Its not a paint/truck specific question but I though this group would know if anyone.

I have a polished aluminum sided trailer. I have spots that I can not wax or clay out. I am not sure if that is a proper method for this.

My question is does anyone have any suggestions on polising this up to a mirror finish again? Below are some photos to show what it looks like. Mind you we drove through rain the other day and had been threatening since so I had not washed the trailer yet. Beyond that, the grime is about 30% of what you see in the pitcure, the remaining is the spots that I want removed.

BTW:
I found decent deals on polishers:
$169 Dewalt DW849 (free shipping) at tooltopia.com
$105 PC 7424 (Shipped) at tools-plus.com

I ordered a PC but may need a Dewalt on this to shine up.

Thanks for any help:


Trailer Siding






Trailer Close Ups

 

Is it polished metal or painted? Tough to tell with the reflections...

If painted, is it clearcoated (unlikely but, it's a fair question)?

What you're looking at there is hard water spotting or rain etching.

 

Dennis
Since the spots are rain water as opposed to chemical exposed hose water the spots should be the easiest of all water spots to take off.

I have the PC and the Sears roatary. I catch a lot of adverse comments when I say the Sears works as well as the PC. In fact, the dead man swith on the Sears is a plus over the PC. But I do like the varous speed settings on the PC for change of waxing surfaces.

For your spots I would recommend first trying Turtle Wax. TW is a low class wax, but it has a fine grit to it that may shine up your aluminum. If the spots persist then I would graduate to Turtle Wax Rubbing Compund. TWRC has a greater grit and can zip thru most anything using your choice of the PC or whatever.

Do not look to Turtle Wax as a protective wax. For protection I use Mothers Carnuba wax. No grit and remains much longer than liquid waxes.

 

you can use oven cleaner on that stuff and it takes off a outer coating which allows you to polish it up

 

It is polished. No Clearcoat. I guess it is rain etching.

I'll try it as soon as the PC comes in. Sounds like the TW i smore silimar to a pre-compound.

That may be a last resort to go chemical. I know it is strong since I used to use it to take the color off anodized aluminum to chrome it out on little RC car parts.

 

Thanks Guys!

 

i use turtle wax's polishing compound (its not wax) and a mothers powerball to take off any oxidation or stubborn water stains off of my chrome bumpers or wheels. it even took off most of the surface rust off of my polished tips

 

Try Metalwax.com and look at the pics. It is what I use on polished or clear coated wheels. The stuff works better than ordinary polishes which don't work well on clear coated wheels.

 

Try product 1 used in combination with product 2. Works wonders on ploished uncoated aluminum.
#1
#2

 

My vote is for the Mothers Power Ball, coupled with the Hot Rims Polish, which is specifically for uncoated polished aluminum. After the shine it produced on my junkyard rims, this would be a piece of cake in comparison. If you do go for the Hot Rims Polish, make sure you ware sun glasses while using.

 

LOL

THANKS AGAIN

That is alot of square footage with a power ball. You think I could use a PC?

I can see the use of a PB for the nooks and crannies but this is all flat albeit wavy but no problems with a PC. Just you think it will work just as well?

 

On second thought, you maybe right about that. If you use a PC I would use the 4" pads. You have a lot of rib action going on. Whatever you use it's going to trash the pad/ball, especially if you use the Hot Rims polish--it will turn the pads black with residue. However, the Hot Rims will get rid of the etch, I can promise you that much. And a little bit will go a very long way, which would be an added bonus in this case.

 

One method I use frequently on boats to remove water spots is a 50/50 mix of water and ammonia. This will take those water spots off with little effort. You should only spray a small area and then wipe it off within 30 seconds or so. Don't let it dry on there. Since it's most likely out in the sun, that will happen fast, so spray a little, and wipe it off. I'm sure the other methods mentioned above will work as well, but I've seen this method take off spots that look just like yours with a wipe of a towel, no need for polishing. This will leave a very clean and shiny look to the trailer.

 

I'd be really careful with the oven cleaner deal. Although it will take some nasty stuff off, there's a hidden danger here. Your trailer has lots of places to trap the solution as you rinse it off. Leave just a little of that caustic trapped someplace and watch it eat a hole in it. As much of a pain as it is, I'd recommend the polish route. If you want to extend the time between polishing, try some of the sealers (like Zoop's) that seal the surface of the aluminum somewhat - slowing down the oxidation process. Unfortunately, nothing except a protective barrier (like clear coat) is going to stop the oxidation.

 

Yep, We got a LARGE shed type RV cover for the 2 trailers we have. I wash the cars and pull the bumper pull trailer out and wax them under that, no sun.

I'll try the ammonia on a small spot to see what it does. If it keeps me from spending hours on the PC then good deal. I have tried windoex with some good elbow grease but it didn't take it off. I wonder what the concentration is of that. Maybe the 50% strength is enough to do the trick.

I'll try the Zoop as well once I get it pretty. Thanks for the sealer tip. I guess polishing wouldn't do that much good if I left it bare to do all the work immediately again.