Greenstream...

 Luckily the wettest April on record has meant no excuse not to get on with those jobs that always get put off 

Polishing

Polishing

Using Nuvite NuShine II from those helpful people at Frasers Aerospace

Compounding with F9 & then F7 and the shine starts to come through

 And as the re-Zolatoning is imminent time to get those endcaps as shiny as possible

F9 & F7 and they're starting to look the part. Unfortunately the original primer has etched a few deep holes which will never polish out but hey, they're 59yr old beauty marks !

I'd love a Cyclo but at £350, they're too pricey

so this is the plastic me-too Cyclo; the, Swedish-made Biltema

 available through Frasers Aerospace for around £90. It probably won't last anything like as long as the Cyclo or be good to polish 1000 trailers, but it works really well & I've only got one to polish

F7 with the Biltema takes out all the compounding swirls & then S brings out that deep shine

Unfortunately its a messy business

& gives a whole new meaning to a 'dirty weekend' !

Sandy doing more excellent work riveting on the last drip caps

All the interior panels riveted in and everything masked

sanded down & ready to spray

 Two boxes of Zolatone - ordered through their UK distributor - Spray Finishes of Harlow

Not sure if it had to queue for long but it clearly
survived UK immigration !

Its pricey stuff but it is the original used by Airstream and there's nothing else on the market quite like it

I went for C1166 - its a slightly lighter, greener version of the original - & nice to see they supply it with a sample test sheet.

Being a US product its spray technique is a little different to UK ones & uses different equipment. I'm sure its not impossible to do it yourself but without a pressure pot & experience, it could be an expensive mistake. So I decided to get Spray Finishes of Harlow (now called Absolute Interiors) to do the job

Extra masking

Interior cupboards hung-up

 Primer on the bare aluminium and an undercoat of white emulsion

 Looking better already

A clever 'Pressure Pot' into which a whole opened can goes (in its original can, not tipped out) and the whole thing is pressurised

Paul spraying the first coat

Beginning to look the part again

Masking to stop any drifting spray

Although its now entirely water-based breathing masks are essential

2nd coat, still wet

Sandy inspecting the finish

Left to dry overnight & then the last coat

 Cupboards looking superb

Unmasking the critical areas while its still slightly wet

and she looks stunning !

 Before

After

 

 

 

Subtle & hard-wearing.

It takes 7 days to cure fully

Close-up you can see the mix of colours

 Now to re-fit the interior

... and go camping !