Aluminum Cleaner/polish

[Jeff Miller]

There are two different types of aluminum on the '80s 'Birds:

The long brushed-aluminum pieces on he '85-up sides (the ones with two
srips of black in them) are ANODIZED. This cannot be polished with any
abrasive or caustic!!!!!!!!
The anodizing is a very thin layer of aluminum-oxide produced by the
anodizing process which protects the finish of the aluminum, buff
through that and it'll corrode very quickly. The milky appearance on
the surface is probably due to a caustic cleaner staining the finish,
which really can't be removed without exposing the alloy beneath. This
is not a pure aluminum, but an alloy which needs the coating as it
corrodes very easily, and buffing through it would be tricky also as
the coating is much much harder than the aluminum alloy. Some polishes
which are largely waxes are best to quench the surface and shine it up.
The awning arms and metal awning wrap are also anodized, you'll notice
that anywhere the finish is scarred it usually shows substantial
corrosion.

The other aluminum such as the trim around the front of the older FCs
and PTs (the one with the large black plastic insert), the end-caps and
mounting brackets on the awnings, is not anodized and can be polished.
Depending on the extent of the damage, I've removed these pieces and
run them on a wire-wheel to get down to clean metal, then polish with a
red rouge (tripoli), then if a mirror polish is required a finer
compound. The wheels also respond to an aggressive start if they are in
bad shape, 300grit paper is what I've used to start on some rough
wheels I had on an FC some years ago to remove damage, then the
tripoli, then a Busch polish (all with machine polishers).

After I had spent $$hundreds on polishes and buffers I found that RIV
and other FMCA rallies typically had people there who would buff them
to a reasonably good luster for around $15/wheel, find a good truck-
wash and they'll have guys also who buff wheels, some are very good,
and you'll likely only invest around $20/wheel plus tip. Get a good
understanding of what you want the wheels to look like when discussing
price.

Once you have a good base polish on the wheels it isn't very difficult
to maintain it by hand, many polishes work such as Bush polish,
Mothers, Alcoa, et al.

- Jeff Miller
in Holland, MI


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "one_dusty_hoot"
wrote:
>
> What is a good product to restore the luster of
> what I believe to be, aluminum extrusions? The
> side molding, the awning shields, and the awning
> arms have a milky appearance, no luster.
>
> Mothers just laughs at it. I have on order some
> Simichrome that was mentioned earlier. Anything
> else?
>
> Bob Janes '87FC35 Greenville, SC
>