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rothway · 07-29-2014, 07:33 PM

I am stripping the clear coat on my 1971 25 foot Caravanner International tomorrow. I have 5 friends helping and we are using Aircraft Paint Remover. We will brush on the Aircraft paint remover then power wash off the clear coat. I do not plan on buffing for many months and wonder if this is a problem for possible rusting or??
For now, is there any quick and simple way to polish without taking 200 hours? Is there any quicker hand and towel polish that would work if I had just man power?

Paddledipper · 07-29-2014, 07:51 PM

Glad you asked this, I've been wondering the same thing.

Foiled Again · 07-29-2014, 07:55 PM

Avoid power washer - except perhaps on the lowest setting. Could create a host of small leaks.

Why not just slap a coat of wax on it after it's clean?

Paula

Hotlead · 10-07-2014, 04:30 PM

Should not be , most are running around with no clear coat on top for many years ; like mine.

perryg114 · 10-07-2014, 04:45 PM

It will turn gray and may get streaks or spots in it. I would not use the pressure washer. It will blast water into every crack and seam and push water past caulk and other seals. Several 1000 psi will cause lots of issues.

Perry

Airline · 10-07-2014, 05:23 PM

Also,
you might want to consider Citri Strip
It works great to pull the clearcoat and much safer for you,friends and animals walking in the area.

wahoonc · 10-07-2014, 05:48 PM

I only have clear coat on the bottom 4'-6' of mine. Been that way for years. Eventually I plan to finish the stripping. Someone suggested using Nev-R-Dull for polishing and just do a little bit at a time. Haven't given it a try yet, wanna be the guinea pig?

I would not use a pressure washer either, a regular hose with a good nozzle should be plenty. Citra Strip is a good idea too.

Aaron

mimiandrews · 10-07-2014, 05:52 PM

2024 alclad aluminum is self-protecting. The outer layer oxidizes to the familiar gray color, and then the oxidation layer itself becomes a protective coating. There is no harm in stripping the clear coat and then leaving it along, so long as you carefully remove all the stripper.

Cochese · 10-07-2014, 06:35 PM

There is No quick way to polish an airstream!! It might look decent once stripped - Brian

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Hotlead · 10-07-2014, 06:58 PM

Yup , polish on the way. From my experience Citristrip is useless. Maybe I did not have the right day temp wise , but otherwise , don't waste your time or money. Rustoleum Aircraft Remover ROCKS ! It worked in under 2 min for me. It was pretty much instant. It bubbles the clearcoat about 10 seconds after you pass the brush. Lay it on thick.

airdreamers · 10-07-2014, 07:06 PM

Check out Flitz used with a light duty ball buffer Demo on YouTube, search it! There is hearsay that there was or is a small sample in the newer Airstreams. I used it on my end cap, works great. Kleen stripper from Lowes.

Panama Red · 10-07-2014, 07:25 PM

Someone on here stripped their camper, then just waxed it... I'll try to find it. Said it still looked good after a year.

-Red, going to look up a thread...

Hotlead · 10-07-2014, 07:51 PM

Why not at least polish a little , not much more work than waxing ?

roohopper · 10-09-2014, 09:34 AM

cleaning with citri stipper then Buffing, not polishing, does work and looks great to have a look at this thread (parts of thread r so funny had to pick up self several times from carpet)
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f205...tml#post857709

Jim Foster · 10-09-2014, 11:02 AM

Be very sure to remove all plastic items, light lenses, etc. before using the stripper. It will badly mar any plastic. Even when applying the stripper carefully with a brush, when you wash it off, it will damage plastic parts.

Don't even ask how I know.

ALANSD · 10-09-2014, 11:06 AM

I stripped mine a few Airstreams ago and only waxed it. Actually I used Liquid Glass, it was shiny enough for me and held up a long time. I taped over the light lenses and any plastic before stripping.

Splitrock · 10-09-2014, 11:26 AM

I used Citri Strip and power washed hot. Didn't have any leaks from washing. I polished right away. My trailer probably only had half of it's clear coat left on it anyway.

I can't think there'd been any problem with not polishing right away except I'd have to wash it again before polishing. Not a big deal at all.

A W Warn · 10-09-2014, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rothway

I am stripping the clear coat on my 1971 25 foot Caravanner International tomorrow. I have 5 friends helping and we are using Aircraft Paint Remover. We will brush on the Aircraft paint remover then power wash off the clear coat. I do not plan on buffing for many months and wonder if this is a problem for possible rusting or??
For now, is there any quick and simple way to polish without taking 200 hours? Is there any quicker hand and towel polish that would work if I had just man power?

I used Citri-Strip on my front end caps of my Excella last winter. I waited about a week afterward to start refinishing with clear coat. I started getting a grayish white haze from oxidation that I had to get off before spraying the finish. If you are going to polish later I doubt the little bit of corrosion will matter. Though, if you are in an area with acid rain or industrial pollution fallout you might get some streaking/staining.

The quick and easy way to polish: get someone else to do it

Akronguy · 10-09-2014, 05:41 PM

I used aircraft stripper, plastic scraper and the pressure washer to remove the clearcoat. After that we removed/replaced most of the caulk along all seams, used alumibond (eternabond) cut lengthwise in half to cover all rivets on the roof to avoid any leakage up on top forever and then sealed each rivet one by one with a sealant. We have started to polish but will continue with that project next year.

luvtocamp · 10-09-2014, 07:06 PM

We have began the stripping and polishing process. This is my first time and am learning a lot about what steps not to do before the others. We are using aircraft striper. It works well and fast. Discovered it works best to do a small area at a time. Not much more than about a 3ft x 4ft. I got greedy and tried too big an area and it dried hard and had to reapply stripper. Brushing it on and then using a soft scrapper like a body filler applicator. Water pressure from the garden hose works good too. Would suggest not using a pressure washer unless you have a wide fan tip and are experienced with operating one. I got the idea to just polish a spot to see what it would look like before completing the whole stripping process. Looks great but I think I would have been happy with the stripped finish without polishing. Oh well, that's in the past now, no turning back. Gonna finish the polishing and make her really shine. Glad that it's cooling off now, could not imagine trying to polish an Airstream in the summer heat.

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