stripping clear coat

[Beverly II]

Is it OK to strip the clear coat and the leave the exterior alone for several months? Or will irrepairable damage be done to the aluminum? Were the 1970's airstreams clear coated or plasticoated?

[musketeer]

Originally Posted by Beverly II

Is it OK to strip the clearcoat and the leave the exterior alone for several months? Or will irrepairable damage be done to the aluminum?

It is okay. You may need to reseal some of the seams as the stripper loosens the sealer and leaks may appear.

[Beverly II]

Thank you for the info. I have a new thread out about weather our 1970 airstream has clearcoat or plasticoat. Would you know? Thanks.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Beverly II

Is it OK to strip the clear coat and the leave the exterior alone for several months? Or will irrepairable damage be done to the aluminum? Were the 1970's airstreams clear coated or plasticoated?

Your Airstream was made using "Alclad" aluminum.

It oxidizes very quickly, in fact, over night.

If the trailer is stripped, is must be reclearcoated within 4 hours. If not, then when the new paint is applied, fisheyes by the thousands appear.

You would be better off if your left the trailer as is. At least it will have some protection as opposed to none.

Also, if you stripped the trailer now, and wished to have it clearcoated at a later date, the proper preparation time will at least double, since the raw metal will be severely oxidized, plus the end result appearance will forever change, from original.

Of course you could strip the trailer now, but you would have to wax it at least monthly. Then when it came time to reclearcoat the trailer, all the wax would have to be removed, which is very time consuming.

Bottom line is, it would be far better to leave the trailer as is, until your ready to have it refinished.

Andy

[jayray5]

when polishing a 73 Tradewind--do i have to do it all it one weekend? Strip, compound, cyclo and plasticote?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by jayray5

when polishing a 73 Tradewind--do i have to do it all it one weekend? Strip, compound, cyclo and plasticote?

No.

After your polishing is finished, you need to make a game plan for the plasticote.

Make sure that all the polishing materials have been removed.

That game plan should start off with cleaning the entire shell, with a high grade lacquer thinner, "TWICE."

Use plenty of soft cotton rags, so that you don't smear any foreign materials around.

Wipe the metal with the direction of the mill finish, or grain.

Next, seal all the seams.

Have all the areas masked that you don't want the paint to cover..

Lastly, apply 2 double wets coats of the latest Airstream clear. It has been called by several names in the past, including some words that cannot be stated here. The names are not important, as they changed with the paint formulation. It at one time even call acrylic lacquer.

After the clear has dried, reinstall the other exterior parts.

After the last cleaning with lacquer thinner, the "TIME" starts.

You have, ball park, depending on the ambient temperature and humidity, about 6 hours to complete the painting process, including the resealing.

DO NOT attempt to wash the trailer again after applying the sealer. The sealer, to best serve you and the trailer, should always be covered by the paint.

After 30 to 45 days, apply a good coat of Walbernize to the paint.

Andy

[papagord]

I've been reading the posts but am unsure now what to do with my 74 Land Yacht. We had a leak so we put a tarp over it last winter and fixed the leak in the spring. We have what looks like oxidization and other gray looking splotches as well as some dark stuff. I attempted to get rid of these with rubbing compound but with no success. The area looks shinier and cleaner but still with splotches. I read that clear coat can fail and leave oxidization spots. So other than strip it is there anything else one can do? I had tried polish as well and that didn't do much for it either.

So what should I do? Strip it completely and recoat it? I read that Andy said if you polish only after stripping you will have to do that frequently, like every month or so. Not me, I'm too lazy to do that and I have better things to do.

Am I better off then to just polish the trailer as it is and forget about the splotches or go the whole route, strip, seal and re-coat?

I do have it for sale....maybe I should just leave it and sell it as is and let the new owner worry about it. Hmmmm. I would think that I could get closer to my asking price if I do it, soooo...