| Author | Message | ||
| Jerry (152.163.197.182)
Rating: N/A |
Need suggestions for polishing or painting the exterior aluminum on my 06. There are areas I want to leave bare and somehow polish and protect. Currently there seems to be marks where it appears something was haphazardly sprayed on the aluminum. I'd like to remove this and polish in several areas. Some kind of rubbing compound? Is there some kind of clear sealer sprayed on once the polishing is done (likewise if there is already some kind of sealer on how is it best removed before polishing)? Previous owners painted over some areas and the paint is just falling off -- I'd guess the bare aluminum needs to be sanded with about 320grit sandpaper to give something for the paint to stick to. Plus I'm guessing there are special primers and paints that work best on aluminum. Eventually I'll probably have the exterior done professionally but suspect with LOTS of conversion still to do, professional painting will be years down the road. I just want to make it look a do-it-yourself better in the meantime. | ||
| JayJay (207.30.180.49) Rating: N/A |
Use 600 grit or finer, or you will have really bad scratches in your finished paint job. Better yet, use a phosphoric acid etch, then a chromic acid conversion process, and your paint will stick better, and look smoother. Check with your local autobody supply house for materials and further advice. Try Stitts or Randolph's Aircraft paint process, (www//Aircraftspruce.com) EXPENSIVE, but the very, very best there is. Cheers...JJ | ||
| Phil (204.89.170.3) Rating: N/A |
If you are going to use urethane paint the Stits (now Polyfiber) is a #%@&* to paint. Great paint but it does not cover well and runs very easy. Do not treat it like automotive paint!!! I have painted a couple of airplanes with it and it is great for fabric covering (I hope your bus is metel!!) as it is flexible and does not crack. On a metal plane I use Dupont. It is easier to come by localy and is easier to paint and a little cheaper. I just paid $137 a gallon for white Stits (3 quarts paint, 1 quart catalyst). Duponts etch and conversion products are about the same as the "aircraft" products. If you use ANY urethane make sure you have an outside breathing air source!!! | ||
| Oaepalmer (Oaepalmer) (208.164.96.121)
Rating: N/A |
Speaking to the subject of buffing.... most T/A Petro and Flying J truck stops sell buffing wheels and buffing compound. I have 3 soft wheels (the same height of a single indent) mounted on a simple 1/2hp washing machine type motor (1725rpm) and I use the white bar buffing compound which is also used for buffing plastics like plexiglas. I apply the BC to the wheel for about 15 seconds with lite pressure and then work 1 horizonal indent on the panel..always work the same direction...and that application of BC will last youe 3-4 mins or maybe 10 running ft. after you get the knack of it. Lite pressure and a slight back and forth motion. I have made a couple of simple handgrips and attached them to the motor via gear/hose clamps, making it ez on the wrists and keeping the motor heat off the hands. Once you have buffed the areas you want to maintain in brite finish it will be a lot easier to keep them brite, it will take you about 20 hrs to do the area below the windows the 1st time and less than 1/2 that the 2nd time. Using circular pads on a body grinder/buffer will result in swirls or much more time spent, using liquid product on the 1st pass will cost a small fortune. I use a polymer wetcoat as a protectant, it goes on fast, is ez to rag buff/wipe and gives me the best value for the money in addition to saving my elbows and wrists. Remember you are applying a wax or tallow product and resist the temptation to clear coat your finished work...paint will not stick to either! Your effort will be rewarded by a coach that looks 20yrs newer...and it will add 6inches of pride to your chest when someone says, "man, this looks like a different coach!" | ||
| FAST FRED (209.26.87.72) Rating: N/A |
However if you do a GM ,you stand the risk of buffing thru the annodizing . Then you will either need to keep the coach in the desert , build a big garage , or spend a LOT of time buffing water spots ect from the finish. TRUE the better the job you do the smoother the surface gets , and the easier it is to re doo, but aircraft that get this treatment use alclad , a different type aluminum ( has a skin of pure aluminum on top). And most need to be hangared. PIOLISH the Mirrors and bumpers , still has a great look , but wont eat as many weekends a year re polishing. IMHO FAST FRED | ||
| Oaepalmer (Oaepalmer) (208.164.96.67)
Rating: N/A |
Good info..! I do live in the desert which may explain why I haven't experienced the loss of the annodizing, plus I was not even aware the skin had been treated..clear annodizing is a bain of mine, you can't see it like colored treatments and therefore I forget that it exsists! Now that you have reminded me, the thought occurs that there are zillions of Alcoa aluminum wheels on commercial vehicles and coaches rolling around out on the hiways, and they should have been coated/treated.....yet buffing them is SOP with the truckers.....and as we all know there is nothing like a set of bright wheels to make a man smile..( I could digress here, telling about a former wife who took mag wheel polishing personaly and seriously...but I won't)... One thing is obvious, the aluminum was protected when new and needs to be protected or maintained to stay looking that way.  Thanks again for the education, I really appreciate your imparting knowledge I was lacking. |