Re: [Amc-list] POLISHING STAINLESS - ALUMINUM - was - Re: '65 Classic Headlight Rings - [ http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/images/bill/FitandTrim.pdf ]

[Wrambler242@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Probabl;y some test that will work.
I'd pick a little hidden edge area and lightly sand it to see if I got a parting line were the anodizing comes off.
I polished the cast aluminum grille in my American. It was anodized, I did not think to look online as there are several sites on getting rid of anodizing. I simply chucked up an 150 grit disc in my 6" DA and sanded it off, then fine sanded it again and buffed it out.
  Looks super nice.
I don't think you can get away with sandingit off those rings as they are a lot thinner IIRC, I think someone on the list tried several of the online methods to remove anodizing and reported on if they worked or not. Unfortuneatly I can't remember what he found out. Perhaps someone remembers or a search will find it?


--
Mark Price
Morgantown, WV
1969 AMC Rambler, 4.0L, EFI, T-5
" I was different before people dared to be different" 

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Brien Tourville <hh7x@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Message: 11
> Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:51:44 -0700 (PDT)
> From: d stohler <das24rules@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Amc-list] 65 classic headlight rings
> To: amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Message-ID: <983641.97598.qm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> ok, so how do i tell if they are anodized aluminum or stainless???
> 
> dave stohler
> http://picasaweb.google.com/das24rules
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ===============================================================
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/images/bill/FitandTrim.pdf
> 
> 
> 
> 
> dave: If it is Stainless Steel - it isn't Anodized -
> download the above .pdf for a Read: 
> 
> here's some Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Grassroots Motorsports 113
> 
> 
> Is It Chrome, Aluminum or Stainless?
> When talking about modern-era cars, there are three common
> bright trim finishes: chrome, anodized aluminum and stainless
> Older American cars tend to use chrome-plated steel for
> their shiny trim. This provides perhaps the shiniest silver finish
> available. The process involves sanding, polishing, and buffing
> the steel, which is finished with three plating processes: copper,
> nickel and finally chrome. It is a labor-intensive process involving
> corrosive chemicals, and can be quite expensive.
> In the old days, before the EPA, every city had plating houses
> that would plate anything. Today, the industry is regulated, and
> most platers only want to hang big parts like bumpers. Most of
> the ones that will do small parts charge way too much. Few, if
> any, will quote you a price over the phone. They want to see
> the work.
> 
> 
> If you have lots of parts to plate, do-it-yourself kits from
> companies like Caswell, Inc., present an alternative to sending
> your parts out to a plating house. The initial investment to get
> into triple-chrome plate production at home is between $450 and
> $650, plus polishing and buffing supplies. This is a bit steep for
> most of us, but if you can get your friends or local car club to go
> in together on the kit, you can save big time.
> Many older European imports use aluminum trim which is first
> polished, then anodized, and finally color buffed. Since the final
> brightness is a surface buff, this shine will dull over time; repeated
> polishing or buffing eventually wears out the anodizing, leaving
> you with plain, dull, oxidized aluminum. This polish-anodizecolor
> buff process is not very common today.
> 
> 
> Most modern aluminum trim is just anodized, resulting in a
> tough, but not very shiny, finish. While it is true that aluminum
> can be chrome-plated for a very high shine, many plating shops
> stay away from aluminum.
> Dale Watson of Colors, Inc., provides advice here. "There is
> a modern alternative that will give your aluminum a very shiny
> and long lasting finish," he explains. "We pioneered this finish
> several years ago just for applications like auto trim.
> 
> 
> 
> It is called
> 'bright dip anodizing.'"
> 
> 
> 
> Fit & Trim How to Make Your Car's Brightwork
> Look New Again
> story by pete dubler . photos by camrenne dubler
> Once the trim pieces have been removed from the car,
> the old finish needs to be removed. A professional shop
> can easily handle this job, but the do-it-yourselfer can
> achieve good results by carefully sanding away the old
> finish. A drill press can make this job easier.
> Once the major problem areas have been handled, wet
> sanding will be next. For optimal results, start with
> rough, 220-grit paper and work all the way through
> 2000-grit. In theory, you'll spend the most time with
> the coarser papers.
> Grassroots Motorsports 114
> When most of us think of anodizing, we
> tend to think of colored finishes like the red
> or blue used on Aeroquip-type hose fittings
> or the black of modern anodized trim. Dale
> explains that anodizing is first clear, but
> can be changed to any color. "Anodizing is
> actually the process of growing aluminum
> oxide crystals on the surface of unoxidized
> aluminum."
> The process begins with a cleaning of
> the parts to get the aluminum really shiny
> and chrome-like, Dale explains, followed
> by a bath in a special bright-dip solution
> that brings up the shine.
> "After bright dipping comes the anodize
> process, which is a bath of sulfuric acid
> with DC current," he continues. "This bath
> puts on an oxide coating in varying degrees
> of thickness based on time in bath and
> temperature of solution. If dyes are added
> during this stage, the aluminum will take
> on color, any color, even patterns of colors,
> such as camouflage. Or, if no color is required, then the parts are
> sealed to close the pores of the oxide coating."
> Dale explains that when his company is dealing with car restoration
> parts, about 95 percent of them are sealed after anodizing
> for a bright, chrome-like finish. "Sealing is an absolute must due
> to the open pores that result after anodizing which will absorb anything
> that comes in contact with the part, even fingerprints."
> The finish is tough when complete. Even though it's only
> about 3/10,000 of an inch thick, the hardness is right up there
> with a diamond.
> Anodizers are a dime-a-dozen, but very few will do small
> batches and even fewer do bright-dip anodizing, which is the
> process you want for your aluminum. For example, bright-dip
> anodizing a full set of trim off a Porsche 914 costs about $110
> plus shipping. This is a minimum lot charge, so most sports cars'
> trim sets should cost in the $75 to $125 range. The key is to get
> as much as possible done at once to lower the cost per part.
> There are two other alternative treatments for aluminum. First,
> you could just polish the metal, and keep polishing it periodically
> with an off-the-shelf aluminum polish like Mothers. This
> typically results in a higher luster initially, but dulls quickly
> between polishings.
> A final alternative is to polish the aluminum, clean it, and
> then have it clear powder coated. This finish is durable---but not
> quite as durable as anodizing---and may cost as much as or more
> than bright anodizing. Since it is slightly shinier, it will not quite
> match the original finish. Still, clear powder coating is a popular
> alternative worth considering.
> The third type of bright trim is stainless steel, popular on older
> American and British cars since it's both shiny and durable. Its
> strength makes it a good choice for long, thin pieces like body
> side moldings. When picturing stainless steel trim, think of the
> side pieces on a '57 Chevy or early MGB. How to tell stainless
> steel from chrome? Stainless looks a little less shiny than chrome,
> and like aluminum, it is non-magnetic.
> 
> Unlike chrome-plated steel and anodized aluminum, stainless
> steel receives no separate surface treatment.
> 
> Stainless is an alloyed
> metal, which is typically harder and resists rusting and pitting.
> 
> While it holds up well to daily abuse, removing dents and dings
> can take a lot of grunt work thanks to the material's strength.
> 
> Making stainless bright and shiny is just a matter of polishing,
> though it will never be quite as shiny as chrome-plated steel.
> 
> Regardless of the final finish---chrome, anodizing, bright dip
> anodizing, clear powder coating---or the material---steel, stainless
> steel, or aluminum---the preparation, which any hobbyist can do,
> is virtually identical.
> 
> In fact, for stainless trim, the "preparation"
> is the final finish.
> 
> Actually, there is a fourth option for automotive brightwork:
> chrome-plated plastic. More common on newer cars, chromeplated
> plastic can turn white over time. Restoring this trim is
> usually not an option, so new pieces must be found.
> 
> First Do No Harm
> 
> Twenty years of hitting bugs at highway speeds can really wear
> on windshield trim. Thousands of ons and offs of a targa top will
> wear grooves in the rollbar trim. A little battery acid or acid rain
> might even wear through the anodizing or chrome around the engine
> compartment. The only solution is to remove the old finish, sand
> down the base metal, and prep it for a new final finish.
> 
> The first step is to remove the trim without damaging it.
> Standard
> trim removal tools go a long way in this department, but experience
> goes even further.
> 
> Don't just start pulling!
> 
> Research how each piece of trim is attached to the car's body.
> Most trim is just held on with snap-on clips of one sort or another,
> but surprises lurk under the most expensive pieces of trim.
> 
> For The aluminum will get shinier each step of the way. From
> left to right, we have pieces of aluminum trim after different
> steps in the process: 2000-grit sandpaper, Emery,
> Tripoli, White Diamond and rouge.
> After wet sanding, the aluminum will be polished with
> our four different compounds---Emery, Tripoli, White
> Diamond and rouge---each one finer than the next. Periodically
> rinsing the piece will reveal any problem areas
> that still need attention.
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
>     =Bt=
> milnersXcoupe
> "The Heretic"
> 
> 
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