Hot Rods Polished Aluminum Protection

On my 40 I semi-polished the aluminum thats on it, dash, firewall, some interior, console, running boards. Any ideas on keeping them looking half decent. Seen where to poly it but also seen after time it peeling off and looking like shit and more work to redo it. Just looking for ideas.

 

I have always used a good quality wax and just waxed it. Not a permanent solution, but keep the Polished Halibrands on my 64 Skylark and 51 Chevy looking great for years, and they both lived outside for a long time.

 

Sounds funny but on small stuff like bolts and fittings I started with clear finger nail polish. I’ve now gone to clear brush on touch up paint top coat. Both dry fast.

 

Anyone tried clear powder coating ?

 

Gibbs Brand once a year.
.....more often on wheels.

 

Look at Sharkhide metal protectant - expensive but , has good reviews elsewhere

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I use Sharkhide on some of my polished aluminum on my jalopy and bikes. I live next to the ocean and have to keep on top of anything polished. It has worked pretty good for me.

 

Another vote for Gibbs Brand. Put it on heavy, let it sit overnight then buff off the excess.

 

I don’t think there’s anything that will stop polished aluminum from oxidizing, you can just slow it down.
Eventually you will have to re-polish.

On my airstream I use NuFinish was spring and fall to keep it protected.
It needs a day of touch up polishing annually.

Sorry for the ot cars in the reflection

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thanks for the ideas, wax sounds like a good way to go. Gotta check out that Gibbs and Sharkshide

 

which Gibbs product do you use?

 

There is no good method for 'protecting' polished aluminum IMO. All have flaws in varying degrees. First, most 'coatings' tend to seriously dull the surface finish, with the two exceptions I've seen being Sharkhide and anodizing. But any of these in my experience will get breaches in the coating eventually, allowing corrosion to get under the coating where it will spread and requiring the surface to be stripped, re-polished and re-coated. Again, Sharkhide is better than most at this and is the only method that lends itself to DIY application. The big issue is the polished surface doesn't have enough 'tooth' (surface roughness) to allow the coating to 'stick' well. Anodizing works the best, but is expensive to have done and impossible to 'repair' if it does get damaged; a complete strip, re-polish and re-anodizing will be needed.

The automotive OEMs use powdercoat a lot, but if you look you'll find they don't apply it to polished surfaces, only machined ones. These have enough 'tooth' (plus no contaminates embedded in the metal from polishing) to get very good adhesion. Another example is 'polished' aluminum motorcycle bits. These are typically coated by the OEMs, but again, the surface isn't 'polished', you'll see sanding marks which give enough tooth to allow the coating to stick. If you've ever tried to restore a corroded bike cover you quickly understand why coating aluminum is a bad idea....

In the long run, good-old-fashioned elbow-grease with metal polish and wax will be the least hassle but will require that you stay on top of the maintenance of the finish.

 

Yea , the OEM's , ever notice all those crappy corroded looking aluminum wheels on newer cars

 

As said there is no way to profit other than keep polishing, woe water off right away. I’ve polished aluminum for a long time, thousands of wheels and suck on highway trucks, tankers, gravel boxes etc.

As for clear, would you spray clear on your shiny paint job, I’ve never figured out how people think it’ll stick to polished aluminum...

When water stops beading on the polished parts, give it a quick repolish


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I simply polish. I actually enjoy a good polish - clean up day ounce in a while .

 

Spray the finished surface with water, like mist it on, then buff it out by hand. This works as well as most coatings, without reducing the quality of the finish.
Once done, water just beads off, and there is no stripping required when the finish eventually dulls off, and corrosion won't build up under it.
Not sure how it will hold up in an engine bay.

Engine bays in particular, make sure you have removed all of the polishing compound as the heat will bring it out later and dull the finish. I have used thinners to do this, as if the thinners is a polish and I am buffing it out. Keep changing to a clean piece of cloth till it stays clean (probably wont ever get to 100%) . Really hot water or leaving it in the sun first will do it to some degree, especially if you are not chasing 100% mirror show finish.

Great on wheels. When you wash your wheels, once they are "clean", go over them again with fresh suds and clean microfibre cloth, as if you are polishing them again, then rinse and do the fresh water / mist buff again.

 

I use the pink fluid in the 12oz cans. I don't really understand the packaging. Why should it be in a pressurized can when all you do is dribble it on your part or rag and wipe it around. I like it for aluminum. I don't use it for iron or steel, and I don't expect to ever have anything magnesium.

 

Also "Nyalic", it's a clear resin that flows on and self levels. Gives you a very clear finish, but you really need the polished surface 100% clean of contaminants, and do it in a clean air environment.
You can spray it or just wipe on with a rag and it levels out. Hard wearing coat and easy to remove, but is broken down by petrol / spirits so not best for engine bays.
Really good on wheels, just hose the crap off.
Polished ali is not what it is designed for but I have had success with it when I did a lot of polishing. Designed for boat hulls to keep seawater off bare alloy hulls it's great on paint and bare aluminium or steel.
If you want a show finish though, the best product is always Elbow Grease.

 

Lemon Pledge the aerosol stuff. That's what I use anyway.

 

American Racing's Wheel Wax. Its made for protecting polished aluminum. Its not permanent but it does work well.

 

I tried a product called Metal Armor that came in a kit I bought just to get polishing bonnets.
I used it on the weld rims I have my slicks on, I’ll know by next summer how it lasts.


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its just gonna be a daily driver so the Gibbs sounds pretty easy. Thanks for all the info you guys.

 

As well, a tip for cleaning the polishing compound off is use varsol and wipe it down then use a soft cloth with plain old white flour and buff the haze from the varsol off.


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I have used Nylac on intake manifolds and wheels. Holds up pretty well and will not yellow when exposed to heat like exhaust on the intake crossovers.

 

Ive been using turtle wax ICE on polished aluminum, holds longer than other carnuba based waxes, before the inevitable re-polish.

Sounded kinda hokey when it came out, tried it on the black plastic late model trim and it worked well. I dont like it on paint and stick with carnuba based.