Does anybody know how to clean up(polish) a weathered grill,grill extensions and drip rails?This winter I'm going to be restoring our 67 and would like to try and clean them up. Or should I just go buy new ones? Any info will help me.
Thanks Mike A.C.E.S. #4456

Mike, I've had great success over the years utilizing buffing supplies from The Eastwood Company (http://www.eastwoodcompany.com). Their buffing kits work for aluminum, stainless and other metals. Stainless can definitely be worked over to look like a "mirror". Aluminum will not quite get the same effect but will come out looking very good.

Good luck.

EDIT - for some reason their website is not opening right now. They can be reached at 800-345-1178.

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ACES #4241, TC #947
69 SS Sedan (http://www.angelfire.com/rock/69ss)

[This message has been edited by Don_lightfoot (edited 09-19-2001).]

Unless you have an extremely limited budget, replace the parts..especially the grill and extensions. To polish those and make them look nice requires an inordinate amount of time. Even then, they don't come close to the repop stuff available. I have some of the best stuff available for polishing..I elected to replace.

Mike, I recently did the same thing to the drip rail moldings and some other exterior trim on my '65. You can't polish the aluminum parts until you have the hard anodizing removed first. I took the parts to a local replating shop where they removed the anodizing in about 30 seconds for a few bucks. It will then be easy to polish and buff the aluminum trim and it will look more like chrome than aluminum. One good thing, if you have any scratches, dents, etc, you can straighten the parts out and sand out the imperfections with a combination 400-1500 wet 'n dry sandpaper before you polish the metal. Unless you are building a show car, I think the polished aluminum looks better than the original anodizing, especially much of the aftermarket stuff we have to settle for today.

Rod

Rod,
With the anodizing gone, won't the aluminum corrode? Did you put some kind of clear coat on after polishing?
Don

Don - I just recently redid my four headlight buckets. Sprayed them with Easy Off Oven Cleaner (several coats needed) to remove the anodizing. Used the appropriate buffing compounds and finished with some good Aluminum Polish which may need to be reapplied as required.

This subject came up here about a month or two ago and the general consensus was not to put some kind of clear coat on the aluminum.



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ACES #4241, TC #947
69 SS Sedan (http://www.angelfire.com/rock/69ss)

I just did a google search on anodizing aluminum. Straight lye in water should be cheaper than oven cleaner. The site even has a home anodizing method. http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize.html

I will try the strip, buff and polish method on my trim parts.
Thanks
Don

Don, I just used a good aluminum polish that also protects the chrome (Mother's or Blue Magic, I think). The polished aluminum parts wear just like polished non-coated aluminum Weld wheels, aluminum valve covers and the like, the polish must offer some protection to keep them from getting tarnished. Once the anodizing goes bad, it turns dull and polish will not totally restore the original look. With the bare aluminum, if they dull slightly I would just polish them again. The nice thing is that I didn't have to pay almost $100 for new moldings when I could re-use the originals. The drip rail moldings for a '67 are about half that of a '65, so you might want to buy new ones and save yourself the hassle. Some of the aftermarket trim for a '65 is not as good a quality as the original parts IMO, so polishing the old parts is an option for some owners.

Rod

[This message has been edited by Hotrod65SS (edited 09-20-2001).]

Thanks for all the help with my question. It sounds like I will be able to clean them up. I look at my parts and they are in such go shape except for the tarnish and scratches that I hate to get rid of them and buy new ones.
Thank You Mike A.C.E.S. #4456
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