alternative to finishing with a shiny polish?

[nickclifford]

hi all, looking for advice for my 1972 Sovereign.

I love the bright mirrored look on smaller trailers but not convinced about my 31' beast .!
what's my alternative, just remove old clear coat and leave at that, how would that look after and what to use for sealing / finishing off and long term cleaning / maintenance ...?

many thanks in advance

[sealaker]

I have a 1993 30 and I have recently stripped it with Aircraft Stripper. I like you am interested in maintaining the original finish. I am having the trailer re-clear coated. I am only stripping above the belt line as the bottom portion is still in tact. Best of luck with your project.

[Bill M.]

I am working on my 1988 Excella now. Stripping clear coat above the belt line. I have oxidation on the end caps and the top 1.5 feet or so on the walls. I just tried the Aluminum Polish from Outdoors Mart Airstream today and it does about what I want. Takes the white oxidation off the aluminum and leaves it about the original color. No grit in it. Seems to be a chemical cleaner. It is going to take a little blending to make it match the unoxidized areas but it goes quickly and does the job I wanted. My plan is to either clear coat with the little Aerosol cans of clear coater or to buy a quart of Nyacrilic and spray it. I am using Citri strip and stripping one small area at a time. It works well on cool damp mornings. Not so much during the day. It has to sit 15 min or so without drying out to be effective. But the water wash off makes it fairly easy.

[nickclifford]

Good advice. Thanks


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[BigButtUgly]

My 1958 Caravanner has the aluminum electroplate .005" pure aluminum so it would polish to a mirror finish. Mine was never clear coated. The skin on 1982 and older models have Alcad sheets with plating and may polish to luster. Why they clear coated I have no idea. Maybe they oxidized faster than pre 1960 models. So if you strip and polish you might want to re clear coat or your aluminum might oxidize quicker than mine. I don't think the older mirror polished Airstreams get clear coated. Mine not polished - has "patina" My theory: Never polish a turd !!!

[JCWDCW]

I'm actually considering painting my '96. The clear coat is gone and there is enough variation in spots corroded in awkward places that polishing is going to be expensive.
Some years ago AS factory painted some 98-99 vintage when the aluminum got into serious trouble. One of our members had his factory coated under warranty and it still looks better than any of the '90s units in our club. One of our members has an original '96 AS Motorhome which has the nose cone painted. I did not pick it out until it was mentioned. The color is a bit blue but the overall look is quite good and there is no messing with tonal variations. It just isn't original!!!!
JCW

[DavidsonOverlander]

Originally Posted by JCWDCW

I'm actually considering painting my '96. The clear coat is gone and there is enough variation in spots corroded in awkward places that polishing is going to be expensive.
Some years ago AS factory painted some 98-99 vintage when the aluminum got into serious trouble. One of our members had his factory coated under warranty and it still looks better than any of the '90s units in our club. One of our members has an original '96 AS Motorhome which has the nose cone painted. I did not pick it out until it was mentioned. The color is a bit blue but the overall look is quite good and there is no messing with tonal variations. It just isn't original!!!!
JCW

We saw this painted Airstream a few years ago. I could tell that it had been painted, but it looked good.

[JCWDCW]

Yep
That's the colour. This one looks to be about the vintage that the AS factory did warranty work by painting the aluminum.
JCW

[Gosman]

What is a good striper that is good to use on a argosy that is safe.
thanks