56 Grill cleaning/polishing

[dplotkin]

I have my grill out. what is the best way to clean & shine these up short of taking them apart & re-anodizing?

Happy New Year
Dan

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

Just how fussy are you?  If you're looking for a perfectly restored grille
the only way is to take it apart and have it reanodized.

Otherwise, there are numerous polishing compounds you can try if the finish
isn't too bad.  "Finesse It" by 3M is one of my favorites.  I've even used it to
polish chromed plastic with success.  Look for a very MILD compound (even
toothpaste can possibly work) as anything too harsh will quickly take the
anodizing off.  You want to remove the tarnish not the anodizing -- tough
to do since we're talking just a few microns of finish before you hit base metal.

If you decide to go this route, try it on a hidden surface first.

Mike

[57flw]

Dan,

I spent about ten hours cleaning mine with a metal polish paste by hand.
It was very hard work and I hope the effect will last. If it begins to look poorly I will have to take it apart again and get it reanodized. Perhaps that is what I should have done in the first place.

Have a look at a couple of photo's and decide for yourself.

Ken

[dplotkin]

Thanks for the replys. I ended up using an aluminum cleaner from NAPA that did a pretty good job, see photo below. Short of re-anodizing I don't think it will get much better for the reasons you state. It isn't perfect, but its clean and once on the car I'm thinking it will be fine. 

Thanks

Dan

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

Dan:

The guy at NAPA gave you very bad advice.  The aluminum cleaner is fairly harsh
and likely removed all of your anodizing.  What's left now is plain, uncoated and shiney aluminum.  It will look nice for a short time then start to get a white 
powder coating (aluminum oxide) that will get worse over time.

Do yourself a favor -- get it reanodized while you have it out of the car.
Anodizing is relatively cheap (unlike chrome plating) as they do it on a
weight basis (by the pound) unlike chrome plating where you get a quote
piece by piece.

Mike

[dplotkin]

Mike: We were aware of the problem in taking off the anodizing and therefore used the cleaner (which is acidic) joudiciously. The cleaner did not strip it but did clean it. it looks better than it did, but I agree a anodizing job would be the thing to do. but I have been told that the grill needs to come apart to do that job right and i was not thrilled about that.

Dan

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

Dan:

That's correct -- the grille would have to taken completely apart to
properly anodize it.

Mike

[dplotkin]

Well, as in every restoration this one took on a life of its own (along with the car) and I need to save somewhere. I think the grill, once installed and without daylight shining through the back side, will look acceptable. When she is together I'll look at it within context of the new paint & chrome & see if I can live with it. If not, I'll have to do it.

Thanks guys,

Dan