Look at the Bling

Time to hang all of the pretty items back onto the shiny body!

  

Original but refurbished Bargman tail lights.

 New Airstream nameplates on the front and back.

Refurbished license plate light with new red lens showing to the rear.

New LED clearance lights from Vintage Trailer Supply.

A 30 amp Marinco Shore Power Plug was added to the left rear of the trailer.

A receptacle for a portable porch light was reinstalled near the door on the curbside of the trailer.

 This type of light is powered by 120 volts and only used when the trailer is 

plugged into adequate shore power.

Several styles of this type of light were used originally.

The aluminum propane tanks were polished and mounted back onto the front of the trailer.

Polishing the tanks worked best by following the grain in the metal 

which goes up and down instead of side to side.

A new tank rack and regulator holder was added to the front hitch area.

 Here is the trailer all "blinged up."

Great reflections.

 Sunglasses were helpful while taking these pictures!

The outside of the Airstream is basically complete and waterproof.

I can now turn my attention to the inside of the trailer.

Moving Forward

It may have been obvious that I was not very busy working on the Airstream.  Yes, life goes on and there are too many distractions.  

However, I have not lost my zeal to complete this monumental project .  

I have been doing some research and strategic planning to aid in the future tasks.

The goal of a finished project in mind requires one to plan a few steps in advance. 

The outside of the Airstream was stripped of every accessory for cleaning and repair.  The placards (like the one pictured above) were removed along with the lights and window drip caps.  

My aim was to repair/replace any broken or obsolete items with new parts.  All items would later be reattached on a "polished" clean surface using methods that would inhibit leaks.  As this process proceeded I must say that  "I was sidetracked!"

Let's face it -

I became obsessed with polishing the Airstream!

As I polished a little here and a little there it became apparent that the Airstream would look great once the surface was completely polished.  Anyway it would be easier to replace the items onto a clean surface.

Once I started I just could not stop!

One polish (first cut) was not enough so I had to do a second polish (second cut) to make it look better.  And of course a third polishing was necessary to satisfy the eyes.

Polishing is not for the faint of heart.  It is hard work.

The right tool for the job is necessary to achieve the desired result.
Proper safety equipment and clothing is also a must do.

I was very happy with the shine that appeared after a considerable amount of

very hard work!

I tried several methods of polishing.  

Airstream metal of this vintage does not polish evenly with equal effort.

Polishing the top was very rough going due to its constant exposure to the sun.

The end caps are stretched aluminum and were tougher to polish.

The sides were easiest to polish to a brilliant shine.

My Airstream was badly pitted, oxidized and scratched in places.

It is 59 years young and I am sure that it had never been polished since new.

The task at times was daunting but became a satisfying endeavor.

Several products and methods were used to successfully polish my Airstream.

I had the best experience using  Zephyr polishing products 

purchased from Amazon.

The shine is not perfect but I think it looks great.  

I have since added some additional polishing effort to satisfy the eye.

I did not count the hours but it took over 3 weeks work to make it shine!