The "clear coat" that most people find offensive
is actually broken down by UV and road grime. Removal will take you
down to base aluminum, which on the vintage coaches is the ONLY way to
achieve a clean bright shiny trailer. Polishing or burnishing to
achieve a mirror finish is tough but doable. A lot of people just
clean off the clear coat and then let oxidation form a patina which will
last for years. This does not reduce the value of the coach.
Any time you're ready you can get out your polisher and remove the
oxidation by "scratching it off" at first with aggressive
compounds. Then you make the "scratches" smaller and
smaller with finer compounds.
Done properly an oxidized trailer can be polished (burnished, scratched)
to a mirror finish. I believe this is the destiny for most vintage
coaches. Oxidation, polish shine. It gives you something to
look forward too :)
Bob
http://mrminimal.com
1966 Airstream "Safari" WBCCI #2857
1966 Ford F-250 "Camper Special"
Mira Mar Mobile Community
Oceanside, California
At 09:24 AM 6/12/01 -0500, you wrote:
Hi everyone:
Why polish a vintage AS? One only has to watch "The Antiques
Roadshow" to see the disappointment when an owner of a Tiffany lamp
destroyed its value by rubbing off the patina.
What do you guys think? I'm on the fence.
Jeff
