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dbj216 · 02-01-2022, 07:23 PM

I'm about half done polishing the 86 Limited 34'. The aluminum above the decorative trim was not damaged from the road deicer near as badly as the aluminum below the trim. Here are some of the techniques that are working well enough for me.

I like polishing with the Caswell white polish and a 8" by 1" sewn cotton buffing wheel. I run it at 2000 rpm. It leaves light scratches in the aluminum, but not too bad at all. I cuts the corrosion stains off very well.

Then I polish with my Cyclo and Nuvite F7 polish which takes the buffing wheel scratches out and continues with the polish process.

Finally, I make a pass with the Cyclo and Nuvite S which gives me a pretty good polished surface. So I have a three pass process. But once set up I can do about 5' trailer length above the decorative trim in about 3 hours.

I clean the black polish residue with a clean rag and lacquer thinner. I find my Cyclo with just a clean fleece wrap also does a good job of final cleaning.

I do like to polish with a good light on the surface. I'm inside and the light isn't that great.

So more boring days ahead. I'm working the street side which wasn't damaged as bad as the curb side. And the street side has more windows thus less aluminum to polish.

David

TheVagabond · 02-01-2022, 08:09 PM

The 86 Limited is looking great! Looks like you have a good system down. I feel like I remember you telling me that one of the lessons you learned from renovating your 1st tradewind was something about not polishing it. But now I'm curious if I'm just remembering wrong.

dbj216 · 02-03-2022, 06:27 PM

Hello vagabond: You found me. You are right. There are more reasons for not polishing than there is for doing it. I polished this 86 Limited first as the clear coat was weather fading away and it looked bad. Polishing made it look nice for a while, until I drove over that blankety blank road deicer. Then I polished the 66 Trade Wind. I learned never to use a buffing wheel on Alclad. Very easy to burn through the soft, pure aluminum.

After the 86 is done, I'm likely to do the 75 Overlander. Gluten for punishment I guess. But what else do I have to do? Snow and cold here. You would love it.

David

dbj216 · 02-03-2022, 06:32 PM

Well, I have finished the street side as far as I intend to go. It is difficult to photograph a polished surface. Reflections. You can see my Overlander in the reflection of the polished aluminum. I have the curb side and then the front end cap yet to do. Bah.

David

Bubba L · 02-03-2022, 07:13 PM

I know from experience that polishing is a PIA, but it sure will look good. Someday you’ll look back and relish the polishing memories. Keep up the good work.

Cheoah · 02-07-2022, 11:52 AM

Nice work, David.

If I had a shed that would accommodate my airstream I might actually polish it. Still an immense task but would prolong the bright finish if stored under cover. Changes the equation in my mind.

dbj216 · 02-07-2022, 06:28 PM

Thanks for the encouragement. I need it.

I'm working on the street side upper half and it is going slower than I estimated. I tried removing "light" corrosion stains with just my Cyclo and Nuvite F7. It just wasn't aggressive enough to do the job in a reasonably timely fashion. So back to the buffing wheel and Caswell white polish. Then Cyclo with F7 to remove the buffing wheel scratching, and then Cyclo with Nuvite S to remove the F7 scratching. Endless.

But I'm about 65% done with it, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

David

Ndcctrucks · 02-08-2022, 06:57 AM

Jeez, dbj216! Sorry to hear about that mess.

Love it when people post, “…just don’t tow in snow”. Most of the threads on this forum which describe problems such as yours note that the OP didn’t have a choice, so that’s annoying.

Is the deicer you mention a chemical or an abrasive such as cinder?

Camper Crazy · 02-08-2022, 09:28 AM

Quote:

I was hoping I would get a few sympathy replies like: Such bad luck, you poor man, starting over is hard, hang in there, I'm sure you will fix it good as new. Oh well, moving on.

Lol, we can be a heartless self involved bunch. I saw your initial post and have been lurking waiting to see how it goes. We will be working on the polish this year (for sure, I hope lol). Keep up the good work and keep the pictures and updates coming.
CC

dbj216 · 02-08-2022, 06:57 PM

We got caught in a spring snowstorm over Vail and Loveland passes on I-70. The ground was white, but the highway was wet. The temp was about 30f. It was mid May. I believe the deicer was mag chloride, but I don't know for sure. I do know it attacked the bare aluminum exterior skins on our Airstream and stained them badly.

I will be very careful not to drive in a spring snow storm again.

David

TheVagabond · 02-08-2022, 08:57 PM

Looks GREAT!

dbj216 · 02-09-2022, 06:16 PM

Thanks vagabond. The DW wants it polished and I'm the designated grunt to do it.

David

dbj216 · 02-11-2022, 06:36 PM

Today I finished the curb side to the front and rear end caps. This side was the most severely damaged by the deicer. It was slower to do than the street side as I suppose the curb side of the road is wetter.

The upper half of the street side I could polish with the cyclo and F7, and then a second pass with the cyclo and S polish. The curb side I had to revert to my 8" by 1" sewn cotton buffing wheel and Caswell white polish, then a second pass with the Cyclo and F7, and then a third pass with the Cyclo and S. There are less windows on this side of the trailer meaning more aluminum to do.

The rear end cap didn't get damaged too badly so I am hoping for an easier time of it. The front end cap is a mess, but I have done the lower half already.

At least the Limited is starting to look special again. The photo shows our garden tools hanging on the shop wall. It's hard to take a photo of a highly reflective surface for me. By the way, here is a photo of our Limited the week we brought it home. Notice the weather faded clear coat and vinyl wood grain trim. It certainly wasn't very shinny.

David

MrRivet · 02-12-2022, 07:24 AM

Beautiful work David! I do like the look of the black in place of the wood grain trim.

Camper Crazy · 02-12-2022, 10:09 AM

The finished polish is a head turner for sure; takes years (maybe decades) off the appearance of the trailer. It certainly is a good reward for such tedious work.
CC

0557 · 02-12-2022, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camper Crazy

The finished polish is a head turner for sure; takes years (maybe decades) off the appearance of the trailer. It certainly is a good reward for such tedious work.
CC

Very nice

dbj216 · 02-12-2022, 06:10 PM

As AirForums precipitant Disco Stu from Australia often says: Thanks peeps. It is true a polished Airstream looks newer when it really isn't Polishing does nothing for the functionality of the trailer. It could have bad axles, subfloor rot, leaky plumbing, mold and mildew, bad appliances, rain water leaks, and a host of other problems. A pig with lipstick so to speak. Our 86 Limited is in good shape as we keep it that way.

But we do feel our Limited looks better polished than it did with the faded clear coat. So I will polish on and on.

The 1950s Airstreams came from the factory with very shinny Alclad aluminum, with no clear coat. I speculate the clear coat was added to help prevent the trailer from turning a dull grey after just several years.

David

dbj216 · 02-15-2022, 07:16 PM

Oh how often do we renovators or restorers of vintage Airstreams end up having to do something over again. Well, I'm in that boat.

I started my polishing effort on the worse section of the trailer the curb side lower third. I selected the Caswell buffing process as I thought it would be faster than the Nuvite compounding process, and Caswell buffing is faster. But I have no experience with it. I used the Caswell brown polish (medium grit) and a sewn 8" buffing wheel. After removing the corrosion, I went over the area with my Cyclo and F7, and then with my Cyclo and S. I ended up with a significant number of "buffer burn" marks. I do not know what causes the burn marks. Maybe the polish is impregnated into the aluminum some how.

I have learned that the buffing process is very "uncontrolled" with a lot of significant variables. Such as type of polish, type of buffing wheel, speed of the buffing wheel, how much polish to apply to the buffing wheel, how hard to press the wheel against the aluminum, how fast to traverse the buffing wheel, how often to rake the buffing wheel, and others. I think a guy needs experience to be able to polish sheet aluminum with a buffing wheel. The Nuvite polishes with wool bonnets and Cyclo fleece wrap have less chance of error.

So I have found compounding with Nuvite G (course grit) removes the burn marks pretty good, but then I have to re-polish the area. I also have found a 800 grit wet sand paper works pretty well too, and I have less area to re-polish.

Someday I may figure out how to polish a non-Alclad aluminum Airstream.

David

Camper Crazy · 02-17-2022, 08:42 AM

Sorry to hear that David; your trial and errors will help others (small consolation, I know). CC

dbj216 · 02-28-2022, 06:07 PM

I've done all I'm going to do. Generally, the Limited looks as good as it did before the deicer damage. The DW is pleased her favorite Airstream is all shinny again. The front end cap took longer than I estimated. Don't most things. I didn't take a final picture as photographing a highly reflective Airstream in a closed building doesn't yield good results for me.

I spent roughly 55 afternoons, and roughly 2 hours per afternoon for a total of roughly 110 hours pushing a polisher around. I've had more pleasant jobs. But I would say that spending this much time every 8 to 10 years is likely needed to keep your polished Airstream looking good. A polished trailer looks great, but it is a maintenance commitment.

Well, on to bigger things.

David