Bit Off More Than I Can Chew?

KJW Detailing

KJW Detailing

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I was contacted by a client that asked if I could detail her horse trailer. I'd never had the experience, but why not give it a try. The trailer was dropped off and I have it for almost two weeks, while she is away on vacation. I'll be plugging away at this, around a few other jobs I have.

Anyway, I began today, by properly testing the different materials throughout the trailer. Brushed Aluminum, Polished Aluminum, Diamond Plate, and Fiberglass. The trailer, didn't appear to be in awful condition, just a bit oxidized. I took out my tools and got to testing.

Polished Aluminum Fenders clean up well, albeit with swirls and a heavy dose of deep scratches still remaining. The Diamond Plate also cleans up really well, returning to a brilliant shine. The previous two test where done via Flex Rotary and WG MW Kit. The Fiberglass also cleaned up well, using a DA and AIO. And then we come to the Brushed Aluminum Siding.

I tested using the DA and AIO, and I barely made a dent, but it didn't produce the black on the pad I came to expect. So, I moved up step by step and before I knew it, I'm using the Flex and an Orange CCS Pad with Megs 205. The oxidation was removed, but streaks and spotting still remain. A second pass yields zero improvement. The trailer looks much better, considering the oxidation, but it's not what I expected and I'm not sure how I proceed. Am I missing something, could this be from an improper acid wash? The photos below will show you my test and then the improvements made on one side, but I feel that all I've done is remove the oxidation, yet streaks and what appear to be water marks still remain.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Kieran
 
Would something more abrasive work? M105, CGV32/34, One of AG's swirl removers - combined with a hex yellow pad? That would probably be my next step.
 
Looks pretty good from those pics. The roof looks like it still needs attention.

Not sure what your expectations are but M105/ 205 combo fixes a lot of problems. Just do a test spot first to make sure 105 isn't too aggressive.
 
Thanks rmagnus...the roof will be receiving my attention tomorrow am!
 
KJW Detailing said:
I
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Kieran
Click to expand...

Send her a text saying you have retired from detailing

j/k

If you don't have a rotary you can get a cheap one from Harbor Freight along with 2 or 3 wool pads .......... and use the Megs 105 you mentioned.

Polishing metal is nasty work
 
I spoke with the manufacturer and they told me the aluminum isn't coated. I'd beg the differ from what I'm seeing on my test panels.
 
Continued working on the trailer this am, as I focused on the top. Similar to the rest of the trailer, nothing wants to clean up. I was using an AIO and it was being absorbed quickly. So, I switched gears and applied Megs #7. I allowed it to dwell for a while, then polished the are with the AIO. The difference is night and day, but the results still aren't what I expected. Nothing on this trailer is going as expected.

If the manufacturer says the aluminum siding is uncoated, but the test show otherwise, and the combination of a Flex Rotary / Yellow CCS Pad / Megs 105 does absolutely nothing, how should I proceed?
 
KJW Detailing said:
Continued working on the trailer this am, as I focused on the top. Similar to the rest of the trailer, nothing wants to clean up. I was using an AIO and it was being absorbed quickly. So, I switched gears and applied Megs #7. I allowed it to dwell for a while, then polished the are with the AIO. The difference is night and day, but the results still aren't what I expected. Nothing on this trailer is going as expected.

If the manufacturer says the aluminum siding is uncoated, but the test show otherwise, and the combination of a Flex Rotary / Yellow CCS Pad / Megs 105 does absolutely nothing, how should I proceed?
Click to expand...

Well my daughter could use a horse trailer so tell her to buy a new one and give this one to a college student in need.

OTH if the above advise didn't work. Break out a wool cutting pad on your rotary. Get away from the AIO and use a compound like M105, then follow with AIO or polish. Not much else left. Make sure you let the Megs #7 dwell for several hours or over night. May need a couple applications. The roof gets the most abuse.

PS Don't be too hard on yourself it's looking very good. A show finish should not be the goal, but I know you know that using an AIO.
 
Above I said there was not much left after using a RB and wool cutting pad. I'm referring to wet sanding being the most aggressive step you can do. Not something I think you really want to tackle unless the money is there.
 
rmagnus said:
Above I said there was not much left after using a RB and wool cutting pad. I'm referring to wet sanding being the most aggressive step you can do. Not something I think you really want to tackle unless the money is there.
Click to expand...

No, I wont be wet sanding this project. The customer knew going in that the trailer was trashed and doesn't expect it to end up being flawless, but I certainly expected a bit better results.
 
If you would, take a few minutes and look through this thread. I know you're probably dog tired from working on that horse trailer so at least look at the before photos and then the photo of the test section I did on the side of the truck.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...son-aluminum-body-truck-oppinions-please.html

OK, now take a look at this thread. Same truck but a year later as we went back to do another round of polishing to bring the shine back after a year of oxidation.

Pay particular attention to the second photo. Click the bar above the photo to bring it up to full size and look at where I placed the blue painter's tape over the edge of the sign on the side of the truck. Take note of all the black residue on the aluminum panel that has been polished at the point of my taking that photo.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/43286-grumman-olson-aluminum-truck-revisited.html

This truck was unfinished aluminum. Something just doesn't jibe here with the panels on your horse trailer job. Now granted, I was using Collinite #850 Metal Wax on the second round of polishing on this truck, and Poorboy's World Pro Polish the first time I did the initial job a year prior. Both of these products are essentially a metal polish, with the Collinite having a bit of protection added into the mix.

I tried the Meg's twins on this job initially and neither produced even a half decent result concerning a semi mirrored finish. I also found that a rotary was totally the wrong tool for the job, and I tried a battery of different foam and wool pads with it.

In the end, a dedicated metal polish made a world of difference on producing the finish I ended up with on this project. I settled on a Flex 3401 with 6.5" LC Purple Foamed Wool pads to get the results. I'll have to say though, the finish was slightly scoured because of the wool pad and the pressure I applied to the 3401 to get the results but it looked way better than what the rotary did with any pad and polish combo.

I think I destroyed 8 or so PFW pads to get that job done the first time around, and 3 or 4 on the second visit to bring back the shine a year later.

Not sure if you have the 3401, the wool pads or a metal polish on hand or not, but I'd suggest trying some metal polish before getting too far into this deal. I don't recall how much black I was getting with the 105/205 when I tested with them but I do clearly remember them doing very little if anything to produce the look I ended up with by using the metal polish.

Just a few thoughts to try to help you find a good solution.

Hope it helps. TD
 
@Tuscarora Dave

Thanks for your links...I actually read through these prior to receiving the trailer. I took another look, and a closer look at the photos and two things stick out to me.

First, the second link, second photo that you asked me to look at. The upper left corner looks very much like a test section I did via the Flex, BlackFire Metal Wool Polishing Pad, and WG MetalWerks Aluminum Compound. The heavy oxidation is removed, but its still cloudy and looks spotty at best and a second pass does nothing to improve upon this. The other thing that bothers me, is the lack of black residue produced when polishing uncoated metal. I'm going to tape off a section of unworked siding and will polish via the flex and metal polishing setup. Afterwards, I'll post a photo of the test spot and the polishing pad.
 
I got to work early this morning. I wanted to do another round of test, to better show what I'm dealing with here.

I'll describe the photos below.
1. Taped out my test areas / before photo
2. Post Polishing
Left - GG6", Surburf Pad, Megs 105
Center Top - Flex Rotary, Surburf Pad, Megs 105
Center Bottom - Flex Rotary, Surburf Pad, WGMW Aluminum Compound
Right - Flex Rotary, BF Level 1 Wool Metal Polish Pad, WGMW Aluminum Compound

You also have closeups of each section. None look that great, but I guess the best of the bunch would be the center top section.

I also took a photo of all of the pads, to show that this trailer is coated.

After seeing all of this, how should I proceed? Should I consider giving the trailer a scrub with an acid brightener or something similar?

Thanks, Kieran
 
KJW Detailing said:
I also took a photo of all of the pads, to show that this trailer is coated.
Click to expand...

My guess is that it's not coated but anodized. I have some experience with anodizing and know just enough about it to be dangerous, big picture is... there's nothing you can do. The anodizing is not a coating on the metal it's an etching of sorts "in" the surface of the metal. It has a few benefits like hardness and corrosion resistance but you can't polish it.


See this thread...

Sanding aluminum trim: Wet or Dry?


Try washing the areas you polished with a detergent dish soap and see if you can get them to look faded like they were before you polished these sections.



KJW Detailing said:
After seeing all of this, how should I proceed? Should I consider giving the trailer a scrub with an acid brightener or something similar?

Thanks, Kieran
Click to expand...

Bow out gracefully from this job. Do your best to read the link above, maybe print it out for the owner, maybe contact the manufacturer again and share the link to this thread, tell them your pad is NOT turning black, a very accurate indicator that it's NOT bare aluminum.

If these panels are in fact anodized, there's really nothing practical anyone can do that isn't going to take a lot of time and cost a lot of money. The last thing I would do is try to use any type of acid or strong cleaner on them.

:)
 
Kieran ,

Read post #24 of this thread...

DON'T WASH CAR !!!!!!!!!!!


TurboToys posted these pictures showing what anodized aluminum looks like when it's introduced to an acid wheel cleaner. Not pretty and the only way to fix it is to de-anodize the aluminum, back to "costly" and "time consuming".


TurboToys_Anodized_Wheel_Horror_Story_02.jpg


TurboToys_Anodized_Wheel_Horror_Story_03.jpg


Be sure to read the text under the last picture in post #24 in the link above.



:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Kieran ,

Read post #24 of this thread...

DON'T WASH CAR !!!!!!!!!!!


TurboToys posted these pictures showing what anodized aluminum looks like when it's introduced to an acid wheel cleaner. Not pretty and the only way to fix it is to de-anodize the aluminum, back to "costly" and "time consuming".


TurboToys_Anodized_Wheel_Horror_Story_02.jpg


TurboToys_Anodized_Wheel_Horror_Story_03.jpg


Be sure to read the text under the last picture in post #24 in the link above.



:)
Click to expand...

:eek: OMG!!! I hadn't seen post # 24 before... That's crazy!!! That also speaks really loud volume as to why one should practice the least aggressive methods first.
 
tuscarora dave said:
:eek: OMG!!! I hadn't seen post # 24 before... That's crazy!!! That also speaks really loud volume as to why one should practice the least aggressive methods first.
Click to expand...


I'm so glad TurboToys added these pictures, it's truly an example of when a picture tells a thousand words.


I have some experience with anodized aluminum and while I appreciate the benefits and features for some applications, I cannot think of a SINGLE good application for this type of aluminum treatment for anything in the automotive or marine world.

Zero.


:dunno:
 
All this is very disheartening. I did heavy research, contacted the manufacturer, and then made a large purchase to properly perform this entire job. I'm still able to fix the diamond plate and the uncoated metal fender wells, but the largest portion of the trailer is untreatable. wow...

I greatly appreciate your response Mike.
 
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