Aluminum Cleaner/polish

[one_dusty_hoot]

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

[Richard Hayden]

Bob,
I use Meguiar's All Metal Polish applied with a Mother's Ball on my wheels and
am very happy with it. I've also used Flitz applied by hand which works fine
but after the wheel is already in pretty good shape. The bus came with some
Solvol Autosol which works fine also. The latter I've used on the awning
rafters and it works good. I haven't tried the awning cover slats. A friend
uses Blue Magic and swears by that product on his wheels. Again, applied with a
Mother's Ball.

Dick Hayden - '87 PT 38 - Lake Stevens, WA
----- Original Message -----
From: one_dusty_hoot
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2006 7:36 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Aluminum Cleaner/polish


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





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[mbulriss]

Bob,

I used a product called "Easy Aluminum Polish" on the aluminum side
molding on my 83 PT40. Worked better than anything else I had tried.

Mike Bulriss
1991 WB40 "Texas Minivan"
San Antonio, TX


--- 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
>

[erniecarpet@...]

Leroy- will that polish work for the 80's coaches? We have the old style
aluminum and mine needs help, for sure. Ernie-83pt40 in Montana with Brenda


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Leroy Eckert]

Bob:
I have used Semichrome for years. I use it on my side moldings, awning covers,
wheels, chrome bumpers, mirror housings and recently installed polished
stainless steel. It keeps all of my stuff shiny. It will not polish the front
or rear grill extrusion because they are anodized.

I use power tools to cut the time. If you really want to get anal, check your
polished aluminum work at night with a black light and look for white spots. If
you have them, keep polishing until you don't. LOL>LOL No kidding, it works.

Leroy Eckert
1990 WB40
Niceville, FL





----- Original Message -----
From: one_dusty_hoot
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2006 9:36 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Aluminum Cleaner/polish


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





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[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
>

[Ralph L. Fullenwider]

I think Mike Bulriss sells some amazing polish and cleaner. And there is a
Birder out on the West Coast that has that dry wash stuff.

Safe travels,

Ralph and Charolette Fullenwider
Ralph's RV Solutions, Duncan, Oklahoma
http://home.swbell.net/rlf47/index.htm

At 10:24 AM 8/20/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>Leroy- will that polish work for the 80's coaches? We have the old style
>aluminum and mine needs help, for sure. Ernie-83pt40 in Montana with Brenda
>
>

[Leroy Eckert]

Ernie:

Jeff posted a complete explanation. He is correct. Anodized aluminum will not
polish. However, I do use Semichrome to clean and/or polish every piece of
bright metal on my bus. I have sanded aluminum and stainless steel then
polished it with Semichrome and rouge respectively, with excellent results. If
you use care, you can polish Plexiglas with Semichrome also, again with
excellent results. All of the above from personal use and experience.

Aircraft restoration specialists have used Semichrome on polished show aircraft
for years, including the award winning one I owned in the 80's. Hope this
helps.

Regards;

Leroy Eckert
1990 WB40
Niceville, FL







----- Original Message -----
From: erniecarpet@...
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Aluminum Cleaner/polish


Leroy- will that polish work for the 80's coaches? We have the old style
aluminum and mine needs help, for sure. Ernie-83pt40 in Montana with Brenda

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Rob Robinson]

Leroy I see you use the Semichrome on your 'awning covers'. I'm not sure but
I think mine have some sort of anodized finish. Am I correct in this? I
would sure like to find something that would bring them back to a shinny
concition but don't want to make a mistake and use a wrong product on them.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.

On 20/08/06, Leroy Eckert wrote:
>
>
> Bob:
> I have used Semichrome for years. I use it on my side moldings, awning
> covers, wheels, chrome bumpers, mirror housings and recently installed
> polished stainless steel. It keeps all of my stuff shiny. It will not polish
> the front or rear grill extrusion because they are anodized.
>
> I use power tools to cut the time. If you really want to get anal, check
> your polished aluminum work at night with a black light and look for white
> spots. If you have them, keep polishing until you don't. LOL>LOL No kidding,
> it works.
>
> Leroy Eckert
> 1990 WB40
> Niceville, FL
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: one_dusty_hoot
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2006 9:36 PM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Aluminum Cleaner/polish
>
> 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
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>



--
Rob, Sue & Merlin Robinson
94 WLWB


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Leroy Eckert]

Hey Jeff:
Perfectly stated. All the technical stuff in your head would plug up my
C-drive.
Are you associated with Holland Motor Homes?

Leroy Eckert
1990 WB40
Niceville, FL





----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff Miller
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 10:23 AM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Aluminum Cleaner/polish


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
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]