Polishing
Polishing
Lengthy post, so you may want to settle in with an adult beverage in a comfortable chair.
The following explanation is a warts and all confession. Not that I’m fond of embarrassing myself, but the hopes are that you won’t repeat my mistakes. So, by all means, laugh, cry, point, but please take something away from this – both good and bad. For the impatient, skip to the end for the summary.
So, to set the stage so to speak, I have an ’87 Avion 34V. The trailer had good bones when I started however, one of the trailers misgivings is the skin. When I bought it, it was coated in baby oil, so you couldn’t see the oxidation. Never the less, it was there.
I learned early on that these trailers had a satin finish, not a 50’s jet fighter chrome like finish. But the streaks annoyed me. At first, I believed they were hard water stains. That was false. Vinegar and various acid treatments failed to remove the spots and streaks. I read everything I could find regarding polishing anodized aluminum. There seems to be relatively little useful information. Mind you, there are a number of products that will do a short-term job of polishing anodized aluminum. Most of which leave some form of film on the skin, masking the oxidation (Such as baby oil). They don’t remove the oxidation, just hide it. When the film wears off in 3 weeks or 2 months, you’re back to the beginning.
This is wonderful if you have short term goals. For myself, I wanted to do the job once. Or at least once every 5 years. That would be acceptable. Longer would be nice. Whether I succeed, only time will tell.
So, next was some form of abrasive. I didn’t discover Nuvite until later on in the process - not that it mattered much. I tried various scotch-brite like pads. One of our members reports using a gold 6-inch 3M pad with wonderous results. I was unable to locate a source for those. I say this and I like to think I’m pretty good at using search engines. And hitting up welding supply houses, auto body supply houses hardware stores etc…. On this account, I failed. There are a number of spots on my trailer that display the epic quality of that failure. Also, something I learned: Put that damned high-speed grinder as far away from the skin as possible. It is of no use to clean up the skin on an Avion.
At this point I resorted to my background with automotive paints. I grabbed some wet/dry sand paper and started in earnest. Here I had some success, yet I couldn’t remove the little (2mm) round outlines of the water spots. Still can’t. Ultimately, you can mitigate them to the point you can hide them. More on that later.
I had started that project with sanding in the summer a year past. I had a weekend chosen to do it and managed to get the curb side roughed in. Wet sanding with 400/800/1000/1500 grits by hand. No Everbrite coating, but clean metal. Good success – and then I ran out of time. Other aspects of my life took over, primarily work.
Over the course of the winter I read up on buffers and polishing compounds and discovered Nuvite. I thought I would give that a try. I bought a sample kit, a low speed buffer and continued with a renewed attitude. Cut to the chase. Used as directed, the coarsest compound that they have, G6, didn’t really do what I initially wanted it to do, namely remove the milky oxide layer. It will cut through some of the oxidation after a while - an inordinate amount of time (3 hours on half of the front door below the rub rail). When I used it, I wasn’t getting that black cut debris that the company says you get. That’s because Anodized aluminum is so hard and oxide residue is grey/white. Oh, after about 10 minutes, it looks great. Then wash off the oil and voila, the oxidation is still there. Carry on ! No success, or not to my liking. In the end, I used the G6/F7 combination as a final polish, much in the way Airstream users use the IIC and IIS for their final step.
Back to the drawing board. Now that I possessed a variable speed buffer, I tried abrasives again. There was much success here. Wet sanding with 1500, 3000 and 5000 grit at 600 rpm made short work of the oxidation. I say short work. This is a relative term. It took a weekend to do the driver’s side below the rub rail. I lost count of how many 6” sanding discs required. Have I mentioned that Anodized aluminum is hard? In areas where I couldn’t reach with the buffer, I hand sanded with 1500 grit. After all that, then the Nuvite. The rivets on the trailer positively glow. Uncoated, up close, you can still see the little champagne bubble sized oxidation rings. No matter. The Everbrite coating takes care of those quite nicely.
It should be mentioned that using the buffer with 1500, 3000 and 5000 grit affords you the chance to NOT burn through the anodized layer and doesn’t leave swirl marks in the aluminum. You will have scratches if you’re not careful. Don’t park the buffer over the same spot for 5 minutes, that may get you through the anodized layer. I will say that didn’t occur to me. Moved slowly in a continuous movement worked for me. You’ll see the grey white of the oxides coming off in the residual water.
One area I gave up on was the area on the lower front of the trailer behind the LP tanks. The corners particularly had suffered abuse at the hands of the U.S. highway system. There was no way to make that look like anything other than road rash – short of removing the anodized layer and making it shine like the afore mentioned jet. Rather than fight with it, I just simply cleaned it and painted the lower front section with a rubberized coating. Declared victory and moved on. Done.
The cause of the oxidation is well, Oxygen. The best way to avoid it is to seal the metal. Hence the Everbrite.
Summary
Tools and supplies
Low speed/variable speed buffer – 450 to 600 RPM at the low range
Drill, two speed variable
6” or 7” hook and loop backing pad for the buffer & a foam hook and loop contour pad
two or three 6” or 7” wool polishing pads
A supply of 1500, 3000 and 5000 grit 6” hook and loop sanding disks. A 50 count of each should do.
15 sheets 3 2/3” x 9” 1500 grit
5 sheets 9”x11” 800 grit sandpaper
2” wool buffing wheels and mandrel. Harbor Fright tools has them in a six pack and they are washable.
Dremel rotary tool**
Dremel felt polishing /cloth polishing wheels **
¼ LB Nuvite G6**
¼ LB Nuvite F7**
2 quarts Everbrite YMMV
2 gallons Xylol
Time
** See door notes
Process
Anodized aluminum is quite hard. To reduce the streaks and spots this is my magic formula. A warning in advance. This takes a lot longer than buffing out a car. I want to be clear about that. Car polishing uses high speed. Here you want low speed on the buffer and the drill. Required reading here are Nuvite’s application instructions and Everbrite’s application instructions. Also, you won’t accomplish this task in this manner in a weekend. Maybe three.
Wash off the trailer well. Simple green is useful.
Choose and area to work on. I would recommend between rivet lines for the rib attachments. Wipe down the area you’re about to work on with Xylol. In very heavily oxidized areas start with wet sanding by hand using the 800 grit. This is reserved for the worst areas and only to knock it down. Areas where it looks like someone spilled a quart of milk on the aluminum. Follow that with wet sanding with the buffer – 1500 grit first then 3000 and 5000. Monitor your progress often by wiping away the debris and letting the surface dry. Change discs often as they will wear out quickly. I did not have an issue with burning through the anodized layer with this process, Be mindful of the possibility though.
Areas where you cannot get the buffer into, resort to the 1500 grit sheets by hand. Once you have completed sanding an area, wipe it off and let dry. Grab the 6” or 7” buffing pads, the Nuvite and polish. G6 first and then the F7. Areas where you can’t get the buffer into, use the 2” wool wheels and the drill. Nuvite has excellent instructions on their website, it’s just not quite accurate when addressing anodized aluminum. Once complete and you’re satisfied, wash off the area well with Xylol in preparation to apply the Everbrite.
Apply the Everbrite coating. Everbrite has excellent application instructions on their website. A few tips though.
I didn’t use the Everbrite prep cleaner. That solution has no discernible effect on Anodized. After the sanding and buffing process, once you wash with the Xylol you have a clean surface to work with.
Don’t apply Everbrite to surfaces in direct sunlight. Overcast and cool days are best.
Make a single pass in one direction. Don’t go back over it. If you missed a spot, go back to it after it dries. You wanted a second coat anyway.
Don’t pour the Everbrite into a plastic container. It’ll eat it.
A note about doors with casings:
The door casings on my trailer shined up beautifully. Here, Nuvite’s instructions were spot on. That’s because my door frames are not anodized. I would read through Nuvite’s instructions thoroughly and follow that procedure for the door casing and door edge trim. You will be rewarded. The 2-inch wool wheels are most useful on these. The Dremel tool buffing wheels come in handy here for small and hard to reach areas. The same is true for the front door hinge. If you plan on doing the door casings and trim, get the Nuvite sample pack
The stuff I didn’t try.
XMP series aircraft polishes
APxxx series aircraft polishes
Aluminum Brightener (Vintagecampers.com)
Aluminox
Muriatic or other acid solutions except for Vinegar.
Dremel power cleaner pad
Stuff you shouldn’t use
High speed buffing pads (fastest way to burn through the anodized layer)
Dremel abrasive wheels, wire wheels
Left rear after 1500,3000,5000 grit and wet from washing. This is what it will look like after 2 coats of Everbrite. Note the lovely right corner.
Left rear after nuvite, right rear after sanding. Note the storage door casing on the left.
The following explanation is a warts and all confession. Not that I’m fond of embarrassing myself, but the hopes are that you won’t repeat my mistakes. So, by all means, laugh, cry, point, but please take something away from this – both good and bad. For the impatient, skip to the end for the summary.
So, to set the stage so to speak, I have an ’87 Avion 34V. The trailer had good bones when I started however, one of the trailers misgivings is the skin. When I bought it, it was coated in baby oil, so you couldn’t see the oxidation. Never the less, it was there.
This is wonderful if you have short term goals. For myself, I wanted to do the job once. Or at least once every 5 years. That would be acceptable. Longer would be nice. Whether I succeed, only time will tell.
So, next was some form of abrasive. I didn’t discover Nuvite until later on in the process - not that it mattered much. I tried various scotch-brite like pads. One of our members reports using a gold 6-inch 3M pad with wonderous results. I was unable to locate a source for those. I say this and I like to think I’m pretty good at using search engines. And hitting up welding supply houses, auto body supply houses hardware stores etc…. On this account, I failed. There are a number of spots on my trailer that display the epic quality of that failure. Also, something I learned: Put that damned high-speed grinder as far away from the skin as possible. It is of no use to clean up the skin on an Avion.
At this point I resorted to my background with automotive paints. I grabbed some wet/dry sand paper and started in earnest. Here I had some success, yet I couldn’t remove the little (2mm) round outlines of the water spots. Still can’t. Ultimately, you can mitigate them to the point you can hide them. More on that later.
I had started that project with sanding in the summer a year past. I had a weekend chosen to do it and managed to get the curb side roughed in. Wet sanding with 400/800/1000/1500 grits by hand. No Everbrite coating, but clean metal. Good success – and then I ran out of time. Other aspects of my life took over, primarily work.
Over the course of the winter I read up on buffers and polishing compounds and discovered Nuvite. I thought I would give that a try. I bought a sample kit, a low speed buffer and continued with a renewed attitude. Cut to the chase. Used as directed, the coarsest compound that they have, G6, didn’t really do what I initially wanted it to do, namely remove the milky oxide layer. It will cut through some of the oxidation after a while - an inordinate amount of time (3 hours on half of the front door below the rub rail). When I used it, I wasn’t getting that black cut debris that the company says you get. That’s because Anodized aluminum is so hard and oxide residue is grey/white. Oh, after about 10 minutes, it looks great. Then wash off the oil and voila, the oxidation is still there. Carry on ! No success, or not to my liking. In the end, I used the G6/F7 combination as a final polish, much in the way Airstream users use the IIC and IIS for their final step.
Back to the drawing board. Now that I possessed a variable speed buffer, I tried abrasives again. There was much success here. Wet sanding with 1500, 3000 and 5000 grit at 600 rpm made short work of the oxidation. I say short work. This is a relative term. It took a weekend to do the driver’s side below the rub rail. I lost count of how many 6” sanding discs required. Have I mentioned that Anodized aluminum is hard? In areas where I couldn’t reach with the buffer, I hand sanded with 1500 grit. After all that, then the Nuvite. The rivets on the trailer positively glow. Uncoated, up close, you can still see the little champagne bubble sized oxidation rings. No matter. The Everbrite coating takes care of those quite nicely.
It should be mentioned that using the buffer with 1500, 3000 and 5000 grit affords you the chance to NOT burn through the anodized layer and doesn’t leave swirl marks in the aluminum. You will have scratches if you’re not careful. Don’t park the buffer over the same spot for 5 minutes, that may get you through the anodized layer. I will say that didn’t occur to me. Moved slowly in a continuous movement worked for me. You’ll see the grey white of the oxides coming off in the residual water.
One area I gave up on was the area on the lower front of the trailer behind the LP tanks. The corners particularly had suffered abuse at the hands of the U.S. highway system. There was no way to make that look like anything other than road rash – short of removing the anodized layer and making it shine like the afore mentioned jet. Rather than fight with it, I just simply cleaned it and painted the lower front section with a rubberized coating. Declared victory and moved on. Done.
The cause of the oxidation is well, Oxygen. The best way to avoid it is to seal the metal. Hence the Everbrite.
Summary
Tools and supplies
Low speed/variable speed buffer – 450 to 600 RPM at the low range
Drill, two speed variable
6” or 7” hook and loop backing pad for the buffer & a foam hook and loop contour pad
two or three 6” or 7” wool polishing pads
A supply of 1500, 3000 and 5000 grit 6” hook and loop sanding disks. A 50 count of each should do.
15 sheets 3 2/3” x 9” 1500 grit
5 sheets 9”x11” 800 grit sandpaper
2” wool buffing wheels and mandrel. Harbor Fright tools has them in a six pack and they are washable.
Dremel rotary tool**
Dremel felt polishing /cloth polishing wheels **
¼ LB Nuvite G6**
¼ LB Nuvite F7**
2 quarts Everbrite YMMV
2 gallons Xylol
Time
** See door notes
Process
Anodized aluminum is quite hard. To reduce the streaks and spots this is my magic formula. A warning in advance. This takes a lot longer than buffing out a car. I want to be clear about that. Car polishing uses high speed. Here you want low speed on the buffer and the drill. Required reading here are Nuvite’s application instructions and Everbrite’s application instructions. Also, you won’t accomplish this task in this manner in a weekend. Maybe three.
Wash off the trailer well. Simple green is useful.
Choose and area to work on. I would recommend between rivet lines for the rib attachments. Wipe down the area you’re about to work on with Xylol. In very heavily oxidized areas start with wet sanding by hand using the 800 grit. This is reserved for the worst areas and only to knock it down. Areas where it looks like someone spilled a quart of milk on the aluminum. Follow that with wet sanding with the buffer – 1500 grit first then 3000 and 5000. Monitor your progress often by wiping away the debris and letting the surface dry. Change discs often as they will wear out quickly. I did not have an issue with burning through the anodized layer with this process, Be mindful of the possibility though.
Areas where you cannot get the buffer into, resort to the 1500 grit sheets by hand. Once you have completed sanding an area, wipe it off and let dry. Grab the 6” or 7” buffing pads, the Nuvite and polish. G6 first and then the F7. Areas where you can’t get the buffer into, use the 2” wool wheels and the drill. Nuvite has excellent instructions on their website, it’s just not quite accurate when addressing anodized aluminum. Once complete and you’re satisfied, wash off the area well with Xylol in preparation to apply the Everbrite.
Apply the Everbrite coating. Everbrite has excellent application instructions on their website. A few tips though.
I didn’t use the Everbrite prep cleaner. That solution has no discernible effect on Anodized. After the sanding and buffing process, once you wash with the Xylol you have a clean surface to work with.
Don’t apply Everbrite to surfaces in direct sunlight. Overcast and cool days are best.
Make a single pass in one direction. Don’t go back over it. If you missed a spot, go back to it after it dries. You wanted a second coat anyway.
Don’t pour the Everbrite into a plastic container. It’ll eat it.
A note about doors with casings:
The door casings on my trailer shined up beautifully. Here, Nuvite’s instructions were spot on. That’s because my door frames are not anodized. I would read through Nuvite’s instructions thoroughly and follow that procedure for the door casing and door edge trim. You will be rewarded. The 2-inch wool wheels are most useful on these. The Dremel tool buffing wheels come in handy here for small and hard to reach areas. The same is true for the front door hinge. If you plan on doing the door casings and trim, get the Nuvite sample pack
The stuff I didn’t try.
XMP series aircraft polishes
APxxx series aircraft polishes
Aluminum Brightener (Vintagecampers.com)
Aluminox
Muriatic or other acid solutions except for Vinegar.
Dremel power cleaner pad
Stuff you shouldn’t use
High speed buffing pads (fastest way to burn through the anodized layer)
Dremel abrasive wheels, wire wheels
1987 34V
2000 Ford F250
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
2000 Ford F250
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Re: Polishing
right corner wet
1987 34V
2000 Ford F250
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
2000 Ford F250
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Re: Polishing
Fantastic job and commendable perseverance. What a transformation!
Re: Polishing
Thank you. More pics to come
1987 34V
2000 Ford F250
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
2000 Ford F250
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
-
jrothmusic
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:48 am
Re: Polishing
RE: Polishing/Oxidization
Thanks for this lengthy explanation of your polishing adventure. I have a '66 Holiday II and am currently washing and considering polishing options. In addition to looking for a way to get rid of water marks and random dots of orange (rust? copper?), I also have the unfortunate problem of some spots of shiny aluminum where I over polished the anodization right off. You warned about this, but I foolishly did this years ago. So, I've also been looking for a way to dull the shiny spots to blend them in.
Re: blending shiny spots
After lots of research, today I tried a quick shot of oven cleaner on the shiny spots, followed by a blue scotch-brite got me about 25% of the way there. Careful with this stuff because it is corrosive to aluminum, so you can't leave it on long! It helped get rid of the darker/blackened edges of the buffed out area and left a little haze on the shiny part. You've also got to be careful about the overspray though because it'll leave more white dots all over. If you leave it on too long, it'll etch the aluminum black. So, now I'm refining my technique to blend all the areas in. It's not foolproof, but it's much better than it was. Now I spray the oven cleaner directly on the scotchbrite pad, then scrub the spot instead of spraying it directly on the aluminum. I'll be at it again tomorrow and will report back with any findings/mistakes, etc. Another recommended (possible) solution that I found was to try Drano. I bought it, but haven't tried it yet.
Re: rock chips on front L/R sides - clear coat or protective film?
What have you all tried for this? My L/R sides are really dinged up and rough to the touch. I've knocked them down a little bit with a courser Scotchbrite, but it'll never get smooth again. Will an protective film even adhere to it in this condition? Or is there a spray on solution I could use? I imagine I could tape off the section I wanted to coat and then use some sort of spray on clear coat, but I don't know if that would end up being nearly as strong as a film.
Thanks for any feedback. I'm glad to have found you all here and look forward to learning from you.
Justin
Thanks for this lengthy explanation of your polishing adventure. I have a '66 Holiday II and am currently washing and considering polishing options. In addition to looking for a way to get rid of water marks and random dots of orange (rust? copper?), I also have the unfortunate problem of some spots of shiny aluminum where I over polished the anodization right off. You warned about this, but I foolishly did this years ago. So, I've also been looking for a way to dull the shiny spots to blend them in.
Re: blending shiny spots
After lots of research, today I tried a quick shot of oven cleaner on the shiny spots, followed by a blue scotch-brite got me about 25% of the way there. Careful with this stuff because it is corrosive to aluminum, so you can't leave it on long! It helped get rid of the darker/blackened edges of the buffed out area and left a little haze on the shiny part. You've also got to be careful about the overspray though because it'll leave more white dots all over. If you leave it on too long, it'll etch the aluminum black. So, now I'm refining my technique to blend all the areas in. It's not foolproof, but it's much better than it was. Now I spray the oven cleaner directly on the scotchbrite pad, then scrub the spot instead of spraying it directly on the aluminum. I'll be at it again tomorrow and will report back with any findings/mistakes, etc. Another recommended (possible) solution that I found was to try Drano. I bought it, but haven't tried it yet.
Re: rock chips on front L/R sides - clear coat or protective film?
What have you all tried for this? My L/R sides are really dinged up and rough to the touch. I've knocked them down a little bit with a courser Scotchbrite, but it'll never get smooth again. Will an protective film even adhere to it in this condition? Or is there a spray on solution I could use? I imagine I could tape off the section I wanted to coat and then use some sort of spray on clear coat, but I don't know if that would end up being nearly as strong as a film.
Thanks for any feedback. I'm glad to have found you all here and look forward to learning from you.
Justin
Re: Polishing
We have a 30' Avion travel trailer that has the water stains etc that we want to clean up. The product Owatrol was recommended. My questions are as follows:
Has anyone used it and to what result?
How long did it last keeping the exterior clean.
What was the process used?
I am a neophyte when it comes to stuff like this and need some advice.
Thank you
Has anyone used it and to what result?
How long did it last keeping the exterior clean.
What was the process used?
I am a neophyte when it comes to stuff like this and need some advice.
Thank you
Re: Polishing
I believe Owatrol is the same as Penetrol. I’ve used it in the past and it did leave the surface appearing better.
At some point I think I’m going to try what this guy did here:
https://www.facebook.com/jim.vititow/vi ... 4012781324
He had good success with a Porter Cable orbital polisher and Chemical Guys C4 and P4 with orange and blue pads. I tried a little by hand and could see and feel an improvement.
Here’s s pic from his video:
At some point I think I’m going to try what this guy did here:
https://www.facebook.com/jim.vititow/vi ... 4012781324
He had good success with a Porter Cable orbital polisher and Chemical Guys C4 and P4 with orange and blue pads. I tried a little by hand and could see and feel an improvement.
Here’s s pic from his video:
KYAvion
1984 Avion 30R
1984 Avion 30R
Re: Polishing
KY Avion,
Thank you so much for your reply. Two more questions if you don't mind.
Do you need to wash your trailer first, dry it and then apply the Owatrol?
How long does this treatment usually last?
Kieth
Thank you so much for your reply. Two more questions if you don't mind.
Do you need to wash your trailer first, dry it and then apply the Owatrol?
How long does this treatment usually last?
Kieth
Re: Polishing
Let’s wait for @Razorback to chime in on the Owatrol. But yes, if the trailer is dirty, you’d want to wash and dry the surface first.
KYAvion
1984 Avion 30R
1984 Avion 30R