Aluminum Race Car Trailer Cleaning

[apexper1]

Have a painted aluminum racecar trailer that has black streaks.
The majority of the streaks are starting at the roof line. Appears to be oxidation from the aluminum roof. I have tried to clean with wax and a very low speed buffer. No good. Have also tried some of the guaranteed race car streak remover....it doesn't work. Logically it seems that the marks can be buffed out with the proper polish, cleaner compound and buffer. I have researched this forum and see a lot of posts referencing a Porter Cable buffer. Please give me your reccomendations.

In advance thank for your help.

Clark

[Ravi_1992]

Re: Aluminum Race Car Trailer Cleaning

Have you tried Hot Rims Mag and Aluminum Polish

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Aluminum Race Car Trailer Cleaning

Have you tried Hot Rims Mag and Aluminum Polish

Well, he's got a painted aluminum trailer so this wouldn't be the right product for the job.

Clark, a wax in and of itself just doesn't have the cleaning ability to get down into the pores of the paint and remove the deposits that are causing the streaking. What you need is a mild liquid abrasive product, generically referred to as a paint cleaner, and work that against the surface with some elbow grease. Something like our SwirlX or Ultimate Compound (SwirlX being the less aggressive of the two) should do the trick. Depending on the severity of the defect and how much surface is effected, this could be pretty rough going by hand. A dual action polisher like the Porter Cable or our own G110v2 definitely make the process a lot easier and faster.

When using a tool like this you have some pad options, and these also vary in aggressiveness. Typically you would use either of the two products mentioned above with a polishing pad (Meguiar's W8207 for example) for the initial defect removal and then follow up with a wax or sealant using a finishing pad (W9207). During the defect removal phase you would work on small areas at a time, roughly 2' x 2' or so, in order to give the product/pad combination a chance to effectively address the problem. It's a simple matter of working that area for a few minutes and then wiping off the product before it dries, then moving on to the next area. Just repeat the process until you've achieved the desired result. You would then switch to the finishing pad and wax and cover all the painted surfaces of the trailer in one go, let it all dry, and then come back and just wipe it off.

While that is a bit of an oversimplification of the process, it really isn't all that hard to do. Plus, a dual action polisher is a very safe tool so you don't have to worry about damaging the finish just because you made a little mistake. It's incredibly forgiving, but still highly effective.

[apexper1]

Re: Aluminum Race Car Trailer Cleaning

Michael,
Thanks for your advice.
I will detail results.

Clark