Has anyone ever polished their barth? I am not talking about the fenders, I mean the entire thing ...like an airstream trailer. I oftin wonder how long it would take for a diligent person to do the job and also just how bad the upkeep would be.

Kris/Tina.......Take a glance at my blog site linked below to see if that's something like you have in mind.......There's better ones out there, but this is good enough for who it's for.....

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how long it would take for a diligent person to do the job

....Don't rightly know....I'm not a diligent person...But for me, 4 good 8-hr days to go all the way around once a year...Your mileage may vary.

holy smoke....is that cool

Wow Lee, that sure is beautiful! Could you give me some idea of how you did that? I have and old (1950) Spartan trailer that has an Airstream like body and potential for a shine like your Barth. I sure would like it to look as good as yours! Thanks--Charlie

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Could you give me some idea of how you did that?

First, schedule yourself a lobotomy....After a few hours into the project, you're gonna wonder WHY you ever started, and it's better if you can't analyze yourself too much.....

I prefer the Nuvite system...if it's good enough for Air Force One, I figure it's good enough for a 30 year old Barth. Unlike single or dual grade consumer-oriented products, Nuvite offers six grades of polish to match the existing surface conditions. Good info can be found at:

www.perfectpolish.com

I'd suggest ya read it over and then feel free to PM me with any questions...We've been working this system on vintage/classic aircraft restorations for many years now and can offer a few additional tips based on our experiences.

A Spartan trailer huh?.....same folks who built the Spartan Executive aircraft.... probably the zenith of the polished aluminum aircraft era - absolute works of art !!

Ya know..althoe the look of a full polished machine simply can not be beat I am reconsidering. A spartain trailer may not be a bad idea because 1- it is smaller, and 2 it can be parked conveniently in a garage to avoid water spoting. This is not the first time I have heard that this is a terribly difficult look to develop and maintain. I may take on a more traditional Barth color scheme where there would be lateral stripes of polished aluminum but the whole unit may be more than I bargained for.(Even if it is the most stunning scheme I can devise.)

Have you ever received a ticket due to the blinding reflectivity? My wife insists I will get them.

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I have heard that this is a terribly difficult look to develop and maintain

There is NO intellectual or operational logic to polishing an entire coach. If you pay yourself minimum wage for the initial work and then the upkeep, it'll be no-time before you can afford a world-class Imron full-body paint job that'll fully protect your investment and turn heads wherever you go.

Polishers polish because...well, it's what we do.
Some (like my bride) consider it a personality disorder or left-brain dysfunction. Myself, I think it's a kind of disease...Once you get it, nothing short of weekly meetings and a 12-step program will keep it under control

Consider full-body polishing only if:

1. You don't have a life,

2. You like to inhale & swallow mystery bits of
the metalurgical oxidation process,

3. You want to spend hours with your head & one
arm in the washing machine tub, cleaning black
goo off the fins just to save your marriage,

4. You get stimulated talking with other polishers about fish-eye, spider-webbing, blushing, alligatoring, etc, ad-nauseum......

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Have you ever received a ticket due to the blinding reflectivity

Naw.....There's plenty of 18-wheelers out there with trailers that make my Barth look like Rustoleum grey primer....Can't remember the last time I drove it at night, so that's a non-issue too.

"fish-eye, spider-webbing, blushing, alligatoring, etc, ad-nauseum...." Intersting that you know the painters term "blushing" you must be a coatings man?..I manufacture and apply high performance epoxies and urethanes and this is a common tearm in my world as well

Hi Lee, we just bought a new cyclo polishertoday, hoping you can help me out a little. What pads do we need to do thecuting, and what ones for the polishing? also, what did you use for the polish? ours came with 2 yellow, 2 green, twoo white pads. in most of the adds we find, they just talk about using it on paint. Any help or insight would be helpful. 1977 34ft lots to polish!!!

Hi Jeff, Congrats!....You'll learn to LUV your Cyclo - nothing else out there comes close to giving you the final finish you want.....

First off, toss out all the various colored sponge pads, or save them for painted surfaces. In the MAN'S world of bauxite-beautification, you'll be using WOOL pads exclusively

The Cyclo is gonna help get you an initial polished surface, and once you have it the Cyclo will be all you need to maintain it. But in the beginning, you're going to need an automotive circular polisher or a 1/2" geared drill w/ backing pad to remove years/decades worth of oxidation. Those tools, w/ Nuvite grade F-9, will remove old smut much faster than a Cyclo can do it - but the Cyclo will give you a swirl-free finish that cannot be attained any other way.

I recommend www.perfectpolish.com There's tons of good info there as well as a great source of product. Read over Tom's site and PM me with any questions. Here's Tom's You-Tube primer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVRzG5tp7B0

Welcome to the world of sore shoulders, contaminated washing machines, ruined clothes and jet-black nostrils!

lee: Absolutely fantastic photos

Lee, we've gone a slightly different route. We stripped the silver paint only, leaving the white and dark blue. Look at our avitar and you can see what I mean. However, we discovered something strange. I think that Barth used some kind of acid etch wash if they were going to paint the whole coach. What we found were these swirls of discoloration underneath the paint. Some of these swirls are very rough to the touch. Others feel smooth. So far, the only way I can get them out is by wet sanding with 1000 grit sand paper. That of course leaves a rather scratched surface. Have you ever run across anything like this?

That Swift looks spectacular!

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What we found were these swirls of discoloration underneath the paint. Some of these swirls are very rough to the touch. Others feel smooth.

I think you might be describing filiform corrosion..it's fairly common under painted aluminum that's allowed moisture intrusion over
the years....sometimes it looks like blotches, other times like worm trails....(It's the bane of Airstream groupies....)

It can be removed with 800-1200 grit sandpaper, followed by a firm cotton buffing wheel chucked to a 3/8 VS drill (1000rpm+/-) and Nuvite grade
F-7 compound, which will take out the sanding scratch marks.

Caution: Use Aluminum Oxide paper only - Black Silicone Carbide (wet-or-dry) paper will imbed carbide particles and create a dulling haze that can only be removed by acid washing & starting over.

Whoever labeled aluminum as maintenance-free never polished a Barth!