[A/S] White Top Issue

[hhamp5246@xxxxxxx]

Hi Gang,

As Donald was having problems eliminating all the digest posts I'm now 
sending his posts to the list from my address..... 

White top issue: Depending on what and how you use it, white paint can be a 
pain). Our neighbor at Port O'Call, Melbourne, had his done by one
of the other "inmates" of POC, only to come back the next Fall to find white
streaks down the side of his trailer. It polished off but looked like heck 
while he was gone! And it still does it, after 2 or 3 years. We had a problem 
with acrylic finish peeling; cleaned it all off where it was peeling with one 
of those plastic sponges for washing dishes, careful not to scratch the 
finish, using mineral spirits in wide-open space (fumes are highly flammable; 
cut off your gas fixtures and bottles). followed by a good wash-down with 
Dawn detergent and water). When it was dry and clean, we used RustOleum 
Bright Aluminum (gallon cans) with FloTrol (or other additive which enables 
enamels to be applied without brush streaks; ask your friendly professsional 
paint aupplier!), as recommended but use it sparingly--too much seems to 
cause the bright aluminum to become darker. We used the narrow (3 inch?) 
acrylic (?) rollers, like you use to roll-on paint in narrow spaces. Up and 
down, back and forth, until the skin was covered smoothly. Let is dry, 
without rain or dew you hope. And don't polish it; mine has only been washed 
with good old Dawn, although after nearly a year in Florida sun I do plan to 
test a spot with the finish one uses on the new clearcoated automobiles. If 
it holds, I'll give the whole top a coat of the clearcoat. INCIDENTALLY, we 
did the entire top, from just above the front window and back window 
rain-gutters and down the sides at the same cut-off point. (The sides of the 
Airstream are quite bright so we did not paint the sides but we did do the 
front and rear "domes" -- the rounded parts).

 Donald at Port O'Call, Melbourne, FL WBCCI 2875 kribbsdh@msn.com