Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Anna gets a make over

Most of you who follow this blog know all about my trials and tribulations with polishing Anna. Many hours were spent breaking through some very major oxide. Anna had been polished by a previous owner in the early 1980's using steel wool and mineral oil. Though when they did this it must had looked great, it was a slow death to the aluminum. I polished till I could not take it anymore and called it "good enough." For the past two years, I lived with it. Every time I walked past her, a voice in head said"hey, you proud of those swirls? You like that new crop of oxide growing?" I was reaching my tipping point, but a good friend put a card in my hand and said "Frank, you need to call this guy. He does polishing at a very reasonable price."


I called my new best friend Charles Ollis at 1st Impressions. Charles and his crew polish anything stainless or aluminum. They have been doing dump trucks, tanker trucks, and show trucks for a number of years. Someone local had them do an Airstream and their card was passed through a few hands till it got to me. THANK GOD IT DID!!!! I jumped right on getting Anna done.


1st Impressions? I am very impressed. She was gleaming at me. I could tell right away she was so happy for this tremendous make over. They did the tanks, the flag pole holder, and even the TV antenna.


Now that the surface oxide is gone and she is all shiny, I can once again see how hard she has been rode over the years. You cannot see it, but the awning rail had a big steel bar mounted to it. The rust from the bar ate into the skin and created tears all down this side. From 5 feet they appear as streaks or tears down the side. From a foot it is obvious that they are very deep pits. Charles and his crew did an excellent job on these streaks. They are not gone, but they sure look better.


I really need to wire brush that bumper and paint it. Nice padunka dunk Anna....


Even the heat diffuser and furnace vent was done. This aluminum is not Alclad, but the boys made it gleam none the less.


She just gleams in the sunlight. Great job guys, thank you so much!!!! Now I bet many of you will be asking how can I get my trailer done. I will keep no secrets. 1st Impressions Polishing and Detailing is located in Hanover PA. You can schedule a polishing through Charles Ollis at 443-277-0509 or Terri Ollis at 717-817-0796. This is a small family company that strives to do a great job for you. If you do call them, please let them know Frank sent you. I don't get a kick back or anything, I just want them to know I sent you. Bet you want to know what this cost me. You are probably too proud to ask, but as I said, no secrets. Polishing with a sealer is $60/ foot. If you need to have your rig stripped, $75/ foot to strip, polish, and seal. They also have an annual maintenance contract if you desire. I am not sure of the price for that. Those prices are less than half what most companies charge to do this work. A great value for the money.



I bet Anna is taunting the 54 parked next to her. Damn, does she look nice. Remember, tell them Frank sent you.

10 comments:

nmbosa said...

Wow Frank, that looks awesome. Well worth the cost.

Tom and Juliet said...

Wow Frank - even though I've got a thing for the painted trailers, Anna looks damn fine.

Brad Norgaard said...

OMG - Anna is even more beautiful than ever. Those guys sure make a lasting impression. I need to find a place like that out here in the southwest.

Anonymous said...

Frank, looks great, I have a feeling I will be making that trip in the not to distant future.

Dennie

crowldawg said...

Un freakin believable

TomW said...

Very nice! The price is half of what I was expecting. Wish they were closer to AL.

Tom

Anonymous said...

Frank I had to turn down the brigthness on my I-pad. Your A/S photos where blinding me! I'm glad my Caraval is now in Chuck's shop. I think there is going to be a line of Airstream waiting to get done.

Ace TAC PA-1

Skip said...

Anna Looks beautiful!! Will you reapply any stickers? Her name, Family names, TAC#, etc.?

It'd be a long drive for me, but great idea looking for Tanker polishers. I found one close to me and I will ask them for a price for future reference.

MaryD said...

Looks great! Quite by chance, I tracked down another local source for polishing--a company that polishes planes out in Hagerstown. Your results are just too cool for school!

Carl said...

Frank, Anna looks GREAT. I already passed on the information about First impressions to Emerson77 who actually lives in Hanover. He's looking to get his polished. Your blog entry could not have been more timely.