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View Poll Results: Would you give up some shine?
Yes, I sure would, for the sake of my arms & body 4 13.79%
No, I love the clear shine & want to obcess about it forever 9 31.03%
I am not part of the obcessive/compusive polishers club, so I don't care! 16 55.17%
Voters: 29. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 07-24-2009, 08:39 PM   #1
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Would you give up some mirror shine if.....

You never had to worry about bird droppings eating through your wax, rain drops leaving spots, and you NEVER had to polish your trailer again? Those are the pros of Sharkhide. I used it last year on my entire trailer & it worked well. I decided to mirror finish my trailer based on that fact. However, the mirror finish seems to dull a bit upon application. It also seems to accentuate imperfections in the finish that simple waxing doesn't. Lastly, it's a PITA to apply the first time, & can leave streaks in the finish. The pros are pretty strong, but the cons are there too. What would you do?
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Old 07-24-2009, 09:25 PM   #2
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Apply more 'elbow grease'!
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Old 07-24-2009, 11:13 PM   #3
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No, I don't wax my trailer.

Hi, my trailer has never been waxed and looks as good as new or better. It is not a stripped and polished trailer, no mirror shine. Going on five years and so far so good. These are the pictures [also posted on other threads] of my trailer after it's most recent wash job.
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Old 07-25-2009, 01:04 AM   #4
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Our trailer gets washed when it rains.
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Old 07-25-2009, 09:07 AM   #5
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When folks suggest that I polish my airstream, I respond: "That will be a great project for the next owner."
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Old 08-02-2009, 09:30 AM   #6
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Polishing is great excercise (sp) but like they say, it is labor intensive and you will have your 'moments' along the way. But like I said it is a great way to exercise and be outside in the sweltering heat and humidity. Great way to sweat!
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Old 08-05-2009, 09:38 PM   #7
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I had someone do the initial polish - he said he would never do it again - very labor intensive - how do I keep it up - do not want to use a buffer. Is there anyway to hand polish?
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Old 08-23-2009, 06:03 PM   #8
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yes Lisa Marie there is a way to hand polish. apply polish to hand....and rub. I am sorry I couldnt resist.
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Old 08-23-2009, 09:51 PM   #9
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It's not your fault....she left it wide open--you had to do it. I think it was said best on one of th eposts...."more elbow grease"; or "that's a great job for the next owner." You just gotta love someone who knows his priorities.
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Old 08-24-2009, 08:37 AM   #10
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Well, I've decided that I want to be part of the obcessive compulsive polisher's club. I'm removing the Sharkhide that I put on & putting on Liquid Glass instead. It just took away too much of the shine that I worked so hard for!
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Old 08-24-2009, 12:18 PM   #11
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So what exactly is the Sharkhide?

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Old 08-24-2009, 01:16 PM   #12
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My polished trailer has slowly gone back to a dull finish after about 6 years (the PO polished it). I'd really like to have a nice matt finish like the new trailers have. The super shiny stuff is fine if you're into it, but I don't want to maintain that.
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Old 08-24-2009, 07:48 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tallytwo1994 View Post
So what exactly is the Sharkhide?

Carol
It's some stuff that I was experimenting with. You clean the aluminum really well with Lacquer Thinner & then apply the Sharkhide. It keeps bird droppings, oxidization & permanent spots from rain off. However, it also takes down the shine about 30 percent in my estimation. I used it last year when my trailer wasn't polished. I was pretty happy with the results then. The downfall is it's tricky to put on & can leave streaks. With the polished trailer, it shows every imperfection of the polish job. I thought I had the solution for all of us who do have a mirror finish (I had a trailer before this one that I polished & searched for the solution to polishing every year) However, I just wasn't as happy with it for a mirror finish & decided to remove what I already put on (about 3/4 of the trailer!).
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Old 08-24-2009, 09:50 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beckybillrae View Post
It's some stuff that I was experimenting with. You clean the aluminum really well with Lacquer Thinner & then apply the Sharkhide. It keeps bird droppings, oxidization & permanent spots from rain off. However, it also takes down the shine about 30 percent in my estimation. I used it last year when my trailer wasn't polished. I was pretty happy with the results then. The downfall is it's tricky to put on & can leave streaks. With the polished trailer, it shows every imperfection of the polish job. I thought I had the solution for all of us who do have a mirror finish (I had a trailer before this one that I polished & searched for the solution to polishing every year) However, I just wasn't as happy with it for a mirror finish & decided to remove what I already put on (about 3/4 of the trailer!).
I heard that lacquer thinner is really rough on aluminum. I use mineral spirits for cleaning.
Neil.
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Old 08-25-2009, 12:26 AM   #15
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How hard was it to take off?

I sure appreciate you reporting back and letting everyone know how it worked for you long term. Often people don't bother to report back, and then we never really know how it went!
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Old 08-25-2009, 04:00 AM   #16
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Becky,

Of course you knew I would show up on this post. We have such similar experiences with SharkHyde, timing and vintage of trailer. But there might be two big differences.

I am actually going the other way. I have spent a ton of time compounding/polishing my 1986 trailer and I am just so happy that something stops the never ending oxidation. For the first three years I have owned my girl I haven't been able to keep up with re-polishing and so I couldn't get to the new polishing. I have my trailer 1/2 way stripped with an initial compounding and 1/4 stripped/compounded/polished and finished with SharkHyde. Until I applied SharkHyde, I just couldn't keep up. The first difference is my trailer has a hidden secret. FILAFORM OXIDATION! Tiny worm like strips of oxidation all over the skin. It can take 10 passes of the compound and even sandpaper (be very careful on your research here) just to clear the oxidation. The SharkHyde seems to stop the oxidation from spreading.

The second difference is I really don't care about the shine I just want a clean consistent finish. In fact in a perfrect world (that includes me with a lot of money), I would have P&S re-finish my trailer. I have seen some pictures of their projects and they do incredible work. A trailer coming out of their shop looks as good as it did from the factory. SharkHyde is a substitute until I can collect the $5,000+ for a high-quality professional clear-coat application. It works really well in that capacity.

With all that said, I want to hear as much about taking it off from you as I did when you put it on. So please continue your post.

Best Regards
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Old 08-25-2009, 05:55 AM   #17
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I have been taking it off with Lacquer thinner and Viva paper towels. Viva paper towels have NO design on them & don't scratch the finish of the aluminum when you rub them around. I'll post some pictures later today of the side that has Sharkhide & the side that has been finished with two coats of Liquid Glass. You'll see why I'm taking it off. I agree with you, Chris, that it does keep the oxidization from coming back. It just really highlights the areas in the polishing job that aren't all perfectly the same depth (if you understand what I mean?). I probably should move this over to Chris' original post on Sharkhide, huh? Maybe when I post the pictures I'll put them there to keep things together.
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Old 08-25-2009, 06:11 AM   #18
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I'm thankful that the Plasticoat is still intact on our Sovereign, after 38 years!!! That's a testament to "They don't build em like they used to!"

I try to wash the Sovereign monthly and Walbernize twice a year.
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