You may be using too much polish if you have to push hard - it does not take much - I realize that removing the old oxidation can be tough - just thought I would throw that out as an idea to try. The polish should do the work for you.
Ken J thanks for the idea.
I understand that a little dab will do ya. I just got to figure out what size that dab is for me. I think that is part of the art to polishing.
I'm totally new at this and have been reading posts and directions on cans and web sites and anything else I can. I'm using the Blue Magic right now and it is cutting though the oxidation with patience and time. But I still have scratches and corrosion and pits that the finer polishes just ain't going to get out. I'm using 0000 steel wool and I'm thinking about 1000-1500 grit sandpaper but with this trailer I'm not to excited about doing most of it my hand before I start polishing.
I don't think we're going to find a one size fits all because each of us are different and every Airstream is going to have different issues. I've got a 31 foot Soverign to polish after I get done with mine and I bet that it is going to be a whole new ball game. I imagine after they are both done that I'd be able to do each one every couple years with something like Blue Magic and life will be good.
Rod
- and I don't think he's enjoyijng handing out all this info, i.e., I'm not going back again this week- he needs a break from educating me.
Let me first say that I'm not here for fighting, and I'm not in tune with any authority by a huge number of posts. I see people who work every day for nothing and have done so for years, so longevity has good and bad points- some folks don't see the trees for the forest.
As Insideout says- a tanker is made of usually a better and thicker alloy- 6061 and we are using a "structural" grade- 2024- he explained the difference- but I didn't take notes- maybe someone else here knows. The trucks will be easier to shine, but require wet sanding if they're far gone- just as we will.
Wet Sanding is the key! An old trailer has oxidized- kind of its own defense to the elements. To bring it back- by removing the oxidation- we're being offered a miracle product that will scuff it off- however- its easier to sand it off- and less damage takes place as it can be judged and the minimum grit determined and controlled easier by hand than a coarse grit by a machine.
The old man said that he can take 1200, 2000 and higher grits and make it appear almost totally polished without ever using rouge- they make something like a 12000(?) grit paper. He says it feels like leather or chamois to the touch.
He swears a 19' Airstream can be wet sanded in less than 1 day- front to back and top to bottom- unless it has tremendous pitting and scratches requiring extra work to remove and cover that part of the project. 2 passes with 800 then 1200 should have any 40 year old crusty trailer about ready for a full polish with rouge or cream.
The reason that airmark doesn't need to sand is because of the work done by the "drum" or "barrel" polisher- which leaves NO CIRCULAR SWIRLS like a grinder and coarse compound does.
I was told- "boy, you wet sand that damn thing for a day and you can polish it with spit and it'll shine up. A good wet sand is the prep that you need to do to guarantee that its worth polishing it with anything"
He never heard of south shine, but said it may work as well as others and that there are a few that are better than others.
On my questions about the cyclo and nuvite/rolite again- he just rolled his eyes and said- "puh-lease- not again- I told you and every other trailer person who comes in here that its not worth messin with" He said a salesman came there peddlin something like that and blasted him for laughs.
I gotta take this guy a gift next time I go- he was just awesome and a real hard working very decent man. The kind of all meat and potatoes and no BS guy you have a hard time finding these days.
You guys do what you want- I'm sold on the less expensive sandpaper and rouge system. The one thing he said that costs anything is the pads- he said that they use 3m cause they don't break and are re-usable.
I've got a month or 2, I'll see what goes on here, but I'm going out and getting it going as far as acquisitioning materials- cross your fingers!
Cliff:
I managed to acquire a good supply of 3M pads on Ebay for about half price. Have patience (sounds like you do!) and do a little homework on 3M catalogue numbers and you'll save a bunch. Probably the only thing you'll need to go to the auto body supply for is the shaft extension.
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Murray
AIR #189
"If aluminum isn't magnetic- why am I so attracted to to it?"
You know, it's too early to tell much, all I know is that on MY trailer, sanding will definitely be required. No 2 ways about it.
Can you strip and sand a trailer in 2 days? Not my 25ft Tradewind. Unless you make it 20 hr days, perhaps. Stripping, sanding, polishing, either way you look at it, it will not be a quick and easy process. I doubt it would save a whole lot of time over compounding and polishing.
Somebody mentioned buying Blue Magic at Walmart, but the one near me doesn't carry it. Neither does Camping World. Does anyone know other retail outlets that carry this stuff? I'd like to try it first on my faded blue horsetrailer. If I just rub the surface a little bit with a Kleenex, a nice darker blue shows up. I'm thinking Blue Magic might be a relatively easy way to shine it up and see if I want to then turn to my Airstream.
BTW, Jaco, if the International owners start to look down on Land Yachts, I'll be in a heap of trouble! I've got an International Land Yacht. Hmmm.
Keep in mind that we're not removing much if any aluminum with the polish, rather re-arranging it.We are removing small amounts of it with the sand paper, I believe.
We're removing scum and oxidation from the aluminum, and then flattening the peaks and valleys in the material.
Stephanie,
Was'nt your trailer polished already? You should not need more than a fresh up? Am I mistaking your jewel for someone else's?
Mine was polished a few years ago, before I bought it, and has had nothing but washings since, no wax, no real cleaning. So there are water marks, bird dropping marks, corrosion, and road tar on it that need to be cleaned off. And of course as I start cleaning, I start seeing how pretty it could look if it was shiney again.
So I don't have to deal with 35 years of corrosion and peeling clearcoat like some. I definitly have an easier job ahead of me. But I still have lots of questions before I start. I'd like to do it once, do it right, and maintain it so it lasts a while.
I got 1000 and 1200 grit sandpaper at the auto body store. I thought I would try that on a spot with the SS by hand and see how it goes. I'll let you know.
Millionairstream, I still object to you calling the nuvite, rollite a scam. I think you're being un-necessarily inflamatory. It's not a scam because it does work. Many people have used that process and it works to bring their trailer to a mirror finish. That's how the previous owners did my trailer. So I completely disagree with it being a scam. There are just lots of different ways to get to the same finished product, and wet-sanding and using white diamonds, ss, etc might never get to the same level of mirror shine that people do with nuvite and a cyclo. Until you prove otherwise I'd lay off on the namecalling. It just distracts from the real issue.
I do not like to see processes or people labeled, especially when there are multiple ways to get to the same result. The polishes and tools mentioned in this thread DO work. There is proof. Some take more time, and effort. Other may take less time and effort. I would say millionairstream you need to try to polish something with the actual products that you are disparaging here. Anyone can call anything junk without the facts. The only way in my opinion to get the facts on something like this is to try all of the options yourself.
__________________
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
So i've invested about 80 hours since I started my 31 footer and I figure i'm about half done. I'm not in a hurry so I work 2-4 hours and stop. I too considered the price of Nuvite to be pricey especially when I'm going to use 3# of G6 to just get started...we're talking $300+ just for polish. Well at this point I feel it's money well spent. It works great. If you want to get *all* the milky corrosion, you will go over the same spot 3X with the G6, then you have a uniform, clean corrosion free shiney surface to work with.
I have all the time in the world but without Nuvite II, I'd be spending a lot more time to (maybe) get the same results-and I want to get this puppy out on the road this year.
I've used Sattex-tripol-non/woven-micromesh sandpaper up to 12,000, plus some mojo I compounded from my plunder box stash of abrasives.
IMHO-I'm sticking with Nuvite because even though time isn't an issue...there is the 'what have I gotten myself into' factor.
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I just got to figure out what size that dab is for me. I think that is part of the art to polishing. 
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