How much does it take to maintain the Bright Polish

[Melody Ranch]

Your Wife is correct.

[RickDavis]

A lot of hours, Probably 100 or more on the first polishing ( plus stripping the clearcoat on a newer unit) If the coating on your unit is decent don't even think about it.

If you do go ahead ,slave labor , like children or grandchildren will help

[InsideOut]

Depends on a lot of variables...

• Weather - more humidity will cause the polish to dull quicker
• Location - beach areas will cause it to corroded more
• Storage - stored indoors will keep the shine better
• Maintenance - a "once a year" polish freshen-up (20+/- hours) will help maintain the polish so you don't have to start from scratch every time
• Periodic washings & waxing help
• Travel - do you plan on traveling to the beach or in the snow w/salted roads - both these types of trips will require thorough washings after (during?) each trip

The nice thing is, if it has been polished and no new clear coat applied, it oxidizes slowly & evenly. If you ever decide to take on the effort to bring it back to a high polish, it's going to be a lot easier if it's already been polished before. You'll only be dealing with the oxidation from 3-5 years (or whatever) instead of 30+ years worth of oxidation.

Ours is highly polished. We have gone through phases of being "festidious" about the polish job and others when we care "not so much". We love the polished look and are willing to do what it takes to get the "Ohs" & "Ahs".

Shari

[StreaminGuy]

Originally Posted by jbailey01

Looking at a '74 Trade Wind that is brightly polished. My wife says I am too
lazy to keep it looking good. She may be right. How much does it take to keep them looking good?

Let your wife know that you read online that several husband/wife teams have done yearly maintenance polishing in about 8 hours. Let us know what her reaction is! I know what my wife's reaction would be.

The best polish jobs I've seen were in fact done by one particular woman...many who read this will know who it is.

I've done maintenance polishing on my Caravel in under 7 hours...but there again, it isn't perfectly polished....and I keep it inside...except in the summer.

I'm currently polishing someone else's Bambi. Here's some results from yesterday, 1/26. The black residue will be gone when finished.

Thanks, G

[StreaminGuy]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

Depends on a lot of variables...

• Weather - more humidity will cause the polish to dull quicker
• Location - beach areas will cause it to corroded more
• Storage - stored indoors will keep the shine better
• Maintenance - a "once a year" polish freshen-up (20+/- hours) will help maintain the polish so you don't have to start from scratch every time
• Periodic washings & waxing help
• Travel - do you plan on traveling to the beach or in the snow w/salted roads - both these types of trips will require thorough washings after (during?) each trip

The nice thing is, if it has been polished and no new clear coat applied, it oxidizes slowly & evenly. If you ever decide to take on the effort to bring it back to a high polish, it's going to be a lot easier if it's already been polished before. You'll only be dealing with the oxidation from 3-5 years (or whatever) instead of 30+ years worth of oxidation.

Ours is highly polished. We have gone through phases of being "festidious" about the polish job and others when we care "not so much". We love the polished look and are willing to do what it takes to get the "Ohs" & "Ahs".

Shari

Agreed on all!

G

[1947liner]

Console your wife it is not one of these...!

[Sweneau]

... However, not by me. I purchased in 2012, used it in the summer but now currently deployed in middle east serving America. When I return, would like to know how the steps to polish it back to that mirror finish.
Might there be a training video or slides to demonstrate the steps for this?

Thanks,
Michael

[jvannamee]

We have a 1972 27' Airstream, clear coat gone, polished. We polish it once before summer season and again when putting it up (outside) for the winter in Colorado. Takes us about 6 hours to keep the shine. Prior to a trip, or after a rain, we just take a damp cloth, rub a section at a time and dry with fleece. Keeps it looking great. We probably don't need to do 2 polish's a year, but we do.

[jvannamee]

One more thing. Don't cover it. Even if you keep it outside. You will be dealing with black streaks all over your Airstream from the inside of the cover.

[JimGolden]

SWEET Cessna 195! Aluminum airplanes SHOULD be polished.

Nothing prettier in the World than a polished P-51.

All that being said....I have an Avion that is Anodized, and you cannot get the beautiful Mirror Finish of an Alclad Airstream. But, I polish it up with ParFe wax as best I can, and you can still comb your hair in it, and I had it at an event at WVU with everything from Coleman popups to Prevost Motor Coaches....and the guy across from me came over, shook my hand, and said "Buddy, your trailer looks great. Only problem is that the sun reflecting off the skin BLINDS me!" Old fellow was laughing when he told me that. I took it as a compliment


Polish that metal!

[joseph lamb]

I will tell you that keeping up the shine is EASY,EASY,EASY, once you get it polished !
We live in Tampa Florida , and my 1972 21 foot Globetrotter is not inside
a barn or garage .
We bought the wonder hut two years ago from a guy who did not care about the shine , and I love a polished Airstream, and so do other campers .
I can do a quick clean up polish on in 2 hours with Johnny Cash on the radio and a beer in my hand . I love doing it , anyway . But there are alot of tricks you can learn......