Hi Tim,
If you PM me your address, then I can send you my angled polisher. It's a Craftsman 2-speed with a backing plate etc. It might help with your task. Just send it back when you're done. I am not using it right now. I think it would work much better than a drill attachment. It has a rubber backing plate that takes standard bonnets.
Tim,
It took me several frustrating hours to finally figure out what kind of initial compounding our '64 Tradewind needed. I used the exact same DeWalt slow-speed drill as outlined on the perfectpolish.com website, an adapter that we machined from a piece of 5/8" all-thread, and a backing pad and 3M bonnet from Crest Automotive here in St. Louis.
Contrary to the perfectpolish.com site, I found it necessary in the end to use a pretty fair amount of the Nuvite C6 polish and push HARD. Not so hard as to dent the trailer or anything, but hard enough that I really had to lean into it. Looking at the trailer now, you can see the difference between the places where I had leverage and where I didn't because of my chintzy scaffolding or the slope in our driveway. Leverage and a fair amount of polish were the keys for me, as was using a good, heavy, slow-speed drill and wool bonnet.
I started with the G grade, but it left some really deep scratches. The C worked better on our oxidized trailer. After the C, I chickened out and went straight to the S. It's not a perfect job, but it's good enough to get comments and not so good that I obsess over every bird flying overhead and every puddle on the road.
__________________
Ben & Molly (but Ben never types, so it's always Molly )
I'll try to get a close-up of her tomorrow in the daylight.
I had no luck with compounding the F7. It actually seemed less effective than the "milder" C with the compounding drill. But I was working on an older trailer with the non-grained aluminum. I haven't tried anything on our '71 Sovereign, as I dread the thought of ever polishing it!
It looks like your skin is in good shape, so you've got an advantage there. Our clearcoat had been stripped years ago by a PO, and the oxidation had gotten to the point that there were small white spots on the skin that were really, really tough to get out. I ended up using a pretty fair amount of the C (perhaps a teaspoon or two per 1' x 1' area in the really bad sections) and polished until all the black was gone. It's excruciating, but it was the only way I could get it to an acceptable nearly-mirror finish. I also fluffed the bonnet often with a bonnet rake; letting the bonnet gum up with polish leads to scratches pretty quickly.
Don't be surprised if you go through a lot of polish and a lot of patience before you find what works for you. It literally took me a good 10 or 12 hours of initial experimentation before I saw some success, and I learned new things throughout the whole process. I'll impart all that on my husband - I think it will be his turn to polish the next time around.
__________________
Ben & Molly (but Ben never types, so it's always Molly )
Why do you constantly question and poke at the SS?
I hope it works as it appears. I have now seen 3 photographs from different members. All have the appearance that looks like it is a legitimate product, and the members writing about it have all said good things- why cast a negative shadow?
To me- the long work of the currently accepted system is quite intimidating. I should be lucky if I can get the results in the shorter time advertised by several members, not only the one you have apparent issues against.
An open mind leads us to discoveries that we can benefit from.
Please don't ruin it for the rest of us. Thank you. Cheers. Peter.
Everyone take a deep breath and count to ten............
The bottom line.
Based on the threads, post, pictures, opinions both ways work.
Each owner has their own opinion on how they should polish. If a cyclo and nuvite/rolite is your choice, great. If you want to use SS and a harbor freight buffer, great.
This is an issue that will NEVER be resolved because we all have an opinion on it. I can say that I have NO opinion either way, my unit is painted. I will tell you that I do like a shiny trailer over a dull one. How it got that way does not matter to me.
There are many issues in RVing that are like this in that there will never be a "right" way. So polish it the way you want, if you want to show it off do so. But please quit insulting, takling down to, or berating members for their choices. Choices are part of the freedom we enjoy.
Everyone has an opinion even if it is wrong gentle persuasion is good, but keep it civil.
__________________
Brett G
WBCCI #5501 AIR # 49
"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey." -- Fitzhugh Mullan
Wise men talk because they have someting to say; fools, because they have to say something. -- Plato
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap— Napoleon
What RPMs are you using? I was told by a hot-roddin friend here locally that the best tool is a buffer where you can set the RPMs and then the trigger speeds up to that speed but won't exceed it. I'm hoping to do a 'maintenance' polish on my trailer. I have to get a buffer yet though, and I'm wondering what RPM range will actually be needed.
You tried real hard the old fashioned way, that's why I am curious to see if you find it simpler with SS, there's no poking at the product as some say
When I will be ready to polish mine, I will start with the product less time consuming, whatever it is .
I just got started polishing my '68, compounding using the DeWalt 450 rpm drill and the Nuvite C with a big 3M wool bonnet. Worked great, though time-consuming because there are a lot more little nicks and dings than I had realized. I didn't find that too much pressure was necessary, but keeping the drill at the correct angle was important. Also, I see some people saying you might be using too little polish, but another possibility is that you could be using too much. Literally just a fingerprint (applied with a popsicle stick) spaced at intervals, not even a dab, worked best for me. With the low-speed drill and just a smidge of polish I bet things will go better. Good luck!
Quick Links
)
Linear Mode
