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daved20319 · 09-24-2015, 08:26 AM

Been doing lots of research on polishing, but not much info on this issue. The front corners of my AS are pretty heavily pitted from road grit kicked up by tow vehicles, mine and PO's. Feels like coarse sand paper. My question is two-fold. First, is there an effective way to deal with this short of replacing the panels? Mine's a '74, so from what I've been able to find out, the shell is bare 6061, no Alclad. Or is it something else because there's some compound curve action even on the lowest panels?

Second, is this going to make polishing a hassle? I've read that the pits can hold onto polish, making it nearly impossible to remove the excess, and ending up looking worse than what I started with. I'm using the Jestco polishing system, loose 8" cotton wheels with a variable speed sander/polisher. Tried a couple of spots on the side, impressive results even with just a couple of minutes work and the first cut grey polishing bar. But I doubt just leaning into it will take care of that pitting. Thanks in advance for any help.

Dave

Belegedhel · 09-24-2015, 01:22 PM

Just a comment on replacing them--consider it a last resport of last resports. Even though formed segments are available brand new that will fit your trailer, they are made of the modern alloy, which is seriously softer than your current segments (6061 or whatever they turn out to be). I've heard of people managing to buy "new old stock," but have also heard of people being promised NOS, but it is actually "new new stock."

good luck!