Polishing - Summary

Summary

Preparing & Polishing Steps Preview/Summary - Updated 4/03
The following pages give details about each step outlined in this summary. Depending on the condition of the aluminum and how long you want to spend polishing you may end up skipping some of these steps. OTHER LINKS details all the products we used and some places to purchase them.

This summary is for a modified * "Swift Method" developed by the Swift Airplane Association (it is not called swift because it is fast but after an airplane).

*The modifications to the Swift method presented here is mainly some details specific to Airstream, cloth holding methods and detailing.

Each day I polish it seems I find out something new. Here is my current state of thought on the method and sequence of polishing aluminum if you use the "Swift Method". I have wasted a lot of time and polish doing things "out of order" - and I have learned a lot! Perhaps by the time I am done polishing the trailer I will have begun to learn to polish. I think I will have to start the airplane polish job when I am done with the trailer J .

The short list of the basic steps are:

Prepare the trailer for polishing
Remove oxidation, filiform and some scratches with a slow speed drill, a wool bonnet and Nuvite Polish (AKA Compounding).
Remove the swirls/scratches left by compounding with a Cyclo random orbital polisher with 100% cotton sweatshirt material covering the pads. Use Nuvite polish.
Polish to a mirror shine using a Cyclo polisher with 100% cotton sweatshirt material covering the pads. Use Nuvite "S" polish.
Cleanup any black residue (especially around the rivets) with Glass Wax.

Prepare

	Strip the clear coat (if you have one). Remember to protect anything plastic or that you do not want striped.
	Clean all the seams - Don't seal them yet. DO NOT USE sharp objects that could scratch to clean the seams. Popsicle sticks or a Phenolic scrapper work well.

Prepare to Polish

Always make sure everything is clean before you start each step!

Do a TEST area of about 4' X 4' (perhaps near the back of the trailer street side) to see how this polishing method works. Do all the appropriate steps below except sealing the seams. Look at this area when the sun is shinning on it AND when the sun is on the other side of the trailer. See if you like your work or if you need to change anything in your polishing method (This test can save you vast amounts of time!!!)

Note: When you polish the whole trailer do at least one whole panel with each step before moving to the next step.

	Remove anything that can be removed (light covers, vents, logos etc.)
	Tape off (with blue masking tape) or protect anything you don't want to remove or don't want to polish (Airstream logos etc.).

Just around the seams or vents that you plan to seal :

	Do the steps below *through cyclo with F7* (you want the corrosion removed near the seams before you seal them. You can seal the seams without doing this step but it is harder to remove the corrosion next to the seams - see details.)
	Clean off all the polish with a solvent
	Seal the seams
	Now you can start with the rest of the trailer (If you polish the whole trailer and then seal the seams you have to re-polish to cleanup the mess you make when you seal the seams.)

Polish

Compound using a slow speed drill with C (or G6 then C where and if needed see below).

On the panel that you are polishing - polish any area that will need polishing with a detailer and/or by hand (around the door handle etc.). Polish these details all the way to grade S before you polish the whole panel.

Polish out the swirls/scratches left by the slow speed drill with a Cyclo using F7 with the Sweatshirt Cloth over the pads (After much experimentation I know use dense custom foam pads - click here to see the variations I have tried). I usually polish an area about four times with F7. The cloths are really the secret to what makes this polish job so nice. Never again will I use the wool cyclo bonnets to polish with!

Clean around the rivets and edges with Glass Wax dispersed from the pump sprayer and a micro cloth. (Do this before you polish with S to remove all the previous courser polish)

Polish with S on the cloth over the pads.

Detail anywhere you need to.

Do a final finish Polish with S with an unused sweatshirt cloth on the cyclo.

Finish with a clean unused sweatshirt cloth on the cyclo and buff off any remaining polish.

Note: If you are polishing inside you may not be able to see if you have left swirls. The last polishes with "S" you may want do outside - or at least move it outside to inspect.

Go to OTHER LINKS to see a materials list of what you will need to polish with this method.

Good Luck and Have fun!

	Finish with a clean unused sweatshirt cloth on the cyclo and buff off any remaining polish.
	Note: If you are polishing inside you may not be able to see if you have left swirls. The last polishes with "S" you may want do outside - or at least move it outside to inspect.