26 or 28 foot Enclosed Car Trailer---Advise Please!

[TMQ]

This project will be coming to me sometime early spring as soon as the snow leaves. I'm in the planning phase and any suggestions from you old hats are most welcomed!
I did do a search and have read many articles...Back ground knowledge and thoughts are developing in my mind as I type this.

Initial thoughts:

1. Iron-x
2. Foam gun and Wash
3. No claying! Too frickin big!
4. Rupes mark II and Griots 6" with 5" backing plate
5. HD Speed with Rupes white pads---just go around the trailer one time.
6. Done...

Questions:

1. How do I deal with raised rivets?
2. This might be too big for white pads? Probably need at least 20 pads? Is there a better alternative? Wool pads?
3. Would a Flex forced rotation be a better tool for this rather than using a Rupes? And be faster?

Pictures:

[TMQ]

Another reason I'm thinking of getting Flex forced rotation is that I will also be doing 2 boats as well.

Or go with a rotatory instead?

In sum...which is the next logical step tool wise?

I have: 15" Rupes mk II, Griot 6" with 5" backing plate and the peanut---Griot 3"

Tom

[WillSports3]

Go with the rupes. It'll be a lot less hard km your body. If you use forced rotation, you just might wake up hurting the day after. As for the rivets, tape them. You might not want to clay but if there's a lot of contamination on the trailer, you might ruin your pads. If anything, get a clay pad for use on a polisher and use that, if nothing else to preserve your pads. Getting a flex or a rotary, it's all good either way. It doesn't necessarily matter which one, as long as you can use the machine all around all well and if it fits a role you need. With that much room and the fact that you might want to to only go around once, use am orange pad. It'll work the abrasives in better and save you some time. As for pads, you you might need 10 with good cleaning inbetween.

[TMQ]

Thank You...

Your comments pretty well matches up with all the reading I've done today.

As for taping---really? Theres gotta be a million of those round headed rivets! Thinking of using peanut---a griot 3" with thin pro orange cutting pad and just go around each rivet and the finish off the wide panels w/o having to dance polisher around the rivets.

Orange pads? Which pads should I use for the Rupes?

Guess I'll use the nano pad while washing just to get panels clean then...Pads are expensive and I really don't want to screw them up.
Thanks for chiming in---appreciate that very much!

Tom

[WillSports3]

Well tape or just avoid them, depends on how close you want to go. As for the pad, I tend to use lc country pads but for a rupes pad, try using the blue or the green, it should finish quite well. I think that with the orange pad with your 3 inch, you might be safe with that around the rivets. I'm just not sure how much power the griots 3 inch has in terms of cutting.

[TMQ]

Thanks...

You'll be surprised---that little bugger with thin pro pads cuts pretty darn well.

Thanks---will do test with Rupes pads and see what happens. Worst case---I'll get those orange pads from LC.

Tom

[dlc95]

I just did a 32'...

I brought along another detailer to help.

I was intending on just cleaning it up, but the client wanted some deeper tree scratches lessened.

We started with a rinseless wash, but the panels were so stained that it just removed the loose dust.

To polish, we used Porter Cable 7424's, Lake Country Purple Foamed Wool pads, and M100, with an Optimum Car Wax Wipe off.

I couldn't believe how well those "thick" foamed wool pads cut down those scratches.

Duragloss 501 did pretty good with yellow Buff and Shine foam pads on our test spots. It out performed both M66, and D166. Unfortunately it didn't have the teeth to do what "the hammer" M100 did.

Obviously, had I known we were in for this, I would have had him bring his 3401. At any rate, I know that I need to stop being cheap and return the 3401 to the line up. For some reason I keep getting calls to do these gargantuan projects.... I want to say that it took every bit of eight hours to finish it.

Before that, we had to do the Dodge dually that pulls that thing. Ed covered the interior, and I did the exterior. Yeah, Duragloss 501 kicks some major tail. I've been reaching for that over M66 time and time again.

As for D166... Yeah, I'm not as knocked out as I thought I'd be. Doesn't do what DG501 does.

[ScottH]

I've owned many trailers in my years and I don't see any benefits to taping off the hundreds of rivet heads a trailer this size will have. Most trailers have rounded heads that will do no damage to your pad so long as you give a little entry-lift when approaching them. Or should you be so inclined, use a pad like the BOSS lineup with open center to work 'over' the rivet. As far as abrasives, that will depend on how dug-in those black water/dirt streaks are. You'll likely find that HD Speed will remove a good portion of it but may leave behind enough of the streak to still be visible. You may have to up to a non-AIO polish like McKees FAST polish, Griots Correcting Cream etc. and consider using Hydro Blue as your LSP. As far as pads, yeah I would say orange would be the way to go - and keep in mind that some white trailers develop a
Chalky finish over time if not maintained, so pad cleaning will be more frequent than normal.

Good luck!
ScottH

[TMQ]

I just did a 32'...

I brought along another detailer to help.

I was intending on just cleaning it up, but the client wanted some deeper tree scratches lessened.

We started with a rinseless wash, but the panels were so stained that it just removed the loose dust.

To polish, we used Porter Cable 7424's, Lake Country Purple Foamed Wool pads, and M100, with an Optimum Car Wax Wipe off.

I couldn't believe how well those "thick" foamed wool pads cut down those scratches.

Duragloss 501 did pretty good with yellow Buff and Shine foam pads on our test spots. It out performed both M66, and D166. Unfortunately it didn't have the teeth to do what "the hammer" M100 did.

Obviously, had I known we were in for this, I would have had him bring his 3401. At any rate, I know that I need to stop being cheap and return the 3401 to the line up. For some reason I keep getting calls to do these gargantuan projects.... I want to say that it took every bit of eight hours to finish it.

Before that, we had to do the Dodge dually that pulls that thing. Ed covered the interior, and I did the exterior. Yeah, Duragloss 501 kicks some major tail. I've been reaching for that over M66 time and time again.

As for D166... Yeah, I'm not as knocked out as I thought I'd be. Doesn't do what DG501 does.

Thanks for the info....this was very helpful!

Tom

[TMQ]

I've owned many trailers in my years and I don't see any benefits to taping off the hundreds of rivet heads a trailer this size will have. Most trailers have rounded heads that will do no damage to your pad so long as you give a little entry-lift when approaching them. Or should you be so inclined, use a pad like the BOSS lineup with open center to work 'over' the rivet. As far as abrasives, that will depend on how dug-in those black water/dirt streaks are. You'll likely find that HD Speed will remove a good portion of it but may leave behind enough of the streak to still be visible. You may have to up to a non-AIO polish like McKees FAST polish, Griots Correcting Cream etc. and consider using Hydro Blue as your LSP. As far as pads, yeah I would say orange would be the way to go - and keep in mind that some white trailers develop a
Chalky finish over time if not maintained, so pad cleaning will be more frequent than normal.

Good luck!
ScottH

Thank you...this helps me out a lot...

Tom

[wing commander]

Tom that will also be the thinnest paint that you have worked on. I see them all the time that have been buffed clear off.

[dlc95]

And for the rivets, the pad will reach in between them. I just extended some of my lateral passes where I could. I'd run right up to the rivets. What ever I didn't get, would get done during the next section.

[TMQ]

How many pads did you need to complete the job?

Tom

[ScottH]

How many pads did you need to complete the job?

Tom

Tom I would plan on 8-10. As mentioned above, the paint is thin - and this is a more an exercise in cleaning/protecting the trailer vs. all-out correction. There will surely be some spots that will require correction but the entire trailer likely won't. You'll make a big difference in how it looks - you'll certainly brighten up the paint a lot. I also find that white trailers especially benefit from paint protection as it relates to future cleaning. Meaning you apply a sealant, wax, coating etc. and the next cleanings will be notably easier than the one you are about to attempt. In my opinion, a spray on coating like Hydro Blue would be the way to go on something so large.

ScottH

[TMQ]

Scott, Thank you...You've given me a lot to think about. Never thought to use Hydro Blue! Time saver right there!

Will do a series of testing---my gut tells me I'll probably settle on Rupes yellow/yellow or yellow pads/green polish. That should be close to what you mentioned re griots correcting cream.

Again...Thanks!

Tom