Sill Trim Finish

[mopowers]

Does anyone happen to know the aluminum sill trim plates on a 66 Dart are anodized? Do you guys have any tips for cleaning these up and making them look good?

 

[RustyRatRod]

I've had real good luck with that type metal finish with this.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...ing-polish/eag1/1035605?q=metal+polish&pos=11

 

[Kern Dog]

I thought that all the aluminum trim had some type of coating.
I may have some decent used ones. I can look in the attic.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Buff them . They are easier to maintain and don't show scuff marks as easy

 

[Dana67Dart]

I believe all aluminum trim that is bright is "bright anodized" As for the sills I have seen bright and matt as reproduction's for 67 up

assuming they were not polished by the factory what do the undersides look like?

 

[toolmanmike]

Ulf will know for sure. @65dartcharger

I will say bright anodized but my originals were in bad shape so I replaced them with a pair from Layson's. I looked through my hundreds of photos but I don't have any examples.

 

[mopowers]

Thanks guys. I've been playing around with cleaning them up and I'm able to get a passable polish on some sections with just some Mothers metal polish and 000 steel wool. I'm assuming this is because the anodizing has worn off in those areas? There are other areas that are hazy and oxidized looking that the polish and steel wool won't touch (red arrow below). Is that the anodizing??

I'm contemplating hitting these areas with some oven cleaner to remove that haze before hitting it with some polish.

what do the undersides look like?

They have some shine to them, so I'm assuming they have some kind of coating or finish over the bare aluminum. Here's a photo of the back side:

I thought that all the aluminum trim had some type of coating.
I may have some decent used ones. I can look in the attic.

Thanks Greg. Don't worry about it though. Mine are all in excellent shape, just tarnished a bit. I'm sure I'll be able to clean them up enough for my purposes. I'm not shooting for perfection, which helps. Do you know of a local shop that does bright anodizing? Otherwise, I may just hit them with some 'Sharkhide' or similar protectant.

 

[Kern Dog]

I am out of the loop as to local shops for that.

 

[my68barracuda]

I am out of the loop as to local shops for that.

Here in Indy there is a shop that does plating that can also strip anodizing and then put it back on.
Having the anodizing removed makes it really easy to polish the aluminum to a bright luster. Having the part re anodized keeps the luster without having to periodically wax the parts.

 

[burdar]

There are other areas that are hazy and oxidized looking that the polish and steel wool won't touch (red arrow below). Is that the anodizing??

You are correct. That's the anodizing. You can't polish the piece until the anodizing is removed. A lot of people have luck with removing the anodizing by spraying oven cleaner on the parts. Not the fume-free stuff but the heavy duty stinky stuff.

The anodizing seals the metal. With the anodizing removed and the part polished, it will need to be re-polished often to keep its appearance.