your thoughts on polishing the aluminum

[John Z]

How do you get the Sheila Shine to last any length of time? Easy enough to use, but only lasts several days for me.

[sparkplug188]

  I saturate a small sponge with Sheila Shine and apply liberally.  It lasts a couple weeks to a month depending on the weather.

[zimmysurprise]

Bryan- I added this to your other post but it fits here too. You won't believe what I use to wipe down the bus after my Detroit overspray. Of course the soap and water work great for a full wash, but for quick wipes I use (embarrassed to say) Avon Skin so Soft. No- really. I accidentally splashed some paint on the anodized aluminum and was using paint thinner to get it off. My mom was over and said I should try the bath oil, it takes off paint with ease. When she dropped off a bottle to try, it worked just as she said. Then I noticed what it did to the "unshineable" aluminum. Days later it still was beautiful. Now when I whip into a campsite, I pull out the spray bottle and a rag. Cleans the 40w off the aluminum and paint, and shines the aluminum like it's in a car show. (Of course it smells a little perfumy) but the shine is worth it. When I get home, hose it down and scrub, usually no need to even soap it.

please let me know if I need to turn in my man card.

[Jim Eh.]

PO painted my aluminum.  I wish I had something to polish sometimes.

You want my address?

[John Z]

Man card?   Where do we pick one of those up?

[Dreamscape]

I used Wipe New on our anodized aluminum to see what would happen. Sonnie Gray told me that he used it on his Eagle and was pleased with the result.

I went to WalMart and picked one bottle kit to try. I first used it on all of the plastic light lenses and was pleased with how they looked, much brighter and newer looking. It left a slick finish with no residue once it dried.

I then applied it to an area that had some ghost lettering, they disappeared. I ended up buying one more kit, total cost for both about 40 bucks. I have about 1/3 of one bottle left after doing the complete coach.

I applied this in August. With some extreme sun and a little rain, it still looks the same as when I applied it. The finish is still slick, water beads right up, dust does not stick to it.

This not polish it, but leaves a protective finish. It brightened it up and made it look very close to new. This is on a 46 year old bus, so something is better than nothing. I've tried brake fluid, WD-40, PB Blaster, looks OK for a while but dust and dirt attract to it.

I'm very pleased with the result.

[Oonrahnjay]

...  This not polish it, but leaves a protective finish. It brightened it up and made it look very close to new. This is on a 46 year old bus, so something is better than nothing. I've tried brake fluid, WD-40, PB Blaster, looks OK for a while but dust and dirt attract to it.

I'm very pleased with the result. 

     Perhaps similarly, I had fought "cloudy headlights" on my VW (03 Jetta TDI) for years - no amount of cleaning or polishing would last more than a few days.  Then I bought a $6.95 kit at duh Waw*Mott -- it has a bit of polish to clean the lenses but basically it's a protective finish.  When I painted it on, it completely covered the old scratches and hazing instantly and dried so that the lenses look like new (instructions said "Don't get wet for 12 hours" - glad I had a garage).
     Six months later, perfect, still.
     I don't know if it's the same kind of product (and although a lot of my body structure on the bus is aluminum, it's painted so I don't have aluminum to polish) but this headlight stuff is like magic.  If what you used is like that, it's likely to be good and last a long time.

[sdc53]

I'm curious if my aluminum sides that were painted by PO can be successfully stripped  and polished.

[Bryan]

I'm going to ask a silly question... how do I know if I have raw aluminum, polished aluminum, or anodized aluminum?

[Utahclaimjumper]

 Your 4107 is anodized.>>>Dan  (And extremely hard to remove)