Hey Barry, I changed the subject line because with all the forwardsand
convolution, the fur was starting to fly and I'm not really interested
in a cat fight.

You have to remove that old broken down plasticoat completely,beforeyou
start any polishing. Ultra-violet radiation is the chief culprit ofthe
breakdown. This entire plasticoat problem has caused many a sleepless
night for Airstream engineers and Executives.

The old plasticoat comes off fairly easy with a local hardware store
product that is basically a paint stripper. There are several brands
available, I've used Savagran Stripeeze semi-paste formula and /orBix
spray on stripper. Its a little messy. Follow the directions. keepit
away from plastics. Remove your marker lights or mask them carefully.
Sometimes your windows have been replaced with acrylic or lexan plastic,
if so, mask carefully or the stripper will eat them up. Don't breathe
the fumes, but do wear eye protection. Neoprene gloves are helpful.
After you apply the stripper, let it do the work, sometimes you might
have to re-apply a second time in stubborn spots where the plasticoat
was extra thick. If you're unsure or lack confidence, pick a smallout
of the way spot to experiment. Its not a hard job, just a little messy
and tedious.

Bud Cooper and I gave a very small and informal polishing seminar atthe
Region 9 rally in Witchita Falls last week. It went quite well, andlots
of folks came by to watch me struggle with that buffer. Many people
asked about getting their rigs polished. We referred many of those
people to go see Airmark because they were supposed to be at the rally.
Unfortunately,
they were unable to attend because of committments in Atlanta.

One thing to be careful about, many old-timers are really full of
Old-Wives tales. Several old-timers came over and started telling me
the best way to "Polish" my Airstream because they ONCE polished anold
53 a few years back. I heard some of the Whackyest tales and screwball
remarks. Just a few that I would like to dispell: "Why I used Flour
to help get that black stuff off." ........"I used Easy-off oven cleaner
and then used soft and scrub and it just shined like new". I had to
laugh under my breath, but many of those old timers actually believed
what they were saying. Someone always comes along with a "Better wayof
doing the Job". I always ask them to go get their trailer so I could
see the results..........That usually shuts them up . Do NOT , I say
again, Do NOT use oven cleaner, or flour, or any other CRAZY old wives
tale product. Good luck with stripping the plasticoat, and let me know
how it goes.

Bill Scott
61 Bambi
66 Tradewind