Stripping & Polishing a '77 sovereign

[mnboy1960]

Well, we started the next step in our Airstream dream. I spent about 2 1/2 hours this afternoon rolling and brushing stripper on our 1977 Sovereign. There was absolutely no plasticoat on the roof or most of the curve down to the side walls.
Tomorrow will wash off the stripper and start the F7 buffing!
(Oh my aching arms) At least I have my father in law to help!

[wasagachris]

Oh you poor person (gender unknown). If I knew now then I never would have started. 200 hrs in and I'm less than half way there.

[AL’ UM- MONEY]

I too got tired and am.still trying to bring out more of the shine. I attended a rally and saw an Airstream with an amazing shine. Seems the secrete is a product called diamond brite. It is located at most Lowes but hide next to the truck tool boxes. It did a wonderful job with less work. I'm still learning but I love the stuff.

[Melody Ranch]

Start at the top....you will drag the cords over the fresh work if you don't.. Plan to do only a limited amount each day. You won't kill yourself or burn out. A 77 has great aluminum....you will love it.....just enjoy what your doing. I repeat....don't burn yourself out.

[Wsmith]

Has anyone tried any diamond compounds here is one that is 1/2 micron. that's about 50,000 mesh you can get it is several cutting textures. this is used to polish glass and granite

I was told that I didn't even want to think about polishing the non aluminum clad Airstream and given a polish to try.He suggested I buy some marine polish made by 3M for aluminum that will cut the oxidation off without much work. There is a fine line between getting it off and starting the polishing process. I hand rubbed part of a end segment and it cleaned it up. I can still tell where it was but I only did one application by hand.

[tkasten]

Polishing is at best a very big job. It can be dealt with in small bits if you have patience. My experience on our 65 Safari says do the compounding with attention to detail take your time and do it right. Then the final polishing with Cyclo and Nuvite S makes it perfect. I worked several hours every other day for about 2 weeks to get it done the first time. After that yearly polishing is easier with the Cyclo and Nuvite 7 & Nuvite S.

[Myrtle lynn]

Y'all need to check out jestco products. They are great. Much quicker without swirls. Puts nuvite stuff to shame.

[Roadrunner]

Myrtle Lynn...I can only imagine how long it took you to polish those looooooong trailers. What Jestco products did you use and how did you use them? No doubt a lot of us are looking for the best looking polish job with the least amount of work. Give us your secret!

Bob

[mnboy1960]

Day 1-8 hours.
3 hours to powerwash the stripper off and reapply to spots here and there that it was not thick enough on the first application. then about 4 hours of buffing with Nuvite F7.
Did the door to see what it would look like then the curbside top curve to seam where all of the plasticoat disappeared years ago. OH MY... the filiform is terrible in some spots. I'll try to post pictures later tonite or tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'll head for the street side!

[Big Bertha]

Originally Posted by mnboy1960

Day 1-8 hours.
3 hours to powerwash the stripper off and reapply to spots here and there that it was not thick enough on the first application. then about 4 hours of buffing with Nuvite F7.
Did the door to see what it would look like then the curbside top curve to seam where all of the plasticoat disappeared years ago. OH MY... the filiform is terrible in some spots. I'll try to post pictures later tonite or tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'll head for the street side!

Right there with ya. We started polishing our 1980 31' excella about two weeks ago. Just finished the interior remodel two nights ago and now I'm back to polishing. I sure wish I would have read the top down post in this thread before today. I had heard that one before but forgot. Tomorrow night I will be fixing all the little scratches my cord made! Love the forum, so much good info, but I forget it when I need it most. No worries, it's always there to remind you when you come back. Love all the shiny pictures though, they inspire us guys who are just getting started, that it is possible to complete this job! Good luck mnboy1960. Keep posting.

[azflycaster]

Originally Posted by Big Bertha

Tomorrow night I will be fixing all the little scratches my cord made!

You can avoid the scratches from the cord by making a cloth cover for the cord. I got the idea from insideout and she calls it a "monkey tail".

[Big Bertha]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

You can avoid the scratches from the cord by making a cloth cover for the cord. I got the idea from insideout and she calls it a "monkey tail".

Hey not a bad idea! Monkey tail, go figure. I could also just learn from earlier posts and stick to working from the top down. I'm a bit of a slow learner, but hey this is proving to be a slow project! Thanks for the tip, much appreciated.