Aluminum trim

[f100matt]

How should i go about cleaning it up?? i have never had much success.

[Greg D]

http://www.fordtruk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3515

[1966 Ford]

I was told at one point in time to use oven cleaner, not sure about htat have not tried it as of yet.

[shawns fords]

ok well I ground the coating off my headlamp trim and then sandede it down, just like doing body work, only in a finer scale of papers. I hammered out my small dings and took them out by sanding, if you get a dent small enough on a piece of aluminum ( not pot metals, im saying it this way because I had hell with pot metals in the past) or steel, you can sand the small inperfections out. both my headlamp trim bezels had dings and scratches in them, so I took the anodized coatings off with 220 grit, DA sander and a dremel tool with wire wheels. thenI worked my way up the ladder 220 wetsand,320 wetsand, all wet sanding up to 800 grit, then went to several different types of metal polish ( I like eagle ones Never dull best) and changed then randomly un til I got a nice smooth sheen going on the surface. keep working at it until you get the shine you want, I prefer more of a satin sheen than a gloss (which os more like chrome)
if you want to you can have them anodized again, I am thinking about spraying mine with a clear coat instead. as long as the metal is protected it shouldnt be any trouble and the quality if paint should determine the clarity, a lower quality (oil based) would yellow over time, clarity on coatings can be varied with numers like they do with diamionds 1-10 with 1 being clearest and 10 being not so clear ( I bet a paint dealer wont know wtf im talking about either lmfao)

[effienut2]

I have restored trim for a few vehicles using a product called Blue Lightning anodizing remover, www.blulightning.com, 800-501-1562. Spray on, let it foam, then use scotchbrite to remove anodizing. May have to do several times. Then I buffed the trim on a buffing wheel much like a Baldor buffer on a pedestal. After a lot of back and forth using several different compounds the trim came out looking beautiful. Use flour to wipe off the buffing residue. Then finally I use Blue Magic creme which is great for aluminum. Believe it or not the Blue Magic leaves a coating which is good for many, many months. No furthur coatings are necessary. I tried a clear coat but it yelloed and peeled off eventually. Good luck.

[Uncle Skip]

Effienut2
Please put this information on the Hints and Tricks page so we can find it later.
U@ss

[dotcentral]

I couldn't get the link to work. Like probably half the board, I need to do some repair and polishing on my trim.

[Yellardawg]

Do you all remove the trim to polish it or do you leave it on the truck? How sturdy is it off of the truck? Am I going to bend it with a polishing wheel?

[shawns fords]

all my trim is off mine because its down for body work, the custom cab pieces havent been on this one either and need to be straightened out, so far all ive finished is my headlamp trim, one side done other is still getting banged on, its got a nasty crease on top right corner and im slowly working it out by hammering and sanding, gotta get all the anodizing off first, and im thinking bout clear coating them instead of paying to have anodizing done, im such a cheap bastid lol. or, mabye ill try one of them clear powder coating kits
will post photos of them soon, gotta run for now

[Customcab4x4]

Here's a post from a while back. This stuff works great.
Good luck, Phil


=====================================
Village Buffing Supplies
Boyd & Reba Hardin
902 East 22nd. St.
Kannapolis, NC 28083

Phone - 704-933-0084
Fax - 704-933-4180
E-mail - villbuff@vnet.net
Link - www.Villagebuffing.com



It's a chemical solution that looks like powdered detergent. ( Sodium
Hydroxide ) You mix a small amount with water and then soak your aluminum
part in it for about 10 - 15 minutes, sometimes longer. During that time
the part will start to react with the solution and the hard anodized
surface on the part will dissolve into the solution. (the solution starts
to fizz and bubble)
After you feel it's all gone, you rinse the part off with clean
water and the part will have a very dull, but smooth appearance. Then you
polish it just like you would any other piece of aluminum that you'd want
a nice finish on. This is also a good time to work out any dents or
scratches you need to fix. You can use buffing compounds, Wenol, Mothers,
etc. Then you have the option of either applying some kind of clear to
protect it, like POR-15's "Glisten PC". Eastwood has a clear also, but
it didn't hold up well when I tried it on some trim for another project.
Some people opt to just keep the aluminum shinned up and waxed
periodically, with Mothers, Eagle wadding polish, semichrome polish,
Wenol, Zoops, etc. If your car's not out in the weather all the time that may be
OK. If it's going to see weather it might be best to cover it.
This little jar will make several gallons of solution. If you
save it in jugs you can keep it for years. I have some several years old
that is still strong.
Good luck, Phil
( 63 1/2 Galaxie - 64F-100 4x4 )