People...help me out here, please. I'm obsessed, and desperate. I've spent hours...not once, but twice now, getting Nellie ('66 Safari) to a mirror finish. Very impressive, and a show stopper.....for five minutes.
OK, grant it, I live 3 miles from the beach, and I store the girl a mile from the L.A. airport without a shelter, but come on....we put people on the moon for christsake. After hours of online research, I find squat to protect polished aluminum from oxidation. And don't give me that stock answer of "check with www.AirstreamDreams.com for their sealer"....I'm not an idiot. My shine lasted less that a month with two coats of that "Sea Breeze" polymer sealer. I need a real solution, not a band aid, and I'm super close to just spraying on some water white laquer all over it, and calling it done. Somebody stop me!!
Come on. All you polish freaks out there...wipe the black off your hands, and type me your recipe to protect the skin.
Takes a lot of work to get a shine like that I know as I am in the process of polishing. I'm using plain ol Turtle Car Wax but that may not work in your area. The best is supposed to be products containing carnabala wax. Have you tried that ??
My 2 cents says: If all else fails you will have to go back with a clear coat like the factory orignal.
I mentioned on another thread some of us are using Liquid Glass, put on 2 coats or more, it goes on easy, but you have to pre by stripping the old wax with a pre cleaner. Seems to be a great hard finish after you are done.
Oasis RV in Tucson is the closest place to have a factory clearcoat applied. (800) 658-5863.
I just called them, and they said it would cost "about $2,800" to do a 22' trailer. When I asked how long it would last, they said: "five to ten years, depending how you take care of it." That, they explained, means waxing it 2-3 times a year. When I asked what wax works best on clear coated and non-clear coated Airstreams, they didn't have any specific recommendation, just "any good car wax."
I read up on carnuaba wax and it has a short lifespan even though it is renowned for shine and thus used by show car freaks.It will not stand up long in sunny or ocean climates.
I too am looking for the magic solution as my shine went backwards as soon as I turned my back.
Most guys seem to be using something acrylic.
What about the Rolite sealer - is that the one you say does not cut it??
__________________
Murray
AIR #189
"If aluminum isn't magnetic- why am I so attracted to to it?"
Nellie and I have been waiting patiently here for a week- and the shine just keeps on getting duller!
I once read a post by Andy (inland) that stated polished aluminum isn't safe inside 40 miles from the coast - and I'm sad to say -he's right!
Someone out there has to have some ideas on a sealer that will get us out of never ending ' polishing hell "???
Don't make us have to go to the antique aircraft boyz!
__________________
Murray
AIR #189
"If aluminum isn't magnetic- why am I so attracted to to it?"
Nellie, I have a friend in Houston, TX, that is in the auto industry, he recomended a product called Por(e) 15, he said it woul be the best. I was told it would give a glass like finish, it is also a paint or spray on.
Quick Links
Was Shiney....
I know as I am in the process of polishing. I'm using plain ol Turtle Car Wax but that may not work in your area. The best is supposed to be products containing carnabala wax. Have you tried that ??
NO Carnuaba
Linear Mode
