/2.70 Final Drive)
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