to polish or not to polish that is the question

[62overlander]

I think I will fix the aluminum, polish it once, NOT use a chemical to excellerate the process of letting nature take it's course, after I seal all the seam with acryl- r, because the acid rain has been eating the sealant, and as we all know, they all leak.
... and I can say with certianty that there will not be a next owner for this trailer. I only have three things I regrete in life and one of them is selling my first car. I would not make the mistake of selling my first Airstream.
I would love to hear more feed back on any of this so please keep it coming... dialog is healthy.
And I will try harder to make the photos more easy to lok at..

[safari57]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

... and I can say with certianty that there will not be a next owner for this trailer. I only have three things I regrete in life and one of them is selling my first car. I would not make the mistake of selling my first Airstream.
..

Me too. I'm glad to hear you consider your baby a keeper. I've sold several cars, motorcycles and trailers over the years that when I looked back wondered what the heck I was thinking. Obviously, I was NOT thinking or I'd of kept them. As with you, my Flying Cloud is here to stay even with the addition of another Airstream.

Barry

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

.
... and I can say with certianty that there will not be a next owner for this trailer. I only have three things I regrete in life and one of them is selling my first car. I would not make the mistake of selling my first Airstream.
..

Oh patina how I love you! As you can see we never changed the look of our 63 Safari, we loved her just the way she was. She was our first and we sold her, but at least we know she went to a good home!! If we had the room she would still be with us. Welcome to the Forum keep us posted and enjoy the journey!

If you haven't been anywhere, it's hard to make a comeback.

[LI Pets]

Someone said to use 1500 wet/dry paper.

No Way

This will dig deep, I tried 2000 on a test scrape, forget it!

I have used standard auto type red compound, this is like 5000 grit,

Do not use it on shiny alum, it will scratch it.

But where you have patina or mild corrosion, it works wonders and fast.

First wash off any dirt just like you would was your car.

If you have clear coat in blotchy spots or on the lower half as many do just leave it for now. Compound the other areas.
Them strip the clear coat and Metalwax.

Let it drip dry.

Start up high not low

Smear the red compound in an area about 2' x 2'

Using a buffer with a 8 or 9" wool pad start at it.
All you want to do is get slight sheen with this, this is not for polishing.

You will get a lot of black swirls and it will look ugly.
Keep it damp if it gets dry, use a spray bottle.

Get some soapy water all the black will wash away with a stiff sponge.

Your done,

You can leave it that, but I wouldn't.

I use a product called Metalwax.com next.

You can do a 30' in 30-35 hours.

No I will not use Nutravite, I have a life, I'm not spending 200 hours on polishing and look like a racoon.