[67_LS1]

The original grill on my 66 is looking pretty ratty so I’m thinking restore or replace.
Are aftermarket grill decent or should I spend time and money on restoring the original?
Note my car is a 20’ and not stock in anyway so originality means nothin. It’s more about fitment.

 

[chaze]

You will have to strip the anodizing either chemically or with abrasives to get down to the raw aluminum and eliminate the corrosion if any. Then several steps of abrasive sanding and several more polishing.

Then you can clear coat it or have it re-anodized

 

[67_LS1]

I’ve got it sitting in a bath of vinegar now. I’ve used this to remove anodizing before.
it still seems like it would be a lot of work.

 

[chaze]

I had to restore only the face of the top bar due to a scratch. It took me about 2.5 hours. I think I could have done it faster with a polishing wheel on a die grinder.

 

[shovelrick]

I put a Repro grill in my 68, fitment sucked and my car had no previous front end damage but I do have after market fenders too so maybe that had some thing to do with the poor fitment? I have the original header panel and core support, IMO my orig. grill has too many small dings to mess with

 

[67_LS1]

My original grill doesn’t have any dents but it has some very light pitting. It does seem like a lot of work.
But man, grill kits have gotten expensive!

 

[chaze]

Once the anodize is removed the aluminum [is] soft and the small pits polish out pretty easily.

edited in the [is] for clarification

 

[SFD]

Anodize has no affect on how soft the aluminum is. It is merely a anodonic coating to prevent corrosion.

 

[chaze]

I didn't say it did. I sed you had to get the anodize off to polish the aluminum which is soft and will polish easy.

 

[SFD]

Got it, sorry chaze

 

[shovelrick]

My 1st wife was a nightshift supervisor in the anodize dept. at a plating shop in the early 80's, IIRC MEK is what they used to strip & clean pretty much everything but I don't know if the EPA even allows that product to be made now? I just Googled it and it's still available, says it's a thinner?

 

[chaze]

Some members have had good luck with one of the oven cleaner brands but I forget which one.

 

[67_LS1]

Well vinegar didn’t work worth a crap. So I used oven cleaner. It looks clean but how can I tell if the anodizer ion is gone. It looks shiny but it my be just because it’s clean. Is there a test to determine if the anodization is gone?
Also, I don have some MEK. That may be next.

 

[chaze]

Rub some polish agent on it and if the rag turns black you are through the anodize and into the aluminum.