Re: [VAC] Hi

[Patrick Ewing <pre52@xxxxxxx>]

Allen,

Wow !!.........sounds like you've been pretty busy!!

Isn't polishing a real bear? ..........but well worth it when you can stand
back and admire a job well done. I polished my Bambi about five years ago now,
and it still looks pretty good. I am thinking about giving it a touch up job
this next spring before the International. It depends on how I'm physically
feeling at the time.

As to your question about removing deep scratches I have my own way of
thinking. All antiques, whether it be furniture or trailers, have what I call
"character traits" or imperfections. These things aren't new and have received
a few scrapes here and there. Why even brand new items often have flaws if one
were to closely examine them. My old 1947 Airstream has a lot of "drill" marks
on the skin from when the drill obviously slipped when the shell was being
drilled to be made ready to rivet. There are a lot of other imperfections on
this unit that were done right as it was being built. One being the rivet rows
not being evenly spaced or straight. This unit was literally hand built at the
L.A. Airport and these "flaws" are part of the beauty of it. They give it
character.

Now on my Bambi, as I'm sure is the case with your Overlander, these units
have what I'll call "battle scars." Over the years they received a scrape here
and there. The surface ones usually can be lightly sanded or even polished
out. While the deeper ones will remain. As I look at it the only way to remove
these deep scratches (or any scratch) is to remove some of the metal around
the scratch. Personally I've chosen to leave a few of the deep scratches in
the Bambi. I've polished very well on and around them, but they are still
there. The metal is only so thick and I don't want to remove too much. Even
with some of the deep scratch remaining it can be made to look much better
than just a "raw" scratch.

To me when I look at a deep scratch on the exterior of an Airstream I think of
a trade off. I look at just how deep it is...........then think of how thick
the metal is. Sometimes I feel the best way is to compromise, a trade off you
might say. However, as I've said before, even if the very deep ones are just
too deep to totally remove, they can easily be made to look better than a raw
scratch.

This is just my own personal way of looking at this situation. Hope this helps
you out.

Pat