Started to polish my Motorhome!

[Keyair]

Yup, its a large task for sure!

So, last couple of days I have stripped and polished a bit more..
Front Pass side window frame, and bodyside feature...







Also been working hard on details... getting all the seams on the rear cap sealed, as well as the marker lamps and Rearview camera...
Need to wait until the sealer cures a little then clean/peel off the excess...
Built a small cover to make the aftermarket Camera look better..

[zlee]

Wow. That. Is. Cool.

[Keyair]

Thanks Zlee!

A little more progress...







And I think some cool pics of a Sunset!

[Keyair]

Oh, and finished the last of the rear upper marker lamp castings, and its ready for refitting fitting/sealing.


Before..


After..

[iairstreamKS]

is there an update? what a huge job. I heard it's a 600 hour job, true?

[Keyair]

Originally Posted by iairstreamkc

Is there an update? What a huge job. I heard it's a 600 hour job, true?

I may be a 600hr job, I dont know, nor care to know!

Its just gotta be done, as the old finish is toast, and I see no reason to strip and replace the clearcoat...

I have my parent visiting for the Holidays, so not done much the last few weeks, but have not been idle... Each of the AIRSTREAM letters have been cleaned, stripped, and the rivet holes enlarged to take a screw rather than a rivet, so I can remove them when i retouch the polish.
I will get going on it again soon..

But for the sake of opinions, and giggles...

Pic taken of the Streetside rear corner the day I bought her in KS...



And now, as posted before for comparison...




Anyone have an opinion on if the effort will be worth it?

[JodyoD]

Such a beautiful job! Looking GREAT!!! Can't believe you're doing it there in the lot...makes it that much tougher than if you can be at home and work on it when you have a few minutes. You must have the kitchen well stocked in it though...hahahaha! Keep up with the pics. I'm enjoying watching the progress. Have a good visit with family. Merry Christmas!

[Keyair]

Thanks for the encourgement!

Its kinda double tough, as I have no electricity at the yard, AND the rear bedroom floor is partially out, which made me have to pull out the Transfer switch from the genset... which means I am using my 3.5KW portable sitting the the back of my old K10 Pickup, to power the buffer..

As I posted before or over on my main thread, to some, what I am doing might seem odd, and putting the cart before the horse... polishing before I have other stuff done..
Problem is, I had a water leak from somewhere in the rear cap, as water was running down on the streetside rear corner inside and the floor is toast. I cant replace the floor until I have it sealed, and need to polish before I seal each joint and window!

Everything I remove or fix is restored and sealed before replacement... like the tail lamp assembly, so it takes more time than it appears..
Before...


After...



We are getting more rain in the next few days, so I will be over there with my flashlight looking for water leaks tomorrow, but last time it stayed dry!
I still have a leak on the curbside, and will be up and looking for clues while its raining!

What is MOST frustrating is that SOB parked next to me... he is refusing to move spaces, so I am stuck with it...
I may turn the Airstream around, so I can complete the paint stripping and buffing without risk to his rig... The white Van on my curbside is also my spot, so no worries, but then it will be tricky to use my entrance door because he parked skewed!

[Mike Leary]

That is one nasty hole in the right rear ABS fairing, how do suppose that happened, AND, what's the plan to fix it?

[Keyair]

Yup, both sides are toast, so will be repairing them, and taking a mould.

Raining today...
Dont you love it when the rain beads off the polished sections!
Can help posting these pics!

[la nomade]

Originally Posted by c_lewis77

Looks great!

.i have to start stripping and polishing mine in the spring,too cold now in n.y. looking at the result of your hard work is inspiring but also intimidating...i will have a lot of questions for you then,the pictures help understanding the process..good job,bravo

[la nomade]

very inspiring ....wish i could bring mine up where you are to work with me on mine!!!!!it looks so overwhelming

[Keyair]

As you can see from the before pics, I really had no choice!

As those who have gone before will tell you... its kinda addictive!
Once you start seeing what is under that dull grey you just keep going.

I think stripping is tedious, and those that will need to protect other areas, VERY tedious, and worrisome.
I found satisfaction in removing that faded clearcoat to reveal the bright aluminum, but its nothing compared to the polishing.

I suggest you set yourself a goal per session.. or set a timer.
I started to strip one panel or to a line of rivets, and washed it down, then prepped and put the stripper on the next section, while I polished the first... Then prepped and let the stripper work on the 3rd section while I buffed the 2nd... If that makes sense!

Be warned... that buffer is a brutal training partner, and holding a nice steady pressure seems easy, but when it catches an edge or wanders, it uses muscles you forgot you had!
I just turned 50, and am 6' 4" and 225lb, and in pretty good physical shape.
I jog, and walk with my dogs between 3 and 8 miles every day..
After the first couple of hours buffing, I sleep like a baby and woke up feeling like I went 3 rounds with Mike Tyson!
Its getting better, and I am enjoying the challenge tho!

Maybe I should do a training DVD for Aistreamers wanting to get Buff!

[MaryContrary]

beautiful job!...i'm ordering nuvite and saw your review on vintagetrailersupply for g6

btw how many .lb tubs have you gone through for each grit?

[c_lewis77]

Keyair: how is the polishing coming along?
I got inspired by your thread and polished mine too! What a difference!

[Keyair]

Thanks Mary!
On my 3rd of G6, and love the stuff... more to go. My best estimate would be about 8 x 1lb pots will be needed based on what I have done and what is left. Only used a little of the Nuvite F so far.

Thanks C_Lewis77!
In fact I had watched your progress ands looks like we inspired each other!

Not much progress recently, as I had got bogged down with other pressing issues... But will be back to it soon I hope!

[MaryContrary]

i have my front panels done but found lots of scratches and pitting, so just now ordered some black bars.
but the cloudiness just wont go away.....how many passes with the F6 did you have to do?
in "most" places we do about 5 really slow passes w/ F7 to get a clear, scratch free reflection, and thats with a couple large gobs of nuvite and plenty of pressure on the compounder....oh, and plenty of mineral spirits and rags followed by microfiber. i read somewhere that the sprits can actualy cause cloudiness, same as not removing ALL the loosened tarnish. we are wiping and hosing everything off, but it just seems that it just isn't cutting as i expected.
cant wait till the black bars to arrive
seeing that we have the same year moho, one would think that our skins and corrosion are about the same.
keep up the good work and i cant thank you enough for all the inspiration

[c_lewis77]

Originally Posted by MaryContrary

i have my front panels done but found lots of scratches and pitting, so just now ordered some black bars.
but the cloudiness just wont go away.....how many passes with the F6 did you have to do?
in "most" places we do about 5 really slow passes w/ F7 to get a clear, scratch free reflection, and thats with a couple large gobs of nuvite and plenty of pressure on the compounder....oh, and plenty of mineral spirits and rags followed by microfiber. i read somewhere that the sprits can actualy cause cloudiness, same as not removing ALL the loosened tarnish. we are wiping and hosing everything off, but it just seems that it just isn't cutting as i expected.
cant wait till the black bars to arrive
seeing that we have the same year moho, one would think that our skins and corrosion are about the same.
keep up the good work and i cant thank you enough for all the inspiration

For the heavily oxidized areas, I used F9 then F7 then G6.
what pads are you using with the F7? I found throught trial and error that the pads make all the difference. I was having the same "cloudy" issues, then ordered the wool pads from vintage trailer supply and that seemed to do the trick. I ordered about 6 so I could keep changing them out as they got caked up.
I also used mineral spirits with a rag to wipe down sextion by section as I went along. I also had a bucket of slightly soapy water to wipe the area immediatly following the mineral spirits. That "section by section" process seemed to work very well for me.

[MaryContrary]

yep, i use VTS wool pads w/ the f7, tons of rags and mineral spirits, and a soapy rinse off.
i did get a small black bar at an Ace hardware today....it really did the trick!
compared with f7, it really gave the instant gratification
it cut right thru all the pitting and scratches....no problemo

so now my plan is
black bar w/ vented wheel as per Darkspeed's thread
f7/cyclo to remove swirls
Ssssssss to finish

another note, i used a little 4" hard cotton wheel on a drill and black bar on the wheel wells and super corroded lower belt trim(windows too)....worked like butter.... in one pass !

[Ultradog]

Keyair,
I haven't been active on the forum here for a while so hadn't seen this thread.
I just read through it from start to finish. Great photos and great work my man. Thanks for posting as you polished along. You have really transformed that machine.