[Archived]

Richard,

What you are dealing with are microscopic sctratches from years of use of the coach. No wax or metal polish will bring the coach back to mirror finish. What you need is to have the coach re-polished. Depending on the condition of the skin you may have to start with sanding. Sanding with a fine grit, 1500 or above, less than 1500 if it is bad to start will precede buffing. Buffing it is then done with a buffing machine, and it may entail multiple grades of rouge.

Polishing the skins is something anyone with patience can learn and do, but it is not a process that can be hurried. One critical thing to avoid is heating up the skin. Excess heat will cause the skin to buckle.

Stainless steel is very forgiving and heavy scratches can be worked out using progressively finer grits of sandpaper and then following that with buffing. If you choose to do it yourself there are numerous sites of polishing suppliers on the internet. A place to start is on the bumpers because they are of such heavy gauge it is unlikely you will over heat it and cause buckling,

While I like to do my own work this is a dirty time consuming job that I would prefer to hire done. Just be sure whoever does the polishing is a real professional, not some hack that is cheaper than everybody because he has no skills. A bad polish job can buckle the skins and make your coach look like a plowed field with buckling.

[Liam]

Richard

I can walk you through the whole process, I bought a 91 XL 40 that was a casino runner in Vegas and am converting it to a MH. As Jon says, it is possible to learn to do it very easily but here are some things I “learned” from the experience. You have to be very patient in the process, the cost of the materials is only on the order for $500-600 dollars, it takes about 60-80 manhours and you ruin at least 4-5 outfits of clothes in the process. If I would have known what I now know, I would have willingly paid someone $1500 to do it and been even dollarwise but way ahead timewise. My coach looks great but….just saying.

Rob

Missouri

91 XL 40

[Rodger]

Richard,

If you are not too far from Nashville, TN contact Pieter@almostchrome.com They maintain the wheels and siding on many of the entertainers and stay most of the time at Prevost Nashville. We had them come out to the Nashville KOA in May this year and they polished wheels, mirrors, and Eagle wheel well trim at the Eagles International chapter rally. Great job!

[AL]

Thanks Everyone,

I am wanting to accomplish the task myself and doing it over time until finished. I appreciate the replies, I am not always able to immediately reply, but do appreciate the feedback and think there is some great information to be obtained from everyone.

Regards

Richard

[Archived]

Richard

PM me through the board anytime for a detailed description of “how to do” it.

Rob

Missouri

[Archived]

I started polishing my front bumper today. What a chore! I tried my Porter-Cable orbital polisher but it is way too gentle. I then used 6″ buffing wheels (sisal, denim, wool) on a 1/2 inch heavy duty drill with the appropriate rouge. Better but still way too slow.

There must be a better tool. Do you guys use high speed rotary buffers? Electric or pneumatic?

[Archived]

I am by no means an expert on this subject but after many hours of trying to polish out swirl marks and small scratches I decided I needed a better way. So, I invested in a heavy duty buffer, various types of buffing wheels and different grades of buffering rouges and compounds. Since I had no experience using these materials, I began searching the web for help and instructions. As a results, I have found http://www.caswellplating.com to be most helpful in providing instructions and recommendations for polishing various materials. BTW, they are a good source for the needed materials. In addition, Caswell has a forum site where one can seek answers to questions or pose questions for help. The forum has a number of professionals who participate and they graciously share their experience and expertise. The forum URL is: forum.caswellplating.com. A few things I have learned, perhaps the hard way, are:

• For scratch removal, sand them out first. I do the sanding by hand and usually start with 400 grit and work my way up to 2000 or more. Use good quality wet/dry sandpaper and lubricate with mineral spirits. “Lots ” of rags will be needed for wiping.
• Keep the buffing wheels clean – I wash mine with soap and water when they get really dirty.
• Don’t use the same wheels on different metals. Designate those to be used only on stainless, those for aluminum, etc..
• Consider mounting buffing wheels in tandem on the buffer spindle. This gives more surface area and speeds up the process a little.
• Load the wheels with only a small amount of rouge/compound and rake the wheels often.
• Use a lite touch and KEEP THE BUFFER MOVING constantly. Leaving the buffer in a spot for a fraction of a second will produce undesireable results. Glide the wheel into and off of the metal surface such as the flight of an airplane. Using this technique will also help in controlling heat buildup. Use your bare hand on the metal surface to check for heat and move to another area if necessary.
• Finish off with a good metal polish. I continue to search for that perfect polish!

Hope this helps.

[willem]

I’ve seen Tom’s buffing job and you can’t tell it from a professional job. His Liberty requires the use of aviation grade sunglasses. If you ever need a seminar on buffing, Tom is your guy.

[Archived]

It would sure be a benifit to all if Rob or Tom wrote an article on stainless polishing! The info would be a great addition to the PC archive.

[AL]

Fred, Believe it or not the information in this thread tells it all. Scratches require sanding. use progressively finer grits, and go to 1500 or above if you are looking for perfection.

Buffing is similar in that there is no silver bullet and you may require progressively less agressive compounds.

A person’s worst enemy is the desire to rush the process. If you allow heat to build up your coach sides will buckle and distort.

You have some great advice in the posts above.

[Jim/Chris]

Tom,

You are too generous. Seems like every time the coach is preped for washing, there are more areas to work out swirls and scratches. I am the type of guy who can park my car in a 49 acre field with no one around and still end up with dings and scratches. Same goes for the bus. Having the sun and/or lighting just right plays a big role in polishing stainless.

[Michael]

With dim indirect light in My Shop. I can wear a LED Headlight that I use for Night Fishing , And see every detail provided I look at the proper angle.

[Kevin]

When you get finished polishig, be carefull where and how you park.

I have burned/melted, ground cloths, automotive paint, automotive plastic trim and entry door floor mats.

Just sayin, JIM

[Archived]

We are going to be n Port St Lucie FL this winter does anyone know of someone there that would polish our coach?