Polishing a 1967 Ambassador

[fowlplay14]

I am new to the vintage airstream thing, so please ignore my ignorance. I'm in the process of picking up a 1967 Ambassador. The overall condition is what I would consider good. I would like to know if this can be polished to the mirror type finish that I often se e on some of the nice vintage airstreams. I didn't know if certain years had a different clear finish or if some had a matte finish to them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[thenewkid64]

Welcome to the forums!

Yes your unit will be able to be polished to the mirror finish. It will take either a healthy checkbook or many hours to DIY, but it can be done.

Do a search on polishing and you will find quite a few threads on the processes and results.

[overlander64]

Greetings fowlplay14!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Airstreaming!

Originally Posted by fowlplay14

I am new to the vintage airstream thing, so please ignore my ignorance. I'm in the process of picking up a 1967 Ambassador. The overall condition is what I would consider good. I would like to know if this can be polished to the mirror type finish that I often se e on some of the nice vintage airstreams. I didn't know if certain years had a different clear finish or if some had a matte finish to them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The '66 - '68 Airstream coaches can and have been polished to a mirror finish by a number of owners. A member (and Past-President) of our Wisconsin Unit has a '68 Soveriegn that he has mirror polished. The coach is pictured below at the 2001 VAC Rally in Viroqua, WI:



You might try posting a quiestion for Ed Emmerick on the VAC discussion list, he may be able to give you a few hints about the techniques that he used with his coach.

Good luck with your project!

Kevin

[jdleezer]

I recommend http://www.perfectpolish.com/ for everything you need to know about polishing a trailer.

If you have clearcoat that has to be removed, I recommend RemoVall 220, instead of Citristrip or Safestrip. I started out trying to remove my clearcoat with those two products but found RemoVall 220 a much better product. I purchased mine at http://www.dtep.com/. It is safe and environmentally friendly.

Good luck.