Question on grille housing

[MDFarms]

Whats the best way to restore the Outer Grille Housing? Mine is clean and straight with no dents but needs either a good polishing or can it be chrome plated?

[mr.mud1]

it's anodized aluminum so you can polish til your fingernails fall off,all you're doing is rubbing on the anodized finish,not the aluminum.over the years,usually the anodized finish gets cloudy looking or dirty.you can clean off the dirt but if it looks cloudy or milky,i don't know of anyway to repair it other than re-anodizing but there may be?you can chrome aluminum if that's the look you want.i stripped of the anodize from the side moldings on one of my cars as there was no way locally to re-anodize them,polished them up on the buffer wheel and sprayed them with a thin coat satin clear,not correct i know but they look good and don't require polishing constantly as they would if they were left,just raw aluminum.

[CG]

Over the years I kept hearing and reading a lot about a place called Electroplating of El Paso. I know you are doing a first class resto so I think it would be worth at least giving these guys a call. I bet they could bring the shine out on your grill surround.

Here is a thread I started on them ...

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...hlight=el+paso

[fun in dirt]

Originally Posted by MDFarms

Whats the best way to restore the Outer Grille Housing? Mine is clean and straight with no dents but needs either a good polishing or can it be chrome plated?

You first must remove the clear anodize that's on top of the aluminum. For this I use Oven Cleaner ( original,heavy duty, stinky kind; the fume free is not as good), a green Scotch Brite pad & lots of elbow grease. Tried other things & always go back using oven cleaner. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes before you start scrubbing. After annodize all removed (may take a few sessions), you can sand with finer sandpaper for smoother, more consistent aluminum finish.
Tape up & paint your black areas.
Then polish with Mothers aluminum polish & finish with a good wax to protect it.
This will last about a year with weekend driving then may need to repolish & wax periodically.

[MDFarms]

Any pics after the oven cleaner?

[the67Beast]

I know I'm going to get called out for posting a ford on here, but I had a aluminum grill powder coated and it turned out great. Certainly not as bright as chrome but was a solid more economical option. I have also had the headlight bezels for my C10 chromed at El Paso with great results.

Here is the F100 grill with powder coat. Sorry the photo quality is not better.