I'm not a smart man, Jenny... but I know what oxidation/corrosion is.

[Taylormade]

Doesn't look bad, right? I polished it about a year ago... perhaps 15 months.



But upon closer inspection we'll find a LOT of corrosion!





That corrosion is a royal pain to boot! I thought I'd hit it with the cyclo and Nuvite S, nope. Stepped up to Grade C and the buffer... nope. Sigh. F9? some of it went away. It took G6 compound to get the majority out and it's not even all gone STILL. I'm looking at a total re-polish of the trailer a year after I did it the first time.

In this shot you can see how the one year old polish looks versus the "just hit it with the kitchen sink of Nuvite products" polish.



After about 5 hours of polishing with G6/C and S, here's what I've got.



I suppose my question is what is everyone sealing their polish jobs with afterwards? I've been told a good marine wax, liquid glass, good ol carnauba... what's the consensus? I can't polish the 'ol girl every year at a tune of 50+ hours each time.

[John&Vicki]

It sure looks great when it's freshly polished. Wow!

I'm interested in polishing mine, but I'm with you - I need to know that there's an effective seal out there.

Poppy

[dbj216]

Welcome to the heartburn of a polished Airstream. Looks great, but takes a lot of work. I'm told, and I believe the more you polish, the more you smear the pores of the aluminum closed. Then water spotting is less. After my third yearly polish session, I'm starting to believe the water spotting is less. The first year my trailer looked like yours after the a rain shower. I was bummed out. I did find a little windex helped romove fresh spots. But it will also take any sealants off too.

I have found the polymer sealants like Nu Finish helps protect the aluminum from corrosion. I apply this a couple of months after my yearly polish. Tom at Nuvite says use microfiber cloth and a little corn starch to remvoe polish residue. It offers some protection from spotting. But it doesn't seem to last more than a couple of months.

David

[Taylormade]

I've ordered some liquid glass and will apply it when I get done this year's touching up process. I'm expecting to put in another 25-35 hours in by the time it's all said and done. While I'm not thrilled about it, it's worth it in the end. Hopefully the wax helps out some.

[Becky B.]

Polishing is the song that never ends,
it just goes on & on my friend.....

But nothing looks as good as a polished AS! I've tried lots of different things & like plain old Merguires caranuba wax. I personally think NuFinish kinda brings down the clearness (everything does). I've pared down to just a 17', so I kinda feel like it's a cake-walk now! I might have to give the liquid glass a try next season.