Polish an Aluminum Trailer
Do you have an old aluminum travel trailer that is dull and gray from years of weathering and oxidation? Polish your trailer so it is nice and shiny like new.
Steps
- Clean all the dirt and debris from the exterior using soap and water.
- Mask or remove any painted surfaces, lights, plastic pieces or any other items from the exterior of the trailer that may be damaged by the following steps.
- Remove the old clear coat finish (if your trailer has a clear coat finish) with a paint stripper. Follow the instructions on the paint stripper can.
- Wash the trailer again to remove any residual chemicals.
- Remove any heavy oxidation with 600 grit wet sandpaper. Sand the rough areas with the 600 grit paper rinsing with soapy water as you go.
- "Compound" the trailer using a wool bonnet on a 7" angle grinder. Use a relatively coarse grit Nuvite polishing compound for this step. (This will give your trailer a pretty good shine, but will leave swirl marks).
- Start on the top of your trailer and work your way down.
- "Medium Polish" the trailer using a less coarse grade of Rolite polish using a new wool bonnet on the angle grinder. (This will give you a much better polish but will still leave swirl marks).
- "Fine Polish" the trailer using a dual head random orbital polishing machine wrapped with sweatshirt material using a fine grade of Rolite polish. (This will remove swirls and provide an almost mirror-like finish.)
Tips
- This is a big job and takes lots of time and physical stamina.
- Polish your trailer in cool weather in the shade if possible.
- There are tons of different polishing materials out there. Test the various brands to find what suits you best. Nuvite is used by aircraft companies to get the shine on their airplanes.
- Some folks believe that only an "alclad" finished aluminum trailer can be polished. Not true. All aluminum can be polished.
- Aluminum has a "grain" kind of like wood, and to leave it "mirror like" it is good to finish it off by hand by going with the grain.
- Cleanliness is the key to getting a fine polish. Dirt, sand or other debris in on your polishing pads or on the trailer will leave scratches in the surface. Clean the wool bonnets and change to clean sweatshirt material often.
- Some advise not to use sandpaper of any type on the aluminum. 600 grit or finer can be used to speed the process and the scratches from this grade or finer sandpaper can be polished out.
Warnings
- You should wear tinted safety glasses so you don't get something in your eyes or go "snow blind" looking at the shiny surface.
- Read and observe all safety warnings for the chemicals and equipment you are using.
Things You'll Need
- 600 grit wet sanding paper
- Rolite polishing compound
- Makita 7" grinder (or equivalent) with wool bonnet pads (several)
- Cyclo dual random orbital polishing machine
