[Archived]

Peter,

If you need any suggestions, call James Stallings at Xtreme Paint and Graghics. When replacing a panel on an XL, he starts with a mill finish panel and ends in a mirror finish.

James is very good about sharing knowledge which in his case is extinsive.

[Rudy]

Peter, if you think you are going to just grab a buffer and make your swirl marks go away, and the polished finish look like new, then you also are likely to believe i can get on a horse and become an expert horseman in a few minutes.

Seriously it looks so easy, but the risk you encounter is the swirl marks will remain, the funish will be dull, and the skin will have buckles in it and will oil can with little change in temp.

Buffing requires a lot of patience. changes in the shine need to be done gradually. You need to avoid heating the skin at all costs. You need the right combination of rouge and buffing wheel. The speed of the buffer has to be controlled to minimize the risk, while being fast enough to do the job. If and when I need to get my coach buffed out the only tool I am going to pick up and use says “Visa”.

[Walter]

James’ tool is a 3.5 hp electric motor, flex shaft with buffing wheel on the end, lots of rouge, tons of experience and lots of time. I have seen this in operation and late in the day when the panel was shiny, the worker was black.

[Peter]

When I buff the coach I use variable speed dewalt sander / grinder , with buffing air way wheels and the right rouge , I go slow and touch with my hand never leave it in one spot very long side to side never trying to polish one spot out , I also use a temp gun when I am doing it, I am not trying to get it perfect just better than what it is after they tried to polish it before and left buffing marks on it , only looks funny when you walk one way , so it’s better now . I have given myself the month of Feberuary to do the bus

[Archived]

C’mon Peter, we all know Trina will be doing the work.:)

[Robert]

I know Tom but I have to take some credit for some thing LoL!!!

[Archived]

You know you are doing a good job when the bus shines like new and you have black polishing compound all over your body.

[gary]

Next time anyone is at Prevost TN, check to see if Peter and his crew from Almost Chrome are polishing wheels or sides and take a look at them when they have been doing it all day. They are black from top to bottom.

[Archived]

Well here’s a look at the one side done , the stainless has a grain to it you have to polish with the wheel going like this on the big panels and on the panel strips up and down like thisheres what it looked like before top finger not done bottom finger done

[Rick]

When I started when I ran my hand over panel it felt rough after I was done it felt smooth ,I could hear the difference , I Used three grinders one dewalt and two Milwaukee , with three different wheels and three different rouge bars, it speeded it up not having to change wheels , go slow touch it all the time to make sure it’s not getting hot , if your hand can touch it no worries if it’s hot to the touch no good, it will get warm but not hot, it is very slow I was in no hurry to get it done , For those that think you can wipe something on the skins to bring back shine think again , hard work brings it back or a Visa card . Mine had not bin polished for two years on the road so it was time , the stuff that collects on the skins is amazing even though I wash it just about every week stuff still gets on there , Hope this helps out

When the bus was inside under the lights I could really see the that it needed to be polished outside in the sun not so much , with no sun and cloudy out I could see it outside also , that’s why I took the picture with my fingers on the panel that was not done and the one that was done so you could see what it looked like before and after

Also if you hold grinder like I showed and go left to right this is a coloring motion or high shine, if you pull buffer right to left it is a cutting motion you have to remember this or you will be redoing it

[Archived]

To reinforce what Peter has said the polishing of a bus is not for impatient people. It requires a lot of time to restore a shine. The buffer has to be moving constantly to avoid heating up one spot. It is unlikely an area that needs polishing is going to be restored with just one swipe of the buffer or one type of buff or one grade of rouge. It usually needs progressively less aggressive grades of rouge. Very dull finishes may even need multiple grades of sandpaper.

The work is dirty. It may require masking to protect the paint. lots of good lighting is required. The benefits of doing it correctly is a mirror finish. The downside is if you attempt to push you risk getting hot spots on the panels and the end result is the smooth panels may end up looking like a plowed field. Light gauge stainless steel will not tolerate heat and it will buckle and warp.

[Archived]

Nice job Peter, the next owner will love it.:)

[Archived]

I’m glad you boys have got this stainless stuff figured out. Will be around shortly to let you work the magic on mine. I’ll say thank you now! Nice job and info.

[Archived]

I love the classic stainless look, but the above post are one of the reasons I prefer an “H”

[Archived]

I think no matter what the exterior skin on our coaches is time and the elements will eventually dull the finish.

I have both painted and stainless steel surfaces and have kept my coaches for extended periods so I can gauge the effort required to keep each looking good. They both age and they both eventually will need to be restored. The time it takes to get to the point where the surfaces need refinishing is dependent on a lot of factors including how well they have been protected, how they have been cleaned and how often, and how the coach has been used.

Park a coach outside all the time and the sun will take a toll on the painted surfaces. Rub the dirt off the stainless without a liberal flushing with clean water and it will dull quickly. Don’t wipe the coach dry or don’t use softened water to rinse and the finish will eventually have a lot of water spots and mineral deposits.

This applies to our cars and anything else that we drive in rain, snow, on salted roads, or park near the coast.