I picked this up today, i'm going to pull it with my 57 Chieftain wagon... the last owner had striped it back to the bare aluminium with paint stripper with the intention of repainting it, it has a few scratches etc but is in pretty good shape generally, i want to polish it up like they do with the American Airstreams. I've polished plenty of small aluminium parts in the past by going finer and finer with wet and dry then using autosol or something similar with good results but never a large area like this... anyone got and good methods or useful tips for this and what's the best polish/compount to use? Thanks more pics... http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...viewPicture&friendID=50247044&albumId=3529071
in my experience the same techniques apply no matter the size. sand out imperfections with fine paper on a da 400 grit moving up to 800 or 1000 depending on the amount of shine you want when you have an even surface appearance then find some ouator pronounced "water" for some reason and i'm sure i spelled it wrong. you can find it at any truck stop or truck wash. also talk to somebody that details trucks they have all the good tricks for that big stuff. good luck.
What the hell is ouator pronounced water, filtered pure water? So you mean a car valet type place? we call trucks lorrys over here and they are mostly dirty old things that wouldn't know a detailer if they ran one down
i'm sure i spelled it wrong. over here most truckers are proud of their rigs and polish every part they can. some people pronounce it "wada" it is a soft usually pink cotton (or the likes) in a can, you tear off a small amount and start working in a circular pattern the surface will turn black and nasty then you wipe it off with a clean rag.
On aircraft we used a high speed buffer with a wool pad and aluminum polish. Of course we started with a really nice surface first.
Oh you mean like Brasso! Can you tell me a good brand of aluminium polish that comes in reasonably large tins? the stuff i've always used comes in a tube like toothpaste and costs about £8 a pop!
The shop next to me has polished some vintage trailers, they use a regular car buffer, with a wool pad then they use what is called a duel head buffer. you can pm me, if you want me to get you more info. I dont remember what polish they use but its for trailers
"wada" sounds like Nevr-Dull (wool soaked in a polish). It will work, but probably take a few months. Your best bet is to hit all the heavy scratches with wet/dry paper (up to ~600P), then go over the whole thing up to 1500 grit on a DA, then buff it with rouge. After you've got it looking pretty, seal it with Zoopseal so it stays that way for ~ 12 months.
Oh, Ouator.... pronounced 'water' sorry i get you now(it's late here) i thought you meant it was some kind of water
Nope it's a impregnated cotton... seems like a lot more work than a electric polisher and some polish though!
Yeah if it's like Brasso it will definately take months and a couple of hundred tins! As a painter by trade i have 600 wet and dry and 1500 DA discs along with a nice fine DA, and of course a machine buffer so i guess i'll have a play. always good to get some input from people with experience first though. thanks for the heads up on Zoopseal, never heard of that before
You mean shiney like this? It's hard, dirty, work. Google 'Nuvite' polish, it's what I use. Also go to "Perfect Polish", and then, buy the stuff you need from "Vintage Trailer Supply". They'll hook you up! Nice caravan, BTW. I like the little fenders. Brian
Forget about Zoopseal, it'd cost more than your caravan. Just the polish alone is good for at least 2 seasons here in Michigan.
Take a look at this site. I have bought the polish for the Alcoas on my truck and it's FANTASTIC. http://baddogpolish.com/ Donn
Thanks for all the advice people, i certainly learnt something today, now just time to put it into practise That Trailer is awesome Brian, would love one like that one day, i'm happy with my new purchase for now though, the fenders are a nice touch.
The Jalopy Journal
