[VAC] Re: another polishing technique

["James Greene" <drgreene@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Very interesting post, Jim. You sure got my attention. I'm pleased that your
unorthodox process gave you good results quickly. A couple of questions and
an observation:

(1) What is the highly evaporative solvent that you wet your wool polishing
pad with?
(2) What is a da? Maybe I have one. I have a 7" Makita 9227C angle
grinder/polisher that is a dial in variable speed from 600 - 3,000RPM.

I wonder if the success you are having with the 600 grit pad and wet sanding
with 800 grit could be related to the heavier gauge aluminum skin and
possibly a deeper coating of pure aluminum that we hear was used on the
earlier Airstreams,
presumably including your ' 53 Safari. I'm wondering if I'd go through the
AlClad in my ' 68 Tradewind if the coating is thinner. Admittedly, 600 grit
is pretty fine so it's slow going on most materials.

The roof panel on my Tradewind is badly oxidized -- enough so that I have
been tempted to paint it instead for better Georgia heat reflection. That
might be the place for me to experiment some with your sanding method
because it's the worst area and I could always paint it afterwards if I
screw it up. The rest of the trailer isn't as bad but the end cap segments
aren't in the greatest shape either.

What is the collective wisdom concerning the AlClad coating on the late 60s
trailers? Is it thinner than the coating used earlier? Wouldn't it be nice
if the "Graves" method is relatively safe and is a whole lot faster than the
conventional methods of getting a mirror finish. I can hope.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Jim. Is this a great list or what?

Jim Greene
' 68 Tradewind