Acid bath and Polishing a silverside scotty

I called a professional polisher and he was super nice to spend some time on the phone with me he advised using a much more diluted solution and also with the aluminum stripped it can get hard water spots very easily. Lastly, I wasn't going bottom to top when applying. So late afternoon, I used a much more diluted solution, applied bottom to top then rinsed and then washed with soap and water, then dried it, and stood there and kept drying over and over any time a drip appeared LOL and I am now getting good results. Whew... One side and the rear is done Front and Top is today.

Thank you very much! I am very proud of it. I posted a photo below and the Scotty has never looked better. I changed the name of the thread to "reflect" a process rather than a question. The process is fairly straightforward, but as with anything though, the details are the key and can be the killer. A few things I have learned...

Acid bath: I used Duragloss which is a phosphoric acid in a gallon from the auto parts store. I cant stress enough to do this in the shade. Use a "real" sprayer with a continuous spray (they are only five bucks) don't use a windex kind of bottle, you need an even application. Apply it uniformly, then immediately wash it off, then I hit it with soap and water which may be unnecessary but I wasn't taking any chances, then I wiped it down and stood there for a while and made sure to wipe any drips running down the side immediately. Definitely dilute the heck out of this stuff, some people say 30:1. When you dilute, pour the acid into the water, don't pour the water into the acid, mixing generates alot of heat and it can flash boil. (I had no problems). It is also super important to spray from bottom to top and make sure to completely cover the area with no dry spots. This stuff can streak like crazy if you spray from top to bottom or leave a dry spot or let it get dry. Speaking of streaks, I was told that once you strip it, some of these streaks are actually hard water stains. I experienced this and thought I ruined my camper. I also learned that is not popular with some folks. The concern is that it eats at seals etc. which is not wholly unfounded. My personal thought on this is that considering the short amount time
the acid stays on the surface and the limited amount of surface contact with seals the impact is negligible but I am sure this will fall into one of those Ford vs. Chevy arguments that will continue forever because neither party is "completely" wrong and I refuse to take part in any such debate. I would also only tentatively recommend this step as it is tricky due to the streaks and water spots that do not like to polish out. Only after doing mine again very carefully was I able to get the streaks and stains out and there were still a few small portions left that finally did polish out but only with the White Diamond. In the end it was worth it but man it is scary and finicky. Make your own decision, it really made a big difference in mine although I may stick to using it for window frames in the future because of the sensitive nature of the process.

Polish:I had been using Blue Magic polish with good results but White diamond seemed to work better especially in getting out the remaining stains/streaks. I like to do it by hand, it takes longer but it is more satisfying to me although I did use a DA polisher on the front and curb side because I was tired, it worked great with no swirls using the DA. People say using flour and corn starch will help pick up the black oxidation but it did not help me and was just a mess on the one section I tried. Your results may be better because the concept make sense. Another thing is that after you polish it, do it again and it will obviously come out shinier, then go over it a third time just focusing on any small spots that need attention and near the edges and around screws, hitting the details really added up in the end. Some people say a Scotty will never be super shiny and won't stay shiny, however I can see my reflection in the shine enough to count the hairs on my head and I've had this camper for over 3 years and is only the second time I've polished it so your results may vary depending on the condition of the skin on your camper. Flat surfaces by nature are more suited to polishing

I am no expert, this is just what I did. I am happy with the results. Play nice.

Final Photos!