streaks on black trailer

[Booggerbe]

Ok forum give me some advice. I bought a used halmark low rider enclsed traile. it has black aluminum sides with the polised aluminum around the bottom. Problem mis they had put a whitle harley sticker on the front and the white lettering has faded down onto the black aluminum. I have tried everything but sanding the white streaks off lol. Has anyone got any ideas what would be the best way to get the streaks off. I can get the decaoff i am sure but still need to get the white streaks off. any help would be great . Thanks Booggerbe

[Mr Cujo]

Any top shelf NON-Caustic de-greaser will do fine.
A butyl based product is what you are looking for. It will feel slimy and smell benign.
In consumer grade this will be Greased Lightning, Simple Green, Purple Power, or similar product. In this consumer grade, my personal favorite would be Greased Lightning or Simple Green.
Also camper supply stores will have these types of products in stock, but will charge more for them as they are in boutique brand bottles.

You need to start off with a weak mix and progressively get stronger as you need to. Putting this stuff on at full strength or in the hot sun WILL cause damage to the finish on the trailer panels. Quite frankly, it'll take the paint right off to bare metal if you use it too strong or let it stay too long. Not trying to dissuade you from doing it, just letting you know..
DO NOT let it dry on the panels.
Minimize the amount you get on the diamond plate, or be prepared to polish out the drip marks. Alternatively you can wash the entire diamond plate and even out the results.
Use wet-on-wet applications of the soap until you achieve the result you desire. That is, don't wash, then rinse, then wash again... keep applying soap ...then rinse when you are done.
Patience and dwell time are the keys to success in this cleaning.
Be prepared to do a full wax when you are done. These products will remove all that.

You could also use whitewall tire cleaner as a last resort, but this type of product (most all are sodium hydroxide based) is quite caustic and unless you are very careful, will cause irreparable harm to the finish on the trailer.

Ok...to qualify all this info...my wife and I, among other contracting ventures, have owned a cleaning company for many years and specialize in stuff like this...

Good luck!



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