STRIP & POLISH PROJECT of 75 Safari 23 ftr. What a relief to see that some do-it-yourselfer can achieve such great results. I'm impressed. So it is possible for someone who's good at buffing and polishing classic car finishes, should also be able to polish an A/S! I read a lot about "polishing aluminum" and didn't find it that complicated of an undertaking. I undrstand that one need to be mindful of taking his time and do the polishing of small area instead embark on a mission to do it all over a weekend. Thanks for your wisdom! What a great website for airstreamers! Keep it comin!!! God bless.
the removall did not hurt any windows, plastic or rubber, or sealant. I did cover the rubber items and such with som eblue tape to be sure, or removed light lenses, though the tape did a fine job. You don't paint the stuff on where you don't want it to go...and it does not drip,,,much if any.
When you hose it off, be sure to get it all off though, because any spots left on will dry and are hard to remove. I used mineral spirits and re-washed to get any I had missed.
If you miss any areas when you first coat with the stripper, you can go back and spot them later.
For mine after it is shiny to my liking I will coat it with that Liquid Glass brand sealant. It goes on by hand and I can do the whole trailer in an hour aor two. This will prevent some fading, but eventually it wil need additional polishing. On my motorhome skin it lasted many, many months.
The only way to avoid that is to reseal with new clearcoat. See other threads here for that info.
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Rallys twice a year..Lots of fun, food, and aluminum.
I just coated mine where I have cycloed it with Liquid Glass. After it rained, I tried to wipe off the water spots with a microcloth. They didn't come off! I then used NuFinish in a spot where I worked to get the water spots off & then squirted water on it. Same thing, but the spots came off easier with a little more wax. Now I just waxed it again (over the Liquid Glass) and it's a bit cloudy. I read the Liquid Glass can & it said to remove all wax before beginning (I used Nuvite S with the cyclo). I think I have to start all over again. I'm really sick of this! Is there no easy way to prevent water spots? I know I'll get water spots after it rains, but I thought they would just come off with a damp cloth. No deal there. I have to compound the entire trailer to get the water spots off before I cyclo, which I am now doing directly after I finish a section. The Nuvite doesn't protect it from water spots on freshly polished aluminum. I think I'm going nuts! I wish I could clearcoat the whole thing, but I'm not qualified and also read here somewhere that clearcoat doesn't stick to polished aluminum.
Have you tried the meguires wax as was recommended ? Nu finish is not the
right stuff ,thats for trying to revive oxidized paint on cars.Yes ,they have that junkyard commercial and all ,but proffesional waxes like meguires are
the ones to use ,If the aluminum is coated with wax ,water spots should not
be able to get on the fresh aluminum.Do the area with the buffer ,then get
a couple coats of wax on it ,forget the liquid glass .The nuvite is a polish
and not a wax ,so really it won't stop the water spots ,it seemed to work
a little on my 60 ,but I get the spots also ,polish and wax are different ,but
sometimes the terms get confused between the two.Wax for protection. cannot see another way to stop the spots ,aluminum reacts fast to moisture
and polishing it is a continuing process .
I didn't try the meguires, as I had NuFinish in the house. I will try it, as I'm really not happy with the results I have achieved. Where do they carry it? I have every kind of store around here, but really don't shop the automotive departments! I guess I'll go over the whole side with mineral spirits & remove everything again. Can meguires go over Nuvite S, or do I have to remove that too? Sorry I didn't listen the first time! Do your spots wipe off with a damp cloth, or do you have to polish with the wax to get them off? I think I'm getting OCD about this thing!
Liquid Glass is not a wax, its a polish/ and polymer sealant. I never had water spots on my Motorhome in 4 yrs of using the stuff. I did follow th direcitons and prep the surface by removing the old wax. I used a wax remover/cleaner, applied a coat of LG and let it bake in the sun as the can says. Use whatever works for you. The trick is getting a serious hard coat of something so the metal is not exposed to fading, etc.
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Rallys twice a year..Lots of fun, food, and aluminum.
well that may be the key ,is the curing of the liquid glass in the sun . i can't say but ALANSD has had good luck ,but is his motorhome stripped and polished? that also may be the key ,as the water won't get into the bare
aluminum if its clearcoated ,but it could be polished .
i found this product on the vintage airstream site under restoration resources
called SHYNE ,a 5 year coating they say ,could be the answer for all of us .
check it out ,sounds like the way to go ,ill have to call them myself.This coating allows protection from water on polished aluminum .
4 INCHES!! I got the rubrail done around the whole trailer ( it looks great in black - thanks Inland Andy for suggesting it)
And ran out with 4 inches left to cover. Think it will stretch that much if I use a hair dryer on it? I don't.
I have the wider rubrail from my moho, so I cut it down, to see if it will work. That is sick.....I mean 4"....
later--- I ended up making a piece to fit out of the larger motorhome rub rail.Hard to notice any difference.
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Rallys twice a year..Lots of fun, food, and aluminum.
Hi, I have a 1979 31' Soveriegn and was wondering, do you just brush on the stipper and rince it off? Do you have to do anything afterwords? Do you wax it or something?
if you use removall brand, you can brush it on, wait a few hours and hose or pressure wash ( preferred) off.
Then you will need to wax, or seal it somehow to keep the shine. You might want to polish to your taste, then seal with a good hand applied sealant, or prep and spray on a new clearcoat.
If you seal by hand it will need resealing again in a time frame, dependent on the type of sealant you use. I resealed my last AS every 6 months. Its an easy 1/2 day job.
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Rallys twice a year..Lots of fun, food, and aluminum.
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