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Old 10-20-2015, 07:53 AM   #1
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1963 30' Sovereign
brandon , Mississippi
Join Date: May 2015
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Cleaning or Polishing

I have a 63 Sovereign. I want to even out the color but really polish it super bright. I like the grey, brushed aluminum look.
I have to remove a lot of coal tar from the roof, someone thought this was the best thing since sliced bread.

Any suggestions?
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Old 10-20-2015, 08:51 AM   #2
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1971 25' Tradewind
1993 34' Excella
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Estancia , New Mexico
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Super bright/ Grey brushed? Sound like you are talking about opposites. Please clarify.

Coal Tar? Try different solvents and a heat gun.
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Old 10-20-2015, 02:42 PM   #3
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1963 30' Sovereign
brandon , Mississippi
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Yea, I didn't type that up correct at all. I don't want the blinding super brite shiny look. I want a even grey clean look.
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Old 10-20-2015, 03:20 PM   #4
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1971 25' Tradewind
1993 34' Excella
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First thing is to figure if you have any clear coat left on the exterior. Probably not much but unless you remove it you will have a splotchy finish. Strip off the rest of the clear coat with a paint stripper. Use a plastic putty knife. you might like the look without doing anything else.

Then you have some options: use a auto wax, use auto compound, or use a coarse grade of Nuvite, or tripoli. You will need to consider if you want to invest in a adjustable speed grinder and or a Cyclo polisher. The Cyclo is the best way to avoid the dreaded "swirls". for what you want to do you may be able to get away with a hand drill with a polishing attachment. A 30 footer is a lot of work. Experiment.
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Old 10-20-2015, 10:42 PM   #5
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1961 22' Safari
Union , Oregon
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I got my '61 Safari (no clearcoat for this year) to a nice, clean, even grey by several rubdowns over a few years with Bon-Ami "Hasn't scratched yet" cleanser. I use about one 14 ounce container per cleaning for my 22' trailer and spend about an hour and a half with the rubdown. Try it. If you don't like the results you are out only a couple bucks and some elbow grease. It will remove black marks, mold, and rust stains without polishing.

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Old 11-03-2015, 08:38 AM   #6
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1969 23' Safari
1974 Argosy 22
1964 24' Tradewind
Victoria , British Columbia
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For the tap and sap residues any citrus glue /adhesive removed will do. I am a big fan of rapid remover. It's what I use at work. I used it to get the sap of the roof, the tar from the belly front and it cleans off old vulkem sealant and buytl tape so easily if you have to redo any weather-stripping as well as any dried on crud from old duct or masking tape.

Spray it on with an old windex bottle or whatever youve got and leave it sit 30 to 60 seconds and wipe or scrape off depending on how thick it is. Repeat as needed. It also works on the interiors with the vinyl walls that get super sticky spray on, rub in with a soft nail brush and paper towel it off, repeat. I used a whole gallon on the restoration of my 69
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Old 01-25-2016, 10:28 PM   #7
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1981 28' Airstream 280
Sevierville , Tennessee
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Where do I get a cyclo polisher? What kind of stripper do you use to remove spotches of clearcoat? Do I have to reapply clearcoat after polishing? If so, how? .....thanks
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