First polishing on a 1951 spartan

[Mountair]

What should I do/use to clean it up before starting the buffing/polishing process after removing tar and caulk?
Power wash with bleach ?

[ragin-cajun]

Unpainted? Just wash with mild soap and water and then get polishing!

[Beaker63]

Hey Rich,
As RC mentioned, make sure the surface is free of anything abrasive (dust and dirt).
Make sure you have several hazmat suits and lots of clean rags. Limit yourself to polishing a couple of sections a day. Don't make the mistake of walking into.the house before changing.
Tim

[ericpeltier]

lalalalalalalala
PICTURES
WE
NEED
PICTURES
All I could think of after "1951 Spartan" is PICTURES!!!!

[Mountair]

There is paint, but only on part of the roof. I'm not sure whether I'll strip it
or just paint over it.There is a bead of tar along one of the roof lips and two beads of caulk running down the side. I bought a heat gun for the tar and was told to use coleman fuel after scraping it off. I see here that mineral spirits is the best bet ?
I was told to use goo gone to remove the caulk, but I read here that Ultra Strip is the way to go?
After cleaning, the plan is to use Duragloss 860 Aluminum Cleaner & Brightener.
Once I get it cleaned up, I may or may not polish depending on time constraints.
I only have a month and a half to get this ready for my Christmas tree lot and have inside stuff to do as well.
I have a farm sprayer that goes up to 400 psi.
Thanks for the input.

[STstudios]

Hi Rich,

To cut your polishing time by literally 5x-10x over a wheel I would get the Buff Pro from Mac Polishing. What is the size of your trailer? It took me 6-7 months on my 34.5' Airstream Motorhome (2-3 hours a day and as long as my arms held up on weekends. This was with a wheel. If you have a month and a half - I would probably not polish. Good luck!

[Mountair]

Thanks. I'm not having any luck with paint/caulk beads. Tried goo gone and
mineral spirits...maybe i need to leave it on longer?

[65CV]

Rich,

All depends on what the caulk is. If it is silicone, the De-Solv-It Contractors solvent is the only thing I've found to work.

If not, you'll have to try other solvents. I'd try mineral spirits, 3M adhesive remover and acetone.

Who knows what people have put on over 50+ years. You may have multiple layers of different layers.

Echo the request -- Pics???

John

[65CV]

Originally Posted by rich minford

Thanks. I'm not having any luck with paint/caulk beads. Tried goo gone and
mineral spirits...maybe i need to leave it on longer?

Any citrus based material should be on for a while. You can spray on and cover with saran wrap for a while (hours to days) to see if it works. Certainly, the solvents I recommended shouldn't contact saran wrap and should be used with respirators.

[Mountair]

Thanks. Maybe the better question is what not to use on aluminum ?
On a side note,I cleaned a small test section (no caulk or tar) with soft scrub and it did a great job. I would be content to have the whole trailer look like that section,given my time constraints. Any problem with bleach ?

[robwok]

I used Jespro? epoxy and paint remover on a lot of the gunk I found. Worked great, had no effect on the aluminum. As far as polishing, I would suggest looking for something called RV wash. I got it at a detailing store here locally, or you can get house wash that's used to remove mildew for power washing. You can power wash, but be aware it will get past any leaky seams, window seals, loose rivets, etc. I actually went over the mine with a scotchbright sponge on the top. It smoothed out a lot of the junk you can feel with your hand and made polishing faster and easier. You're just lightly going over it with soapy water. You could try an 0000 pad from Lowes or HD for less abrasiveness. They're white. It helps remove dead bugs, other things that drop from the sky that you're not going to get with a regular sponge.

[Mountair]

I tried a section of pressure-washing with mild soap today with poor results. What is the downside of using bleach

[Jamespio]

The downside is that you're going to bleach whatever you're wearing, and you're going to bleach whatever the trailer sits on. The real problem is that there really isn't much of an upside. Bleach is not a very effective solvent. Also, while it is effective at cleaning certain organic stains, it doesn't do much for metals and oxides.

Show us some pics and detail pics and we might be able to make specific suggestions on how to clean it.

[StevieB]

Try Simple Green HD Pro - "Safe for Metal", from Home Depot. Do not use any other Simple Green products on your aluminum.

Regards,
StevieB

[Mountair]

Finally tried laquer thinner and it works on the paint/caulk.
What's the best way to apply it ?
Should i dilute it ?