PinnacleAutoCT
New member
- Sep 28, 2014
- 110
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Hey guys, I haven’t posted in a while due to the nice weather in CT, I figured this set of pictures might be worth sharing since it’s a little out of the ordinary. Like the title says, this trailer was manufactured in 1999 by Holiday Rambler, it has an aluminum frame IIRC (hence the Aluma-Lite name), and was finished with a white gel coat, which was in poor shape to say the least. The owner had been storing this trailer in Florida, splitting his time between the two states, resulting in the trailer accumulating a solid amount of mold and mildew buildup while no one was there to maintain it. His standard procedure for removing the buildup had been to spray it with bleach, scrub it with a large, long-handled brush and then pressure wash the bleach/grime mixture away. Needless to say, the finish was heavily scratched, oxidized and dulled by this form of cleaning. According to the owner, this trailer had never been polished in its entire life because he never trusted anyone to do it. After detailing the interior of his Suburban, and correcting the paint on his 65 Malibu SS, he brought this beast out and told me to go to town on the paint. The moldings would be replaced and the roof painted, so there was no need to clean those areas. The work was completed over the course of a week (the owner was in no rush), since I had a busy schedule with my normal clients during the day, and would typically start work on this project late in the afternoon or early in the evening.
Hopefully the pictures will demonstrate the poor starting condition of this trailer. In these first two pics you can see a couple bright and reflective spots where I tried a couple different products to remove the oxidation:
DSC04778 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04779 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04780 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04781 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04783 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04785 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04787 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04789 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04791 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
Here you can see the heavy staining of the window moldings which necessitated their replacement (full strength OPC wouldn't touch the staining):
Black streaks were apparent in many locations:
DSC04798 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04794 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04795 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
The odd staining of the vinyl graphics seemed to be a result of the bleach washes:
DSC04804 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04797 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
This area of the trailer has probably been shown before in other pics, but this one does a great job of capturing how dull, oxidized and scratched the paint was. The reflection and color was really terrible compared to how it would be upon completion:
DSC04799 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04886 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04882 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04881 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04887 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04889 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
The process:
-wash (didn’t remove much dirt or staining)
-compound twice with the Rupes and the rotary using Meguiar’s #49 on LC light cutting pads, then LC black finishing pads
-polish with the Rupes and HD Speed
-hand apply Meguiar’s #45 to add extra oils to the gel coat and hopefully preserve the finish for longer
-apply Sonax PNS via microfiber towels
After:
DSC04856 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04858 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04861 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04862 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
The wide array of pads, products and equipment at use during this project:
DSC04877 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04912 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04971 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04973 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04976 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04985 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04987 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04991 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC05006 by Mike Donoghue, on Flick
As always, thanks for looking, and feel free to comment or ask questions!
Hopefully the pictures will demonstrate the poor starting condition of this trailer. In these first two pics you can see a couple bright and reflective spots where I tried a couple different products to remove the oxidation:
DSC04778 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04779 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04780 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04781 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04783 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04785 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04787 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04789 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04791 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrHere you can see the heavy staining of the window moldings which necessitated their replacement (full strength OPC wouldn't touch the staining):
Black streaks were apparent in many locations:
DSC04798 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04794 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04795 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrThe odd staining of the vinyl graphics seemed to be a result of the bleach washes:
DSC04804 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04797 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrThis area of the trailer has probably been shown before in other pics, but this one does a great job of capturing how dull, oxidized and scratched the paint was. The reflection and color was really terrible compared to how it would be upon completion:
DSC04799 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC04886 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04882 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04881 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04887 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04889 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrThe process:
-wash (didn’t remove much dirt or staining)
-compound twice with the Rupes and the rotary using Meguiar’s #49 on LC light cutting pads, then LC black finishing pads
-polish with the Rupes and HD Speed
-hand apply Meguiar’s #45 to add extra oils to the gel coat and hopefully preserve the finish for longer
-apply Sonax PNS via microfiber towels
After:
DSC04856 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04858 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04861 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04862 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrThe wide array of pads, products and equipment at use during this project:
DSC04877 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04912 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04971 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04973 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04976 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04985 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04987 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC04991 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickrDSC05006 by Mike Donoghue, on FlickAs always, thanks for looking, and feel free to comment or ask questions!
