Opinions please!

[rrbyrd]

Hi, I need to clean/polish my 75 Land Yacht. I know there are several post out there, it's just really hard deciding what will work for me. These are pictures...of course I would love a mirror image shine, but, I am turning this Airstream into a commercial kitchen, & just need it looking good, as quickly as possible. I do not have proper buffing tools. I do not want to mess it up before I can go through the rigorous process of stripping & polishing eventually. For now, I need to clean/polish what do you suggest? What do I use & where can I get it?

[eubank]

The most informative document I know if is at the VTS website:

http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...ctions0708.pdf


Lynn

[Mike Leary]

Met a fellow here that had stripped the clear coat and polished his older 28 footer (the right way with aircraft polish tools). He said it took him and his son 80 hours. I've seen 'Streams that were done half-a**ed, and they looked terrible.

[Aage]

Even just stripping it would make it look a lot better...

[reinergirl]

I agree with Aage, strip it and then reevaluate. Without the proper tools you aren't going to be able to get a mirror finish, this is not a job to attempt by hand!

[Bigventure]

I've got a 5 gallon pail of RemoveAll for sale. PM me.

[Splitrock]

My experience . . .

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f441...per-90054.html

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[Big C]

Agree. You could buy all the equipment needed to do the job yourself, but you have to have the time and knowledge (which is available here for free), but the time of you making money in your know how vs some one who knows how to polish an Airstream is what the difference is...
Ours is in need of a polish. Next Spring when we are busy at our store and cannot travel we are going to bite the bullet and get her done.

[capt. Billy]

Can anyone suggest a $$ estimate to have a 1987 31ft airstream in reasonably good condition polished to not a mirror finish, but a highly polished finish. Thank you, capt. Billy , soon to be new owner.

[Aage]

The pro places quote something like $100 a foot.

But that's to a mirror finish. It seems they go all the way, or stay home.

[Splitrock]

Of the jobs I've done on my trailer, polishing wasn't the worst (for me) at all. I got instant rewards when I stripped the clearcoat and I could see progress immediately as I buffed and polished through all the stages. My hard costs were about $800. I bought two new tools, a Northern Tool variable speed buffer and a new Cyclo.

I wasted a few dollars trying different compounds and buffing bonnets, but not a lot. If I do another one I'll probably just stick with the Airway wheels and buy another Northern Tool variable speed buffer. I like the one I got. It's still good after all the work it did throwing those Airway wheels.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f441...ml#post1135361

Link above is my polish story.

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[Antique Pedaler]

Originally Posted by capt. Billy

Can anyone suggest a $$ estimate to have a 1987 31ft airstream in reasonably good condition polished to not a mirror finish, but a highly polished finish. Thank you, capt. Billy , soon to be new owner.

Enjoyed seeing a polished 28 footer. The owner said he paid $2m for a commercial stainless steel tank truck maintenance outfit who did it with chemicals.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by Antique Pedaler

Enjoyed seeing a polished 28 footer. The owner said he paid $2m for a commercial stainless steel tank truck maintenance outfit who did it with chemicals.

I heard of this before, but with the mention of chemicals, I think you should ask more questions. You aren't cleaning a tank, after all: a tank is one piece (or almost) and people don't live in it.

At the least, some chemicals could interfere with the sealants used to keep water out, no?

[Taylormade]

Originally Posted by Antique Pedaler

Enjoyed seeing a polished 28 footer. The owner said he paid $2m for a commercial stainless steel tank truck maintenance outfit who did it with chemicals.

In my work 2M is short for two million. What's it short for in Antiques?

[Aage]

Thousand. M = 1,000 in the print world, too.

[Taylormade]

Wow, I could see how this could be a bit disconcerting.

[SL4BLLT]

I've been quoted $5K for mirror and $7100 for clear coat for a 31 foot coach. This does not include any repairs that may need to be done, but does include the removal and replacement of awnings, and taping of the coach.

based on 200 hours required by a novice, it would take me probably 50 hours to figure it out. On top of staging, tools, materials and then the stripping and polish, this in itself can run $500-$800 dollars.

Knowing that it would be done by professional, and last another 10 years if not more depending on what exposure the Airstream gets, the $5-7K sounds like a good deal.

Now, saying all that, I continue to assess to see what I could do for upgrades with that amount as do I really want to be that shiny object on the road, or a not so shiny, but having the latest upgrades in comforts within my shell.

We'll eventually get there. I've seen 72's like ours and they look great as they have been refinished. But I must admit, I love the new axles, ultra leather, new bath and soon to be new galley that for the $7K has paid off. A set of new rock panels up front and on the front windows and a refreshed set of awnings, can take away the eye sore of a few areas on panels that are well seasoned with bad clear coat after 40+ years on the road. That in itself, is a story.

Even a set of "Big Red Numbers" as a WBCCI member, make the coach look fresh.

My hat is off to those folks that take the time and effort to get this done, as they do it right and enjoy doing it. For those that pay the price, as it really is a good deal, I'm saving my pennies.

To me to have it done professionally the price would be worth it, to me (IMHO). There are a few folks still in business that help keep the legacy of Airstream alive.
They will get my business down the road. I don't want to spend this type of money yet as we do leave the Airstream at times for months down on the coast, about 1 mile from the shore, so the salt water exposure would be a waste of money.
But two years from now, we'll get it done over the winter.

Great options out there with folks that have been doing this for years and an get it done in about 10 days, right.

Check around, give them a call as they are more than willing to give you a quote and work with you on a timeline. They are busy, so that should be a good indicator.

SL4BLLT

[c_lewis77]

Ditto splitrock's comments above. I spent about $8-900 on equipment bonnetts, nuvite, etc. it took about 2 months of weekends to get it done. Not difficult, it just takes time and patience.
I could also see the advantage of paying someone else to do it too. I am thinking my 34 would be expensive.....

[overlander64]

Greetings rrbyrd!

Originally Posted by rrbyrd

Hi, I need to clean/polish my 75 Land Yacht. I know there are several post out there, it's just really hard deciding what will work for me. These are pictures...of course I would love a mirror image shine, but, I am turning this Airstream into a commercial kitchen, & just need it looking good, as quickly as possible. I do not have proper buffing tools. I do not want to mess it up before I can go through the rigorous process of stripping & polishing eventually. For now, I need to clean/polish what do you suggest? What do I use & where can I get it?

The photos reveal that you have Plasticoat failure in several places and there are no easy methods of dealing with failing Plasticoat other than stripping, polish, and optionally new Platicoating. It is, however, possible to make you coach look much better with a thorough cleaning and application of Walbernize. Walbernize is the traditional product recommended by Airstream when our coaches were new. This product is friendly to the remaining solid Plasticoat and will do no further harm to the Plasticoat that is failing. I have utilized Walbernize on my Overlander since its purchase in 1995; and have continued the twice annual ritual of Walbernizing since having the exterior finish restored by P and S Trailer Service in Helena, OH.

When I was dealing with an original surface similar to yours in 1995, I utilized the following products:

• Walbernize Cleaner, Polish, and Galze -- on areas where the Plasticoat was completely gone or failing.
• Walbernize RV SuperSeal -- on areas where the Plasticoat was solid and in good condition.

The above provided good results for me and allowed me time to save for the professional exterior restoration at P and S Trailer Service. My Overlander had some damaged areas that required extra work so the cost for the complete exterior restoration was about $260 per lineal foot in 2003 (that included polish to the original lustre with new Plasticoat) . . . following the Walbernize reoutine has resulted in a Plasticoat finish that is still in very good condition today with only minor chalking on the endcaps.

Good luck with your project!

Kevin