Clearcoat Removal

[equigley]

I am a newbie and a more confused than ever on the subject of clearcoat removal and what to do next.

I have a 1971 Safari 23' with deteriorated clearcoat. I plan to use Napier Removall 220 stripper. Now, for the what to do next question-I prefer not to spend the time or the money required to polish to a mirror finish-at least for now. Can I not just for the sake of protecting my Airstream from further (and or future) corrosion damage by removing the clearcoat and then simply waxing. If so, what is recommended?

Also, has anyone heard of or used a product called Alodine 1001 (brightens aluminum and protects from corrosion) from Aircraft Spruce & Speciality Co. ?

Thanks,

equigley

[StingrayL82]

Haven't heard of it, but there's a guy in Gilroy, CA who has a company that specializes in cleaning metal, specifically anodized aluminum. I had a 1968 Streamline (anodized aluminum trailer) and I took it to him to get the yellowing out. The trailer was spotless, when I got it back. Here's the link:

metal wax.com

Frederic

[thecatsandi]

Alodine is NOT a wax. It is a chemical reactive coating it bonds to the aluminum. This is how they made Wally's golden trailer.

[LI Pets]

Originally Posted by StingrayL82

Haven't heard of it, but there's a guy in Gilroy, CA who has a company that specializes in cleaning metal, specifically anodized aluminum. I had a 1968 Streamline (anodized aluminum trailer) and I took it to him to get the yellowing out. The trailer was spotless, when I got it back. Here's the link:

metal wax.com

Frederic

I used it, great stuff about 40 hours for 31', the part that has the clear coat removed will go very fast with metal wax, the parts you may have with some corosian used red compound on first, than metal wax.

[Aerowood]

I, like thecatsandi, Initially thought NO on the Alodine 1001. But then I got to thinking (it happens) and the Alodine that I've been using for years and years is Alodine 1200 or 1201 and I had never heard of 1001, So I looked it up and was somewhat surprised at what I read. It Reads "An invisible coat to provide in-depth corrosion proofing to the brightened aluminum surface and act as a firm (film ?) barrier against the elements and continued corrosion). I might buy a qt. and see what it does to a bare piece of aluminum. I guess I'm never to old to try something different and new to me.

[Inland RV Center, In]

NOT ONLY NO, BUT HECK NO !!!

We just picked up a quart of Alodine 1001 from Aircraft Spruce.

Cost $ 16.30.

The WARNING LABELS state the following.

POSSIBLE CANCER HAZARD: Contains chromic acid which may cause cancer. Risk of cancer depends on duration and level of exposure.

WARNING: May cause eye burns and skin irritation. Harmful if sqallowed. Contact with organic materials may cause a fire after evaporation of water. Contains acidic chromates and Fluorides.


Avoid contact with eyes, skin and clothing.
Avoid breathing mist from solution.
Avoid contact with combustible materials.

In case of contact flush eyes or skin with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes.

SKIN CONTACT: Immediately take off all contaminated clothing. Flush with large amouints of water. Soak the affected area for one hour in an iced solution of (0.13 %) of Zephiran chloride (30 cc of 17% concentrate per gallon of iced distilled water.)

GET MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY.

Remove contaminated clothing and/or shoes. Wash clothing before reuse.

DISCARD contaminated shoes.

Also comes with six pages of "material Safety Data Sheet."

Lastly. FOR PROFESSIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY.

Hope this helps those that may have considered using this material.

Andy

[equigley]

Thanks Andy for the reply on Alodine. How is something like that is even on the market?

So now back to the original question. What can I use to protect the trailer after removing what is left of the clearcoat (keeping in mind that I am not prepared for polishing as yet)?

Thanks,

equigley

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by equigley

Thanks Andy for the reply on Alodine. How is something like that is even on the market?

So now back to the original question. What can I use to protect the trailer after removing what is left of the clearcoat (keeping in mind that I am not prepared for polishing as yet)?

Thanks,

equigley

You can use a good automotive paste or liquid wax.

Walbernize is for the clear coat, not aluminum.

Andsy

[vintagemike]

I can't say enough about how great that product is. I stripped my 25 foot Tradewind in one day with Napier Removall 220. I had tried several other products on the inspection covers and found it to be a lot of work wiping and scraping the sticky paint removers. The Removall could be left on four hours and I just powerwashed it off. The aluminum under the clear coat looked great. I almost decided to forget about polishing it and just leave it stripped.
I googled "Napier" and got a number in Quebec and they then directed me to the closest distributer. I had the product in four days. I used one gallon at about $75 to do the whole trailer. I needed every drop though, not a bit of extra. BTW this was a 1971 trailer with nearly perfect clear coat.

Vintagemike

[SwampBillies]

VintageMike
We looked for the Removall 220 at ICI paints which was where I was told to get it. They told us it had been discontinued. We did find a branch that still had 2 gallons on the shelf, but after driving over an hour to get there we discovered it was old and had broken down. Wasted trip. Very dissappointing after all the good things we have read about it here.
Debbie

[PolisherGuy]

Use Aircraft Stripper at most any auto parts start .
Read the directions. Just brush it on. Let it sit for 30min.
Then agitate with brush and hose off. Want a mirror shine?
Check this out.....DVD Polishing Guide

[dklimek]

So is there no hope in finding the removall 220 if you are looking to buy it local? I would rather use this product, as i have read you dont have to run around the camper scraping all off...and i have a few airstreams to do so it would save me alot of hassle.

[dklimek]

Also, i have read alot about polishing the campers with nuvite...where can you get this?

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by dklimek

So is there no hope in finding the removall 220 if you are looking to buy it local? I would rather use this product, as i have read you dont have to run around the camper scraping all off...and i have a few airstreams to do so it would save me alot of hassle.

I don't know about the local issue but vintage trailer suppy carries it. Works great and in friendly to the environment

Vintage Trailer Supply - Vintage travel trailer parts and supplies!

[InsideOut]

You don't mention the era of your trailer you are stripping...some products work better on some clearcoat/plasticoats than others. However, having tried just about everything out there by now...here's my 2-cents ~

Originally Posted by dklimek

So is there no hope in finding the removall 220 if you are looking to buy it local? I would rather use this product, as i have read you dont have to run around the camper scraping all off...and i have a few airstreams to do so it would save me alot of hassle.

I used Kleen Strip Aircraft Stripper to strip the clearcoat on our '64. It worked VERY well, but burns your skin and is nasty stuff.

I used both Napier Removal 220 & Citristrip to remove the Zolatone from the inside of our '56. They are both much more environmentally friendly and don't burn your skin. The Citristrip actually worked better than the Removall, smells MUCH better (Citristrip smells like orange sherbet the Removal like ant spray) and is readily available at Home Depot/Lowes/etc. and in smaller amounts. We have 1/2-2/3's of a gallon (we bought 2 gallons) of the Removal leftover - if we had used the Citristrip I could have saved $$$ (it's cheaper) and bought a smaller amount - but I ordered the Removall and didn't want to pay shipping to send it back, so I used it.

No product makes the clearcoat or paint jump off the trailer...it's work, no matter what. If my '56 had clearcoat (it doesn't) I would go with the Citristrip.

Originally Posted by dklimek

Also, i have read alot about polishing the campers with nuvite...where can you get this?

The Nuvite products are available here: Perfect Polish - Nuvite

Also IMO, "everything you need to know about polishing"...great website!

BTW, welcome to the forums!

Shari

[dklimek]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

You don't mention the era of your trailer you are stripping...some products work better on some clearcoat/plasticoats than others. However, having tried just about everything out there by now...here's my 2-cents ~I used Kleen Strip Aircraft Stripper to strip the clearcoat on our '64. It worked VERY well, but burns your skin and is nasty stuff.

I used both Napier Removal 220 & Citristrip to remove the Zolatone from the inside of our '56. They are both much more environmentally friendly and don't burn your skin. The Citristrip actually worked better than the Removall, smells MUCH better (Citristrip smells like orange sherbet the Removal like ant spray) and is readily available at Home Depot/Lowes/etc. and in smaller amounts. We have 1/2-2/3's of a gallon (we bought 2 gallons) of the Removal leftover - if we had used the Citristrip I could have saved $$$ (it's cheaper) and bought a smaller amount - but I ordered the Removall and didn't want to pay shipping to send it back, so I used it.

No product makes the clearcoat or paint jump off the trailer...it's work, no matter what. If my '56 had clearcoat (it doesn't) I would go with the Citristrip.

The Nuvite products are available here: Perfect Polish - Nuvite

Also IMO, "everything you need to know about polishing"...great website!

BTW, welcome to the forums!

Shari

The first one i am doing is a '65 26'...any idea on about how much citristrip i should look into picking up?? What did you find the easiest to use for scraping the clear coat off the trailer?

Thanks for the welcome and info!

David.

[InsideOut]

We used the Aircraft Stripper on our exterior and used less than two gallons on our 19-footer, so I would start with two gallons. If you are using CitriStrip and buying it from Home Depot or the like, if you need more it's readily available - if you get too much you can return it.

We used the CitriStrip on the interior - brushed it on and power washed it and the paint/Zolatone off in strips. However, I would not necessarily recommend using a power washer on the exterior* because it could loosen/remove the sealant in the seams - there is no sealant on the interior seams - at least on our '56, so we used it on low pressure (1400 psi).

With the Aircraft Stripper, I brushed it on and used a soft, wet terry cloth towel to remove it and the clearcoat - basically because I didn't want it to splash all over and get on my skin - it burns. It was easier to control wiping it off then hose the remaining residue off.

The thing I found is how different strippers and techniques work on different trailers. Also temperature and humidity have an effect - so the bottom line is you need to figure out what works for you and go for it! If the clearcoat is mostly worn trough - a scraper really doesn't help - the texture of the towel is enough. I did use a plastic scraper on some of the areas where the stripper dried out too fast though.

Shari

*If you are planning on scraping out all the old sealant and resealing all the seams anyway (with Vulkem &/or Parabond - NOT silicone), you could probably use the pressure washer (low powered - like 1400 psi) everywhere except directly on the seams and just wipe off those. Then reseal all the seams before polishing.

[dklimek]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

We used the Aircraft Stripper on our exterior and used less than two gallons on our 19-footer, so I would start with two gallons. If you are using CitriStrip and buying it from Home Depot or the like, if you need more it's readily available - if you get too much you can return it.

We used the CitriStrip on the interior - brushed it on and power washed it and the paint/Zolatone off in strips. However, I would not necessarily recommend using a power washer on the exterior* because it could loosen/remove the sealant in the seams - there is no sealant on the interior seams - at least on our '56, so we used it on low pressure (1400 psi).

With the Aircraft Stripper, I brushed it on and used a soft, wet terry cloth towel to remove it and the clearcoat - basically because I didn't want it to splash all over and get on my skin - it burns. It was easier to control wiping it off then hose the remaining residue off.

The thing I found is how different strippers and techniques work on different trailers. Also temperature and humidity have an effect - so the bottom line is you need to figure out what works for you and go for it! If the clearcoat is mostly worn trough - a scraper really doesn't help - the texture of the towel is enough. I did use a plastic scraper on some of the areas where the stripper dried out too fast though.

Shari

*If you are planning on scraping out all the old sealant and resealing all the seams anyway (with Vulkem &/or Parabond - NOT silicone), you could probably use the pressure washer (low powered - like 1400 psi) everywhere except directly on the seams and just wipe off those. Then reseal all the seams before polishing.

Hmm..no pressure washer? I dont want to reseal all the seams, but ours isnt very high pressure and can spray very wide...about how long did you let the Citristrip sit before toweling it off? Also, its 81* here, partially cloudy.
David

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by dklimek

...about how long did you let the Citristrip sit before toweling it off?

Don't let it dry...

Shari

[ve7rye]

Hi Guys I have 26' trailer to strip I have hung out with some car restorers . What they use to remove clear coat and paint is corn starch or baking soda. They sand blast the surface and the baking soda dicinagrates on impact and is soft enough that it will not heat or warp the outside skin
anybody have any oppinions?