Can My Trailer Be Polished?

Streamline Message Board: Message Board Postings: Can My Trailer Be Polished?
By Doug on Saturday, January 06, 2001 - 06:46 pm:

I have a 1970 Empress 24' What is the best way to polish it? Can I get good results? Is there any way to protect it?

By Tom Patterson on Saturday, January 06, 2001 - 09:52 pm:

Doug,
Do you have the shiney finish, or more likely the anodized aluminum finish ?

By Doug on Monday, January 08, 2001 - 05:18 pm:

It could very well be anodized. Any way to know for sure?

By Tom Patterson on Wednesday, January 10, 2001 - 04:19 am:

Doug,
You should be able to look at it and tell. If it is shiny, it will have a bright appearance. If anodized, it will have a grey finish. Take a look at the pictures of James Thompson's Streamline that I just put up on the site. He has an anodized finish on his trailer. It cannot be polished. It can be given a shine by applying something like WD-40 to the surface, but this is temporary, and somewhat of a dust magnet.
The bright finish trailers were originally protected by a layer of clear coat, which by now is mostly breaking down. In order to polish them, it is necessary to first remove the clear coat, and then it is possible to shine them up to a mirror finish. Unfortunately, they are no longer protected by the clear coat finish, and the unprotected aluminum then starts to oxidize right away, eventually developing a protective thin grey layer of oxidization, which prevents further oxidization. In order to maintain the shine, it is necessary to continually repolish the trailer, every several years.

By Doug on Wednesday, January 10, 2001 - 05:31 pm:

I think you are right. It very well can be anodized. Looks like James Thompson's. I would like to clean it up and buff it a bit. At least I won't expect much other than to clean it up a bit. I may experimant with a wax. If you have any suggestions. Thanks for your help.

By James on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 06:28 pm:

Doug,

I would suggest using the method described in previous messages. I also tried turpentine to clean some problem areas but did not feel that is really was that effective. Maybe on tree sap. This is suggested in the manual for Streamline. I soak my clean rag in WD40 and rub it down in about 45 minutes. Then, I wipe it down with a clean towel to remove the excess. i have tried different brands of polish etc but I found that it cakes up in the pourous aluminum after awhile and looks like a bad wax job. Metal is easily maintained with a lubricant of this sort so I stick with it. Of course, it is not a permanent fix but neither is car polish if not done periodically.

By stacy harms on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 03:38 pm:

Yes I have a 34ft Avion travel trailer with a rear bath. It's an 1986. I would like to know how do I know if I have the Silver Addition that was made in 1986. If anyone knows I would appreciate the feedback.

By Anonymous on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 - 07:11 pm:

Tom , My 1957 Empress seems to have a variety of different types of aluminum..the rear is very shinny , while the sides seem to be dull..???
phil kaufman
streamliner86@aol.com

By Tom Patterson on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 - 08:12 pm:

Phil,
Your trailer appears to be one of the shiny ones. In some places the clearcoat covering protecting the aluminum and maintaining the shiny finish seems to have broken down with age. In these areas the aluminum is oxidizing. This is not a problem, as once an oxidized coating has formed, the metal stops oxidizing.

What it does mean is that it would be possible to bring your trailer to a mirror like shine, if you wanted to do so. There are a number of e-mail postings on my site from people who have done this with their Airstreams, which describe the process.

By Bob on Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 01:24 pm:

Hello
I have a 79 30ft. with rear bedroom. We are the second owners of this trailer. The first owner used regular car wax as the trailer was bought without a protective finish. I have been using a aluminum boat polish (by hand) once a year with good results. It's not a high shine, but it looks as good as any airstream with the airstream clearcoat.

By Mary McGinnis on Monday, June 10, 2002 - 04:26 pm:

Would it be a mistake to paint the exterior? As it seems as nothing will clean or shine them. Any suggestions. Thanks

By Tom Patterson on Tuesday, June 11, 2002 - 05:36 am:

I would not want to paint the exterior. My '65 Travel Home had been painted, and I was able to remove the paint with a product called BIX. Underneath, was the milled finish aluminum, and it does shine up nicely with aluminum polish.
Incidently, Bob's trailer above cannot be a '79 Streamline, as the company went out of business in Jan. '74.

By James Rambo on Tuesday, April 29, 2003 - 06:57 pm:

Trailer polishing. I Have found a metal polish that really works, Its called pro polish plus. I picked it up at a truck stop in oregon and its the best polish i have ever tried. they claimed that the shine would last 6 to 8 months of daily driving and it even took out the calcified water spots that i could never get out before. They have a web sight at www.crystalimagesllc.com. Its worth a try and good luck.

By Tom Patterson on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 03:43 am:

I use a polish known as Zephyr Pro 40. It is available here in Houston at the local Peterbilt dealer, and it too works well. It is green in color, and like most of these aluminum polishes, has a jeweller's rouge base.