Aluminum and Fiberglass

[SENC7]

I'm new to this cleaning, detailing, and polishing world, so looking for advice - you won't offend me by dumbing it down, in fact I need that!

I have a 1965 Seven. The aluminum portion of the body was originally painted, but was scraped and stripped in about 2008 - with little to nothing done to it since. It is in ok shape, oxidized and a bit flat, looks better in pictures and from afar than it is. Well-patina'd, and will never be perfect without a reskin (it is 56 years old, after all). The fiberglass nose and wings were repainted a couple years ago and are in quite good shape.



I've spoken with a couple local detailers, but am not convinced they really know what they're doing with aluminum polishing - and when I got quotes I started thinking, if I can rebuild the suspension and rebuild the engine (it is out for that purpose currently), I should be able to figure out how to clean and polish as well. And I'll need to know how to do this if I want to keep it looking decent without spending a fortune in detailing.

Based on advice from someone who does know aluminum, I now have a cyclo polisher that I'll use to polish and maintain the alu. First pass, though, I'll use a more traditional polisher to compound it. I'm planning to use Nuvite products for both compounding and polishing. I feel reasonably comfortable about this process, but welcome any advice, warnings, and/or tips.

My questions are about sealing the aluminum - is that worth doing, or better just to plan to polish every 6 or so months? if yes to sealing, what would you recommend - and can I use the same to seal the paint? any warnings or reasons not to use the cyclo on the painted fiberglass (with different pads)?

I've buried myself in many of the articles and videos (thanks Mike!) and ordered some decent microfibers for washing (waterless, for obvious reasons) and removing residue, etc., so getting somewhat comfortable with the basics - but realize I don't know what I don't know. So, what should I know before launching into this project?

As for desired finish - I'm not looking for concourse, this car will never be that again unless I reskin it and paint it (maybe one day, but no time soon) - it is just too flawed, and I actually like the patina. Having said that, I've come to learn that while the oxidation may serve to protect the alu to some extent, the contaminants on the surface will corrode and damage it over time - and that the only real way to address those issues is to clean, compound, polish, and then keep it reasonably clean. The car will live inside and not be used, to the extent I can avoid it, in poor weather, but will be a driver and not a garage queen.

Thanks in advance for any guidance and advice,
Henry

[2black1s]

I would proceed with polishing the aluminum as you have described and then seal and maintain it with Meguiar's Cleaner Wax (OTC Maroon Bottle). The Cleaner Wax is a non abrasive formula with chemical cleaners in it and it works great on unfinished metals.

[Mike Phillips]

I'm new to this cleaning, detailing, and polishing world, so looking for advice - you won't offend me by dumbing it down, in fact I need that!

I have a 1965 Seven. The aluminum portion of the body was originally painted, but was scraped and stripped in about 2008 - with little to nothing done to it since. It is in ok shape, oxidized and a bit flat, looks better in pictures and from afar than it is. Well-patina'd, and will never be perfect without a reskin (it is 56 years old, after all). The fiberglass nose and wings were repainted a couple years ago and are in quite good shape.

Hi Henry,

Welcome to AutogeekOnline.com!

Here's the full size version of your car, very cool.

Based on advice from someone who does know aluminum, I now have a cyclo polisher that I'll use to polish and maintain the alu. First pass, though, I'll use a more traditional polisher to compound it. I'm planning to use Nuvite products for both compounding and polishing. I feel reasonably comfortable about this process, but welcome any advice, warnings, and/or tips.

You're off to a good start. The Cyclo was originally designed to polish aluminum swirl-free. Nuvite makes great products. The secret now will be to get the right pads.

My questions are about sealing the aluminum - is that worth doing, or better just to plan to polish every 6 or so months? if yes to sealing, what would you recommend - and can I use the same to seal the paint?

There's a number of products on the market formulated to seal metal surfaces. Anytime I've done this, (used products to seal polished metal surfaces), I never see the "thing" again. So I don't know how well these product hold up.

My friend Rob the Harley Detailer, (he only details Harley Davidson Motorcycles), says he's done extensive testing with a number of different products and the only product he's found to hold up is the Pinnacle Black Label Wheel Coating.

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating

I have some that I'm not using and I would be happy to send it to you and let you try it out. Maybe do a follow-up and let us know what you experience?



Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating

any warnings or reasons not to use the cyclo on the painted fiberglass (with different pads)?

[/quote]

No warnings at all. I'm the only person on Earth that I know of that has PHOTO-DOCUMENTED classes teaching people to use the Cyclo on paint. I'm sure others have done this, they just didn't photo-document it.

Here's just one such class using aa couple of old 2-door Chevys for a training vehicles. (pictures show a blue 2-door Chevy but if you look in the background the class is also buffing out a red 2-door Chevy using Cyclo polishers)

Detailing Class - RUPES Cyclo 15mm Free Spinning Dual Head Orbital Polisher




Both cars started out looking like this,







Both cars came out looking like this,






So "yeah" the Cyclo polisher is a capable tool. I stopped teaching dedicated Cyclo Polisher Classes due to too many other tools to each that only have one buffing pad for the students to focus on, not two pads. Plus there's simply less interest in this tool "generally speaking" for doing paint correction.

I've buried myself in many of the articles and videos (thanks Mike!) and ordered some decent microfibers for washing (waterless, for obvious reasons) and removing residue, etc., so getting somewhat comfortable with the basics - but realize I don't know what I don't know. So, what should I know before launching into this project?

Good question. I always admire people that ask for help before diving in head first. Just this morning I ran into a coding issue with a website and before I tried to fix it I asked for help from a code monkey. Found out I could have fixed the problem myself but it was reassuring to find out from an expert that I knew what I was doing.

As for desired finish - I'm not looking for concourse, this car will never be that again unless I reskin it and paint it (maybe one day, but no time soon) - it is just too flawed, and I actually like the patina. Having said that, I've come to learn that while the oxidation may serve to protect the alu to some extent, the contaminants on the surface will corrode and damage it over time - and that the only real way to address those issues is to clean, compound, polish, and then keep it reasonably clean. The car will live inside and not be used, to the extent I can avoid it, in poor weather, but will be a driver and not a garage queen.

Thanks in advance for any guidance and advice,

Henry

I would suggest finding a dedicated discussion forum or Facebook Group for polishing Airstream Trailers.

A quick search using Skynet and I found a dedicated forum group for polishing aluminum Airstream trailers and a little looking around I found a LOT of helpful people sharing how to polish aluminum and also how to seal or protect the aluminum. I'm not trying to chase you away but I also know that dedicated forums have really nice people that are always willing to share what they know to help others reach their goals.

Check it out,

Exterior Restoration Forum - Airstream Forums


I'm sure there are more Airstream Trailer forums and also Facebook groups if you do a little looking. I'm not a fan of Facebook groups ONLY because compared to a forum they are a horrible interface for sharing mass information. For example, you cannot "Multi-Quote" like I'm doing here to break-up your original post into separate sections to answer you in a way that is so much easier to read and take-in the information as compared to the base interface offered by FB.


As for polishing the paint on the Seven with the Cyclo?

The Cyclo is capable but also a tick on the anemic side when it comes to correction work. If that is single stage red paint, it will tend to be soft and correct easy. Even so, I would get the Cyclo Orange Pads and then if you want to keep it super simple, get a quart of the BLACKFIRE One Step, (best per-ounce deal besides the gallon), and then buff everything out with it and the orange pads. You can also use the BF One Step on all your other cars. It's a really nice one-step cleaner/sealant.


Hope that helps...

[Mike Phillips]

Also...

What engine do you have?

[SENC7]

Thanks, Mike, for the information and for the offer, I'd love to take you up on trying the Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating!

My car has its original (I'm 99% confident) 1500 Cosworth/Ford pre-crossflow engine, so top of the line for this car in 1965. I say I'm 99% confident because the block numbers and carb #s match Lotus records... but with these old cars you never really know for sure. I do know from a letter from an early owner that it was rebuilt sometime in the 80s or 90s after throwing a rod at a racetrack in Australia (one of the few times it was on a track, in a club event), and when I took it apart I found the weld in the block to confirm. I don't think the car has done more than a few thousand miles since, based on its condition when opening it up - could still read the regrinding dimensions written on the crankshaft, which would have washed away had many miles been put on the car. It was running strong when I pulled it a few months ago, but I found a weak valve spring when adjusting the tappets and then discovered some minor pitting in a cylinder wall so decided to do a full rebuild. Other than boring out the cylinders and having larger pistons to match, my intent is to keep the engine at original spec. Not much more than 100hp, but amazing what that will do in a car that barely ways 1,000 pounds! Never had more fun driving a car!

[SENC7]

Firsts efforts on the rear of the car - I figured if I didn't like the look it wouldn't be too visible with the spare in place.

In sequence are the before, after compounding with a 7.5" wool wheel and Nuvite IIF7, after polishing with the Cyclo and Nuvite IIF7, and after polishing with the Cyclos and Nuvite IIS. As mentioned previously, this car was originally painted all over and scraped by a prior owner around 2008. Deep scratches from the scraping along with other dings and imperfections from 55+ years of life won't be removable without major sanding (even if then), so I knew the result would be far from perfection - and debated a long time whether polishing would be an improvement over oxidized state or just highlight the flaws. In the end, I'm pleased with the result and will continue on - though it is a laborious and dirty job!

[Mike Phillips]

Firsts efforts on the rear of the car - I figured if I didn't like the look it wouldn't be too visible with the spare in place.

Looks great, here's first and last pic...








Nice work.


Send me your shipping address and I'll send you the coating.

mike.phillips@autogeek.net

[SENC7]

A dirty and sweaty Father's Day weekend, but satisfying nonetheless. Polishing took a full 12 hours. Still far from perfect, and the areas exposed to road rash are rougher than the rear, but fun to see it shine without the oxidization. I still need to put the sealant on it, in hopes it will preserve the finish a little longer, but needed a break from wiping so finished the day by replacing the propshaft u-joints instead. Progress.

[Mike Phillips]

Wow!

Really looking good!

[SENC7]

Completed a final polish on the aluminum, to a state that works for me. Gave the black diamond wheel sealant a try, but it seemed to add a little cloudiness even after being wiped out, so wiped it back off with some mineral spirits. I may just have to live with more frequent polishing.



Also took some time to polish and wax the fiberglass fenders - here is a shot of the front right. Started with Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish, and while there are a few deeper issues the overall condition was really good and I'm satisfied with this level. Finished with the Pinnacle Liquid Souveran carnauba. Pretty happy with my first go at these.

Hopefully will have the block back from boring soon - once I get that painted I can start getting it all back together. Really eager to get back on the road. As always, I'd welcome any critique or recommendations.