The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Best grit sandpaper for "freshening up" aluminum

The trim on the side of my '63 is dull. I have tried to use metal cleaner that works on my bikes, dremel buffing wheels, all to no avail. Hints? I tried 2000 grit, no go. Thanks.
Pete

The aluminum trim is anodized, which cannot be re-polished. There is no bringing back the brightness without first removing the dulled anodizing. You can use a chemical remover for this or carefully sand it off. after that, it can be polished like a mirror. I don't think it's something you should do with the trim on the truck.

They say oven cleaner will remove anodizing, be sure to remove the trim first! From there, standard metal polishing will brighten it up.

The previous owner did one side,and not the other. It looks odd too me. I am appreciative for your comments guys.

Simply removing the anodize and polishing isn't the answer, it needs to be protected with a new anodize otherwise it will dull in short order.

Eastwood sells a product that is supposed to remove the anodize LINK

I wouldn't listen to "they" too much. Most all oven cleaners are highly caustic and will slowly dissolve aluminum.

Czechman, reckon I will have to remove the trim? Or can I wipe this stuff on with a rag? I have placed an order. I have seen people use oven cleaner to remove stuff from exhaust pipes of another kind of vehicle with less wheels than a truck of which I happen to own several of, but was told I couldn't mention them on this forum by a moderator or risk being censored as this is a truck forum. I always thought oven cleaner to caustic and if you accidently hit the paint you were in deep dodo, this product seems to be water based.Thanks everyone for their comments. The previous owner said he did it with a certain grit sandpaper. I have tried 2000 grit to no avail.

Oven cleaner is a great product for removing paint. I'd call Eastwood and ask if you have to remove the trim, or it may have instructions that answer your question.

I did the anodized aluminum grill over for my 74 Econoline..I used a stripper from Caswell but I believe Lye will work as well.

I polished the stripped grille and side pieces..it came out super. I have just been paste waxing it and it is holding up great.

looooong process but worth it

Lye is another term for sodium hydroxide or sometimes potassium hydroxide both of which are as strong or stronger than typical oven cleaners. Both will pit and discolor aluminum and dissolve it if given a little time.

the Caswell stripper I used had a buffering agent in it. It worked well with no pitting.

Another source of sodium hydroxide - which by the way when added to a bucket of water makes a great paint remover, is septic tank main line cleaner from the hardware store. I had to give about $10 for a gallon.

I have a pair of fog light buckets that will come out in bare metal and ready to paint in the morning. If it has rust and paint, add a battery charger and it will pull the rust off. see electrolysis.