Polishing an Aluminum grill and body trim

[77Chieftain]

Sent: 9/23/2004 10:40 PM

Anybody know a good way to clean the original aluminum grilles up and make them nice and shiny? 

[Oz]

Sent: 9/24/2004 12:04 AM

I'm doing this right now, including the corner body edging.  I hope someone has an easier way than mine because it is very time consuming, tedious, and takes a lot of elbow grease, if your grill is as yucky as mine was.  Many people simply paint over the edging to match the body but, now that I've made some progress... take a look at a couple of the older photo albums... there's two nearly identical rigs with highly polished aluminum... nothing looks better!

On mine, the grill and trim obviously haven't been polished in the 30 years the rig has been in service.  I don't know if it's oxidation or what but, all the aluminum has a dull gray coating on it.

I started with a palm sander using 80 grit aluminum oxide paper to get down to the bare aluminum.

Now the tedious stuff:  Next, hand sand with wet/dry 400 grit, then 800 grit, then 1,000 grit.  Hand buff with polishing compound, then use Mother's or Eagle One chrome polish (or whatever you prefer. 

I wish it only took as long to do it as it took to type the process!  I've done the upper grill and one side corner edging and have spent over 12 hours on it so far but, man it looks great!  The strip which goes from the top, center of the grill to the windshield doesn't look like aluminum... it looks like chrome.

The more time you spend, the better it will look.  When all is done, I'll likely go back and hit the imperfections again... when I have absolutely nothing else in the world to do.

After that though, if you use the chrome polish on a regular basis, it'll always look good and you won't have to go through this elaborate job again.

Please, if anyone knows a better way... stop me before I go insane! - Sob

[denisondc]

Sent: 9/24/2004 6:41 AM

Your procedure is just right, but you are supposed to trick someone elso into doing it - someone not as savvy as you are.
But I can cheer you up! It would be much worse if you had a vintage airstream trailer you wanted to polish, or a vintage aluminum airplane!

[Sea Hag]

Sent: 9/24/2004 9:02 AM

It won't have the same results as SOB 's  process , but the best thing I,ve found for cleanning aluminum is "Flitz "polish . - Sea Hag 

[Jlogue88]

Sent: 9/24/2004 11:33 PM

Guess how I did it,
I painted it with a metalic aulminum shade of silver

[Oz]

Sent: 9/25/2004 9:05 AM

I had considered doing this as well, even using the chrome paint but, you can't use any kind of wax on it or it will turn a dark gray.  Do you know of any cleaner/polish that won't do this?

- Sob

[Sea Hag]

Sent: 9/25/2004 9:47 AM

SOB - Yes , Monday morning Quarter Backs , " I would have scored more points and not thrown those interceptions " Bret Farve can add that one to his comercial after getting manhandled by  .......  'Da Bears ' last sunday
   That aluminum looks better than original . The Flitz wouldn't do that good but it will take off the gray oxidation .  I think you did it the only way possible for those results . Now I got even more work to do just to keep up . SOB just won't give me a break !  I just cleaned my grill when I had it out , and now I'll have to do it again . I Had the fealing I was being Watched  .

73RVdude - Nice custom paint job . you certainly won't have any problem finding it in a parking lot crowded with classic winnies . Looks great - Sea Hag 

[Oz]

Sent: 9/25/2004 10:21 AM

I always enjoy thinking up new ways to keep you busy!  The Flitz would be great for removing the oxidation, which would save me the heavy sanding but, when I run the sander, I notice that there is also a lot of pitting and 30 years of scratches under the oxidation so, polishing would in fact bring out the shine but, the pitting and scratches are also very noticeable.... oh well, it's worth the effort. - Sob

And remember, "Eyes everywhere. Watching... always watching..."

[Oz]

Sent: 9/28/2004 12:21 PM

I added using 220 wet/dry after the 80 aluminum oxide because the 400 didn't remove all of the scratches of the 80 grit and you don't know it until you've used the rubbing compound.  - Sob

[Oz]

Sent: 9/30/2004 7:53 PM

Yup, adding-in the 220 is the ticket.  Everything nice and smooth and shiny; very little signs of missed scratching.  I'm close to having the front end done and it really looks good.  If you've got time on your hands and hands that can take it, the results are well worth it. - Sob

[salplmb]

Sent: 10/4/2004 10:47 AM

hey sob,
i tried to clean up my grill before with a bunch of cleaners and polishes before but never got a really satisfactory shine. i was wondering if there was a finish applied to the aluminum? i tried your trick with the sandpaper and polish on my ladder rack rail and now i have a spot of mirror finish that makes everthing else look like #@!$%%. now im trying to figure out how im going to get everthing as shiny. if there was a finish or not, how do i protect all this hard work from going back to the way it was before. is there a finish that you can put on that will help keep the shine? did you actually get in between all the grill louvers on your grill? how about some pictures of the project as you are going? looks really good and would love to see the finished product.
thanks for any help and suggestions.
sal

[Oz]

Sent: 10/4/2004 8:53 PM

I was wondering if the aluminum had a coating myslef.  If so, at the time, it would have been anodized which will turn that nasty gray over a long period of time if not kept up with... as will any finish.  Now, there is hardcoating, teflon, chromium, and non-chrome but, these require removal and having it done for exhorbitant amounts of the green stuff.

You can spray clear coatin the aluminum with various types but, the finish will only last a realtively short time, especially on the leading edges which take heavy wind wear, and then... they'll just look like dookie and you'll have to start all over again.

If you do go to all the trouble to sand and polish the aluminum, simple, regular use of your favorite chrome polish... like Mother's, Eagle One, Flitz, or other brand, will keep it looking great!

If I took pictures, all you'd see is my withering hand sanding... sanding.... sanding.... sanding... sanding... and polishing; In exactly that order.  I only polished the facing of the grill.  I blacked-out the round uprights which run through them .  This  gives it a more dramatic effect and, when it gets colder out, I'm going to black-out the back parts of the louvres.  I used a satin black by Rustoleum.  It's much nicer than just flat black but doesn't create a bright shine that would draw away from the polished grill.  Geeze!  Am I starting an art class here?

Oh, I almost forgot!  The other really big thing is to replace the original screws with stainless steel ones!  If you've got rusted, zinc replacement ones like mine were,... what a b#!ch!  I had to drill through a lot of them because the heads broke-off the rusted stems and the rust also stained the aluminum (which was easy to get off with the sanding/polishing process).

WARNING:  If you start this... there will be many, many,... many times you wished you didn't.  This isn't for the feint of heart or weak of wrist!  If you think you can't make it...  get  some flat gray spray paint and cover that shiny spot NOW!  If you do decide to go through with it, your chest will puff-out so full of pride at the gleaming brightness it gives your rig, you won't be able to stop staring at it... from 10' away, from 20' away, from the left, from across the street, in the rear view mirror of your car.... - Sob

[Chocoholic]

Sent: 10/9/2004 2:07 PM

well haveing 2 Peterbilt trucks with all the aluminum wheels , tanks, nose etc it was a chore but i used the wheel polishers at truckstops that use the buffers etc but a tip they gave me was to use
a industrial silicon spray to apply just after the polishing to seal the aluminum. dont use the tire type silicon its different, the can spray was used by plants on machinery that belts etc glide on metal  surfaces..it lasts a little while but not forever. hope this helps

choc

[denisondc]

Sent: 10/9/2004 7:51 PM

You have convinced me! I wont have to wish I had never started polishing - I wont start!! Sob; you have saved me -- from myself. 

[The_Handier_Man1]

I can't belive i'm doing this, but after seeing Jeff's '73 Indian, anyone would be motivated.  The front bumper has been blasted and repainted so that was the start.  Anyway I started the aluminum grill overhaul.  Who would have guessed there are so many screws in just the front end.  I lost track after I bought 80 of them.  New screws and cleaning really makes a difference, but Jeff told me his secret for polishing the aluminum "SOS pads".  Yea just dry pads and lots of elbow grease.  It really works.  I need to check with Costco for the super family size box now,  Les

[Oz]

Since the grill faces are flat, if you have a square or rectangular pad palm sander, you can save yourself a whole lot of time and effort if you use it.  With this method, you can use the S.O.S pads as well.

[The_Handier_Man1]

I'm not sure I understand this method.  You think you could stop by for a few hours and show me how???

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Handi!!!  Too funny!  I think you have to take a more Tom Sawyer approach...tell the neighborhood kids how hard it is and how much of a privilege it would be to do it right...lmao!

Lots of aluminum to polish on Excalibur, but thankfully not as much as Mark and Tambra's.  Just the grill on ours, and the extruded aluminum lower trim along the bottom of the rig.  The corner trim and moldings are all factory painted, and the floor level aluminum trim that sandwiches a vinyl trim stripe are going to be eliminated when we put on the coach armor.

Kev

[Oz]

Sure thing, Les.  I'll be right there.  Hold your breath.

Just place the S.O.S. pad under the palm sander and let it do the work for you.

I used this method on the rounded corner moldings as well, using descending grades of emery paper on the palm sander and a spray bottle of water... saved tons of elbow pain and, at your age... 

[tiinytina]

Was just reading this post. 2 things. You can buy bulk steel wool (Pat suggests 00 or 000 grade it says on the package "for aluminum") at the hardware store, they come in bulk bags 12+. Second trick I learned from boating pals here in Deale. Once the aluminum is shiny apply WD40. pat says you should laquer it for a more permanent shine. laquer has to be boiled in vinegar to remove!

Tina

[DanielTBolger]

Use Never Dull cleaner ,works great!

[Clyde9]

Yes, that is what I use, and it is GREAT!! It is available just about everywhere as indicated at the link below!

http://www.nevrdull.com/Where.htm

[JDxeper]

Came accross some aluminum wheels for my toad, a 1990 Geo Tracker, they are scratched and black in places, took the steel wool, 0000, and remove the black, the wheels look like they have a thin reflectie coating on the spokes.  The black spots( corrosin) don't polish the same as the the shiny surface.  Anyone have any insight to what I can do with them?

[LJ-TJ]

   
• http://www.topoftheline.com/rolmetpolkit.html
• This is what we use to polish the aluminum airplanes you see that are all shinny and pretty.

[Oz]

There's really nothing that will work on that black, corroded stuff which gets on the spokes to get it back to silver that I know of.  I had my share of that with old motorcycle wheels.  They do, however make a product which will stop the corrosion and when the compound interacts with the corrosion, the color changes from black to a dull silver so, it does blend in better.  It's been a long time since I used it and I don't even remember what it's called now.