Guess what?! John told me to go ahead and order the necessary items to shine the ole gal up. I sure do hope he knows what kinda time commitment this is... but I don't want to talk him out of doing it!
I think I've made no secret of the fact that most of this technical trailer stuff mystifies me. Polishing falls in that category. There are many, many opinions written about polishing an aluminum skin trailer, so in the end, I looked to Brian "Cool McCool". Have you ever looked at his blog? He does amazing work and just seems like such a great guy. Brian says he uses "a 7" grinder/ polisher with wool bonnets and Nuvite Polish."
I think I've made no secret of the fact that most of this technical trailer stuff mystifies me. Polishing falls in that category. There are many, many opinions written about polishing an aluminum skin trailer, so in the end, I looked to Brian "Cool McCool". Have you ever looked at his blog? He does amazing work and just seems like such a great guy. Brian says he uses "a 7" grinder/ polisher with wool bonnets and Nuvite Polish."
Well, that's good enough for me. Vintage Trailer supply recommends the same thing, but they sell a different brand polisher than I went with. I got the Makita pictured above, with the 3 bonnets, at Amazon. Rated 4.5 stars, over 150 reviews. List is supposedly $408, Amazon price $197.70. BUT... y'all do know to check the "used" price and see if there is a "warehouse deal", right? Warehouse deal means the item is new, but the packaging is damaged or perhaps it's been repackaged. It drops 30% or so off the price. This is how they describe it:
Condition Used- Very Good Item is in original packaging, but packaging may come damaged. Item has no cosmetic scratches or blemishes. Item has no cracks or dents. All accessories are present and undamaged.
I have bought several warehouse deal items and had excellent luck- never gotten a used item that I could tell- in fact, I've always gotten dinged up boxes at worst. And, you can always return if it's not what you expect.
So- one extra click and this baby is winging it's way to Texas for $137.12, free shipping.
I then picked up the Nuvite F7 at Vintage Trailer Supply, who describes it thus:
Grade F7 is a heavy cutting polish. It has a very hard and sharp, but very fine, abrasive that continues it’s cutting action throughout the buffing process.
It is a good choice for the first step when removing decades of oxidation or light corrosion from aluminum surfaces. It is usually best to follow F7 with C and then grade S. F7 is a popular choice for blending scratches in an otherwise lightly oxidized finish.
So, what do ya'll think? It's pretty exciting!
Condition Used- Very Good Item is in original packaging, but packaging may come damaged. Item has no cosmetic scratches or blemishes. Item has no cracks or dents. All accessories are present and undamaged.
I have bought several warehouse deal items and had excellent luck- never gotten a used item that I could tell- in fact, I've always gotten dinged up boxes at worst. And, you can always return if it's not what you expect.
So- one extra click and this baby is winging it's way to Texas for $137.12, free shipping.
I then picked up the Nuvite F7 at Vintage Trailer Supply, who describes it thus:
Grade F7 is a heavy cutting polish. It has a very hard and sharp, but very fine, abrasive that continues it’s cutting action throughout the buffing process.
It is a good choice for the first step when removing decades of oxidation or light corrosion from aluminum surfaces. It is usually best to follow F7 with C and then grade S. F7 is a popular choice for blending scratches in an otherwise lightly oxidized finish.
So, what do ya'll think? It's pretty exciting!
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