Re: [A/S] Polishing

[Chris Elliott <celliott@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

     Well I`m sure glad I dont have a 31 footer , but I have done a 17 and I`m 
almost done with a 22 footer , its alot of work but satisfying and sort of 
addictive . Just did my new aluminium tanks, couldnt help myself , steel wouldnt 
do .
     get yourself some napier sv-35 ac from aircraftspruce or other aircraft 
supply ,its pricey but goes along ways , works well ,and is enviromentally safe , 
but I wear protection anyway . They say you can hose it off ,maybe with apressure 
washer but my hose wouldnt do it . I found that the best ways was to roll or 
brush it on , wait until its just right , and use a rubber sqeegie (window
washer) then hose and sponge the rest . It works best if you get it the first 
time . Its made for clearcoated aluminum . Bix works but is nasty to work with .
    I use nuvite from airstreamdreams for polish .Get a makita variable speed 
compounder and woolpads and a spur to clean them . Take some C grade polish and 
put some dots of polish (not much ) on a 2 foot square . at lowest speed , smear 
it around . Turn compounder up to 2 1/2 (or about 800 rpm. make vertical passes 
slowly and buff clean . Repeat if oxidized or pitted . Do a whole panel . Wipe
rivets with rag dampened with thinner . Make sure the black is all off before you 
leave it.
   get a cyclo buffer . Top of the line auto body supply has them on line . I 
like foam heads , the green ones . Havent tried the black ones . 
http://www.perfectpolish.com/#PerfectPolish 
has them and more info about cyclo`s and polishing .
take some sweat shirt material or old flannel sheet and tie it over clyclo heads 
as described on http://globetrotter64.home.att.net/p_cloth.htm
   Put some fingerprint sized dots of F7 grade on a three inch grid over 2 ft 
square smear it around . Then slowly move the cyclo over vertically . it should 
be bright behind the buffer or your using to much polish . Repeat if the compound 
swirls are still there . Clean rivits again.
   then finish with very small fingerprints of S grade polish .
then caulk seams where you need to . Some people wax then , or use glass wax if 
you can find it , I dont think they still make it . The finish will need a touch 
up with S every year to keep it bright. Or clearcoat it . I wonder if auto type 
clear would work , but I dont know anyone whos tried it , I dont want to 
experiment  after all this work !
  That website will show you all this and more .
Its alot of work . Wear sunglasses and sunscreen , do it in shade or inside, it 
wont work if its too cold or too hot or too windy the polish dries out , its best 
at about 60 or 65 degrees .
     Airmark tools makes a drum polisher which is faster and a better polish 
(some say ) but they take a big compresser and the tool itself is big money .
Uses a different sort of polish . They also will polish trailers .They are on the 
web .

   Chris Elliott and his shiney 63 flying cloud