Placing a Finish on Polished Aluminum That Has Been Stripped of Anodize

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sgrip65

sgrip65

66 Dart GT 273, 65 Dart GT 273 HiPo
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Members. I am stripping my anodized aluminum trim of its anodized finish. I will polish the trim with various grit polishing compound on the buffing wheels. Some say send it in for a re-anodize job, others say just wax it well, and some say spray it with clear coat. PPG Clear Coat does hold up well, but has anyone have trouble with the clear coat yellowing? Just a general question. Thanks for the input. sgrip65
 
Not an expert on PPG, but I would try for a clearcoat that can hold up to heat.
 
Louie70Dart said:
Not an expert on PPG, but I would try for a clearcoat that can hold up to heat.
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Hi Louie. Thank you for the response. I am trying to decide what to do on this. The PPG that I have been using on the project is the best in their line of products. DC4000 Is what it is called. It would be the same clear as I used on the paint finish. Me neither.....not an expert. Just thought I would run this by our group. Thanks. sgrip65
 
Maybe the newer products will have a better UV package in it. Package meaning newer, better chemicals to handle the rays better.
 
Cuda Al said:
I just wax them with the car.

Alan
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Hi Alan. Thanks for the input. That is what I did on my 66 Dart. It does seem to hold up, but that car is always shedded. Just looking for good/other ideas. There is a video on YouTube that shows how to anodize using battery acid, a battery charger, and a lead rod for a cathode. After I take the stainless out, there really is not much for anodized trim....other than the grille and the deck lid bezel. Might just send them in. Thanks. sgrip65
 
I agree with Alan. Re-anodizing is probably the best long lasting finish, but also the most expensive and harder to find someone who does it right. I have tried a couple of clear coat products and they have been very disappointing. They may or may not yellow but will certainly fail in a relatively short time (2 years?). So, like Alan, many of us will do the polishing but then leave the surface "raw" maintaining it by waxing and occasionally a lite polish. If your pockets are deeper- then re-anodize.
 
Murray said:
I agree with Alan. Re-anodizing is probably the best long lasting finish, but also the most expensive and harder to find someone who does it right. I have tried a couple of clear coat products and they have been very disappointing. They may or may not yellow but will certainly fail in a relatively short time (2 years?). So, like Alan, many of us will do the polishing but then leave the surface "raw" maintaining it by waxing and occasionally a lite polish. If your pockets are deeper- then re-anodize.
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Murray. Thanks for the sound advice. sgrip65
 
sgrip65 said:
Members. I am stripping my anodized aluminum trim of its anodized finish. I will polish the trim with various grit polishing compound on the buffing wheels. Some say send it in for a re-anodize job, others say just wax it well, and some say spray it with clear coat. PPG Clear Coat does hold up well, but has anyone have trouble with the clear coat yellowing? Just a general question. Thanks for the input. sgrip65
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I tried the clearcoat the first time I did my grills. Definitely leaves a yellowish haze. A member on here suggested clear powdercoat...not a bad idea to try. Otherwise, just wax and clean when you do the car. Best part is if you happen to scratch the surfaces again, it is just a matter of refinishing the scratched part on the car without having to take everything apart or having to mask up the whole front of the car to re-apply the clearcoat. Been there, done that... not fun..
 
Treblig said:
I had mine silver powder coated. It came out very nice ad should last forever!!
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Hey Treblig,

Got any pics of your grills?

Love to see how the finish came out.
 
Treblig said:
I'll look see if have any good pics??
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Hey Treblig. Sounds interesting. I would likr yo see the pics as well. A Andrews tuned me into the heavy duty oven cleaner, and that worked great. I have all of my anodized stripped, now, except for the grill. Now, i need to make a decision on tne finish. I am leaning toward buffing and waxing, but your idea sounds alright. We have a powder coating shop right here in our town. Thanks. sgrip65
 
My experience with "clear" powder coat, while limited, looks to me not as "clear" as paint or anodize, it seams to reduce the shine. Leaving the trim "raw" and waxing it is actually shinier than original. I think it all comes down to your preference. Check out the differences and make your decision. One food for thought- you have other trim on the car. Do you care about matching these? There is stainless, chrome and more aluminum. I am doing a restoration, so I looked at all of these as a package and then made my decision on how to proceed. Good luck.
 
Murray said:
My experience with "clear" powder coat, while limited, looks to me not as "clear" as paint or anodize, it seams to reduce the shine. Leaving the trim "raw" and waxing it is actually shinier than original. I think it all comes down to your preference. Check out the differences and make your decision. One food for thought- you have other trim on the car. Do you care about matching these? There is stainless, chrome and more aluminum. I am doing a restoration, so I looked at all of these as a package and then made my decision on how to proceed. Good luck.
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Hi Murray. Good points all. Hence, the purpose of my question. There is a lot of experience on our forum. Thank you. sgrip65
 
You should use an adhesion promoter that's meant for use on bare metal/aluminum before clearing them with the PPG clear.
House Of Kolor makes one called "Adhereto" Part # AP01.
It just needs one light/medium coat then clear coat right away.

House of Kolor AP01 Adhereto Adhesion Promoter 1 Quart | eBay

That's what I did for my radiator and some other items.

IMG_20190207_142754965.jpg
 
MobileCustoms said:
You should use an adhesion promoter that's meant for use on bare metal/aluminum before clearing them with the PPG clear.
House Of Kolor makes one called "Adhereto" Part # AP01.
It just needs one light/medium coat then clear coat right away.

House of Kolor AP01 Adhereto Adhesion Promoter 1 Quart | eBay

That's what I did for my radiator and some other items.

View attachment 1715287207
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That Rad looks awesome!! How long has it been clearcoated? My concern would be the effects of engine heat on the finish.
Also, is the adhesion promoter expensive?

Thanks!!
 
Here are the pics. The only ones I could find were of the trunk trim. The powder coat folks gently blasted off the anodize and powder coated it silver. You can see the difference between silver powder coat and chrome on the tail lights and bumper. I was also going to get the tail light chrome powder coated but someone gave me an offer on the car that I couldn't resist so it's gone now!! I was very pleased with how it came out. The trim is actually very shiny but it's bad angle with the sun overhead so the trim is always in a shaded spot.

DSC04279.JPG
DSC04280.JPG
DSC04252.JPG
 
That came out pretty good! Be interesting to see how that tail panel would look with the letters and the red paint highlights redone.
 
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