Aluminum Restoration

[jessewebb]

Hi, Does anyone know who does aluminum restoration. I have a 69 C/10. It has a decent grill just needs brought back to a shine. Would it be cheaper to buy a aftermarket or have it restored. If so Who does it? Thanks Pete

[72BlckButy]

bttt...

There was a FAQ where someone brought a grille back to life, but I can't seem to locate it at the moment. Anyone else?

[Indian113]

If it was me I would steel wool the grill then Polish it with a Mothers Power Ball and polish. If steel wool doesn't take the glaze off use emery cloth first. I polish a lot of Alumium on Harleys this way.

[piecesparts]

Grill finish is usually sealed with some form of an iodized finish. However, if you truly want to clean it, then I would use a steel wool, as suggested, but then I would follow with a 2500 grit wet-N-dry sandpaper, using WD-40 as a lubricant to keep the paper from loading up. After that I would use Mothers Aluminum polish to start and then finish with the Mothers Billet Pollish for a mirror finish.

If it is hard cleaning, then look on the web for what is called "Razor Buffs" and get some of them to use on a die grinder and get some green and white rouge polishing sticks from your local truck stop. They use it to clean the semi truck tanks and wheels. The razor buff will clean the metal and you do not have to put any real pressure on it to do the work. Follow up with a small amount of billet pollish to clean and then seal the metal with a metal sealer, like Wizards sells. That will keep the water spots off of it.

[dammitmitchell]

got a picture
i did a how to last year on "polishing metal stuff"
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=3373377

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by dammitmitchell

i did a how to last year on "polishing metal stuff"

How about going back into that "How-Too" and putting the pics back in, Use the site gallery so they don't disappear again.....

[dammitmitchell]

yeah bummer.. hahaha
gonna take a minute gotta find all the dang pictures again.. SORRY!

[Torrey72]

Originally Posted by piecesparts

Grill finish is usually sealed with some form of an iodized finish. However, if you truly want to clean it, then I would use a steel wool, as suggested, but then I would follow with a 2500 grit wet-N-dry sandpaper, using WD-40 as a lubricant to keep the paper from loading up. After that I would use Mothers Aluminum polish to start and then finish with the Mothers Billet Pollish for a mirror finish.

If it is hard cleaning, then look on the web for what is called "Razor Buffs" and get some of them to use on a die grinder and get some green and white rouge polishing sticks from your local truck stop. They use it to clean the semi truck tanks and wheels. The razor buff will clean the metal and you do not have to put any real pressure on it to do the work. Follow up with a small amount of billet pollish to clean and then seal the metal with a metal sealer, like Wizards sells. That will keep the water spots off of it.

Grilles are aluminum as you know and what gives them that polished shine from the factory is “Anodizing.” Once this starts to get scratched up or rubbed off there is not much you can do to save it. I agree with everything “pieces parts” suggests other then there is a way easier way to strip the anodizing off. You can use oven cleaner to strip it down to the aluminum base. It beats rubbing your fingers raw as you spend forever rubbing it down with steel wool. It easily gets all the nooks and crannies. Just spray it on, enjoy a beer, then rinse the grille with water. Done.
Once you strip off the perma-shine you can polish it up better then factory. However, the part will tarnish over time and need to be re polished in the future. A mother’s Power Ball works well for polishing. Just take your time with it.

P.S. Don’t dare get the oven cleaner on anything other then the part you are stripping.

[Jay W]

I'm thinking of cleaning up mine too but there are allot of pits from road debri. I'm a little concerned about sanding them out as I think the metal isn't very thick on a grill, haven't looked at it to closely just bought the truck and am working on the ralleys first. do you guys think I could sand out most of the pits out with 220 or 400 and move up to a finer paper or should I just remove the anodizing and polish? Also is there a specific type of sand paper to use on aluminum?

[dammitmitchell]

ok guys.. im redoing the images right now.
im sorry about the last write up. using the site upload now.

I did today's example on stainless steel rally dress rings.. did not come out perfect but came out good. NOT nearly as good as the tungsten did.. aluminum can come out really well.. just make sure you use aluminum sealer. clear cote will eventually crack and flake off..

[Stitch]

suppposedly my polished coys have clear coat over them, but they polish up ok just ok...so do you think they have clear on them...I'd like to get a better shine on them

[dammitmitchell]

Have u tried a mothers polishing ball first try a scratch/ rubbing compound then wash the ball really well dry it and use a finisher sealer compound.

And in refference to the grill. I have not done a truck grill. I have one out back ill play with this week to do a review on for you. I have done plenty of aluminum rims but no truck grille.
But due to the contours of the grille the high spots will shine alot better. A dremel and power drill will be your best bet. Maby a buffing disc onf a roloc will help too (but keep it on a low speed so u dont burn the metal/
Posted via Mobile Device

[Stitch]

I used a power ball on a cordless drill, but I don't think the drill had enough rpms to do anything rewarding...I used mother's power metal polish with the power ball...I also used never dull and mother's aluminum paste in the can by hand...

should I use a corded drill...and what kind of polish exactly should I use with the power ball...the power metal polish is liquid and seems to get used fast for some reason

[rcrahn]

As someone else said the piece is polished aluminum which is then anodized clear to protect the finish. If you strip off the anodizing and polish it eventually it will oxidize and dull.
So, the best thing is to buy a new piece or send your trim pieces to be stripped, polished and re-anodized. The company that does this is located in S. CA, called King of Trim. I used them to do 4 wheel well moldings on a 1969Firebird. Top notch work but expensive.
Check it out....
http://www.kingoftrim.com/home.html

[Torrey72]

You can Google search chrome, anodizing shops in your area. Though sometimes buying new trim is cheaper