1996 Excella Strip and Polish - the slow way

[outofcontrol]

This might take me all summer.

Test section was stripped with a can of stripper.
I also bought the kit from Jestsco, and I'm trying to get a good method down for attacking the rest of the trailer.

Heading off to Home Depot right now to pick up a bucket of Smart Strip paint remover for the rest of the job.

-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

This is the "slow way" because I can only work on it 1.5 hrs per night.
8p the kid goes to sleep, and by 9:30p it's too dark (and noisy).

Looking for some tips:
1. How do you know when to put on more grey bar polish?
2. How do you know when to hit the wheel with the rake?
3. How much of a shine should I expect with the grey bar?
4. Is it better to do small areas (9"x9") or large areas (24"x24") at a time?
5. I'm having to put on 3 applications of the stripper to get it all off. Should I break out the pressure washer? will that help?
6. Should I try an Airway vented wheel?
7. My polisher maxes out at 3,000 RPM. Should I invest in one that goes 4,000 RPM?

It's now dark out, but I'll take some pics in the morning to share my progress.

I'm feeling like I bit off more than I want to chew right now, but it's kind of too late. Can't really spit it out and pretend it didn't happen.

I started with the bottom left rear corner and I realized that sheet has an orange peel kind of texture compared to the flat sides. Leave it? or should I get out some 1000/2000 grit and wet sand it flat? I've used that technique on polishing motorcycle parts 10 years ago.

Looking for some magic tips...
-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

8. Do I need to clean off the polish with mineral spirits every pass? or just when I switch to another grade of polish, or the next step?

BTW, I using the Jestco kit on a 1996 Excella.

[outofcontrol]

This is the lower back street side (left) corner orange-peel surface. This photo was taken about 4 inches away from the skin.
-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

I started mentally counting up the hours I've spent on the polish so far, and maybe I'm going along just fine. I think I have less than 10 hours into it so far. Most of that has been trying to get the clear coat off.

I have a much younger brother that just graduated from UO. I think I've talked him into some time with the buffing wheel. He has a ton more available time than I do right now.

-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

Well, I put in a good 2hrs tonight and made great success. I feel like I'm getting a hang of this, and actually getting somewhere.

If anyone is reading, I thought I'd just answer some of my own questions for anyone going through this (or thinking of doing it) on a similar vintage trailer.

1. put on more polish every section of 9x9".
2. when it's glazed, rake it. Even if that's every 9x9".
3. grey bar should get you a good reflective surface. Not a mirror, but enough to read the words on your t-shirt.
4. Do small areas (like all the instructions say, dopey). 9-12" square is good.
5. The Pressure washer is a dream removing the clear coat after an application of stripper. If you have it USE IT!!! the plastic scraper and/or scotch pad were tedious and scratch prone compared to the perfect effect of the pressure washer.
6. Airway/vented? No. The cotton buffs in the kit are fine for a 17 yr old trailer with 90% good clear coat protection.
7. 3,000 RPM is fine. Just lean into it more. I found moderate pressure was working much better than just the weight of the tool/my arms.
8. Don't' bother cleaning with mineral spirits unless the polish isn't cleaning up with the wheel. Until you start with the next step and a new wheel and grade of polish. You don't want to cross-contaminate the products.

Basically, I started working smaller 10x10 inch sections at a time not 4x4 feet at a time. Much better results, and even a more consistent finish. I was worried that working small sections would produce a patchwork of various levels of shine. Not so. They blend together very well, and it's not hard to get the same level of finish on each section.

I also was thinking in the back of my head that 1996 aluminum was far different than that of the 60's and 70's and that my instructions and advice wouldn't apply to a newer trailer. I was worried about the frequent mentions that the skin is difficult or impossible to make shine. Especially since there are so few examples of newer (1995+) trailers being polished. Maybe the older trailers will produce a more brilliant shine/mirror, but I think this one will polish up just fine, and looks way better than a fading, sun damaged, tarp/rope damaged clear coat that I have to work with.

I will post pictures of my progress tonight in the morning before I go to work.

Cheers!

-Kevin

[Becky B.]

Just came across your thread. I polished a former to me '86 Sovereign 31 footer several years ago. I used white Airway wheels (the yellow scratched) because you don't have to stop every few passes & clean it up with the rake. I also DID sand the endcaps since they were orange-peeley & I didn't like it. I cleaned between grades of polish with mineral spirits, just because it gets everything out of the rivets, etc. I used VIVA paper towels because they don't scratch your newly polished aluminum :-)
I'm in the middle of polishing my Bambi II right now, but that's a beast of a different color!

Good luck with your polish job. Looks like you're making progress!! Keep us posted....we're watching!

[outofcontrol]

Thanks Becky!

Here's a pic of the area I worked last night. I have to say that it looked better in the dark.
But I do think I'll get there someday. Although I might need 3D (Darkness, Distance, or Drunk)

-Kevin

[awryawry]

Kevin, I'm following your thread with interest. We're days away from picking up our NTU '99 27' Safari, and my BY is already excited about stripping the clear coat. Me? Maybe not so much! Being the lazy type, what about applying stripper to a larger section, then power wash, then buff?

wry

[outofcontrol]

NTU: new to us?
BY: ?

PW = pressure washer

I did a test section with a $5 aerosol can of stripper. Then worked it with a plastic scraper and a scotch pad. It took a long time, messy, and frustrating. Because of that I was only doing a little at a time ahead of polishing. And it took so long, I didn't want the stripper to dry on the skin.

With the PW, I didn't need to do a 2nd application, and all the little elbow grease and picking was gone and it was just a matter of pointing the water jet.

Some of the clear coat almost melts off the skin completely on the first application. Other areas seem to be more resilient (or I didn't apply enough stripper) but it's sort of softened up crud. Easy to get off with the PW. The stripper I picked up is a watery gel sort of stuff, and brushes on inconsistently. I think I'm going to have to get more before the end of this project, and I'm going to try and different brand. Maybe the Citri-strip. Like this post: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f441...per-90054.html

To make a short answer long, YES. Knowing what I know now, I would surely do a larger section and easily remove it with the pressure washer. What's really dumb is that I have a PW, and I didn't use it. After this experience, I would suggest even renting a PW if you didn't have one.

-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

Just some progress. I'm posting up these pics not only to share, but as a reference for me on how much time I'm spending. Only 1 hour last night, but it was pure polishing. No dinkking around. 13 hours total.

I worked just the side and above the beltline. And one 12x12" on the middle endcap (if you can see it).

I think there's an advantage to working 1-2 hours at a time. If I was working 8-10 hours all day I'd surely get fatigued. At this pace my time with the wheel is dedicated, and I'm working as fast as I can. I walk out the door and in 90 seconds I'm in my safety gear and the wheel is spinning. And until I can't see anymore in the dark, that's when I finally turn off the polisher.

Also, RESPECT THE POLISHER. All it takes is one little snag and that thing will rip out of your hands and do some damage. Especially when the throttle is locked on. I'm 196lbs, 41yo, and in fairly good shape. If you're getting tired and not focused on the task at hand, that thing will rip out of your hands and start cutting you or the ground in a hurry. It hasn't happened to me (yet) but I can easily see the opportunity for it. The only mistake I've made so far is storing the polisher with the switch locked on. So when I plugged it in to resume work it started flopping around on the ground. Luckily I instinctively unplugged it before I even realized what was going on.

-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

Oh, as a side note: I'm going to a family reunion this weekend in Seaview, Washington. A couple months ago I called an RV park that's literally 100 feet from our family beach house and they were booked solid. I was bummed, but apparently the whole place is booked out to an Airstream Rally! It's one of the WA clubs, and they'll have 20-30 trailers there. Should be a good chance for me to talk shop about polishing and Airstreams in general. It will be the first Airstream gathering I've been to after 6? years of Airstream ownership. I'm kind of excited.

-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

I got a full hour done last night! YAY.

I have a question: My cotton wheel seems to glaze over very quickly. Like instantly. I mean, in 30 seconds, it looks like this:

[edit:] let me rephrase my question:

Is this glazed? Does it need to be raked? [/edit]



Should I rake it every 30 seconds? I think it glazes over like this only when I'm doing the first initial cut. Then once I'm getting more reflection from the skin, it doesn't glaze as quickly.

Here's a progress picture. About 13 hours in so far.



-Kevin

[Becky B.]

Looking great!

[outofcontrol]

Seems like I'm getting about 1hr done per week. I should be done by Fall 2015 at this rate.

This is from July 23. Two weeks ago.



-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

Last Wednesday I got an hour in. Spent some time on the fridge access door.
15 hours total. I bet nobody else would polish their trailer 1 hour at a time.







I take it back. Considering that it rains from October to May in Portland, I might be done in Fall 2020.

-Kevin

[Aviator]

It looks great, Kevin. Don't get discouraged. At least you can always hook up and go camping in the middle of this project. Most others, you have a long way to go before being campable. (I know campable is not a word, but you know what I mean)

[outofcontrol]

"Clear for Launch" "Road Ready" "Ready for Service"

I think it's cool. It draws a lot of questions, and gives a perfect display of "before and after".

If I didn't have a job or a family I could knock this out in 2 weeks.

-Kevin

[outofcontrol]

Got a couple hours in last night. Total of about 18 so far.
I'm learning as I go, and I think it's getting easier.

My tips as of last night:
1. Listen to podcasts. I listened to 3 episodes of "CarTalk" last night.
2. Put the polish bar near the cotton wheel rake. Rake often and as soon as the wheel glazes up. A quick rake/touch of polish bar and you're back to business. I leaned the bar on my "rake step" (see pic) so I lean down and rake the wheel in 2 seconds, and dab it on the bar for 1 second. 1 more second and I'm back to work.
3. Work at night. Seriously. You'll go faster because you can't see all the imperfections you're leaving behind. Don't worry, you'll get it on the next stage! (I hope)



So I finally ran out of the paint stripper that I bought at Home Depot, and I'm glad. I really hope this "Citri-Strip" works better. I really had to apply 2-3 coats of the last stuff, and I figured out that the residual clear coat was really glazing my wheel, and really slowing me down.

Here's a picture of a particularly bad stripping job. It doesn't really show up until you start polishing it, so I just flashed over the area with the polisher for a picture. I believe this residual clear coat is the reason that I was going so slow before. I was wasting too much time trying to "grind" it off with the polisher. The clear coat glazes the wheel almost instantly, and when it's glazed, it doesn't cut at all.

[Air Cruiser]

Hi Kevin!

I just came across your thread and I think you are doing a fantastic job! I'd like to thank you for putting so much detail/thoughts into your posts, it will help us when we (in the future) start to strip our '99 Safari 25', which has the clearcoat coming off of it.

We are currently polishing our '56 Bubble so that I can then seal the seams and get it out from under a temporary tarp roof DH built and then I can start on the interior. There isn't enough room under this tarp and the side wall of the tarp to open the door to work inside with it under it.

Anyway, looking forward to reading/seeing more of your thread and am cheering you on!

Deb