Alternative to Bright Dip Anodizing Trim

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mopowers

mopowers

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Are there any decent alternatives to bright dip anodizing aluminum trim? For instance, could the trim be polished (after stripping the original anodizing) then coated with say a clear powdercoat or clear anodizing? Is there another clear coating that could work?

I'm straightening and refurbishing some trim on my '66 Dart and have zero local options for bright dip anodizing. Plus, it's not really warranted for the type of hotrod I'm building. I'm just trying to find a way to protect the bare aluminum and keep it from tarnishing too quickly.
 
Yes, it’s been done for a couple decades now in the 67-69 Barracuda ranks. Word in the street is you strip the anodizing with Easy Off oven cleaner. in the yellow can only, then polish and clear coat the entire unit. Maybe a little practice run first on some banged up trim.
 
It really depends on what grade aluminum the extruder used to make the parts before they were anodized. Bright dipped aluminum goes through extensive processing IE a cleaning tank, desmut tank, acidic tank and a Dynapower tank which cranks a special tank solution with some major DC Current. The diodes and thermistors in the Dynapower unit were the size of hockey pucks! We had 8inch diameter aluminum logs bussing the current to the tank at Bonnell. So you will hope to have 1000 grade aluminum underneath the anodizing process to get a good polish. We also had a huge industrial buffer that would polish the aluminum and for some customers even polish the post anodizing products. We made a lot of aftermarket automotive trim even the old aluminum running boards and mudflaps for the 1970's pickup trucks. So do your best to dull it down evenly and then give it a good buff and it will shine. Bonding it with a hard clear should preserve the work you have done to prep and polish the pieces.
 
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4spdragtop said:
Best thing for your trim is to avoid Partsmonsta...
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I hope it’s not a stupid question but could you just put a polishing wheel on a bench grinder? Is that too fast or slow? I’m confused on why there are bench grinders and bench polishers. They seem the same to me except the wheels.
 
go-fish said:
??


I hope it’s not a stupid question but could you just put a polishing wheel on a bench grinder? Is that too fast or slow? I’m confused on why there are bench grinders and bench polishers. They seem the same to me except the wheels.
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you could. You just have to watch high RPM grinders/buffers as they can get the part hot and ruin the finish.
 
Good info and entertainment. He's been known to pull the old switcheroo also
1968 Barracuda Trunk Trim Restored by PartsMonsta
go-fish said:
??


I hope it’s not a stupid question but could you just put a polishing wheel on a bench grinder? Is that too fast or slow? I’m confused on why there are bench grinders and bench polishers. They seem the same to me except the wheels.
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Thanks for the input guys. I'm not worried about achieving a perfect shine. I'm really just wanting to see what options are out there for protecting the polished bare aluminum so I don't have to polish it often. Has anyone tried Sharkhide or similar products?

cosgig said:
Yes, it’s been done for a couple decades now in the 67-69 Barracuda ranks. Word in the street is you strip the anodizing with Easy Off oven cleaner. in the yellow can only, then polish and clear coat the entire unit. Maybe a little practice run first on some banged up trim.
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Would a regular automotive-grade clear urethane work? I figured it would be tough getting it to properly adhere to polished aluminum

jeff alder said:
So do your best to dull it down evenly and then give it a good buff and it will shine. Bonding it with a hard clear should preserve the work you have done to prep and polish the pieces.
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Thanks for the input. I'm not quite sure what you're saying though. Are you saying that if having the trim clear anodized (not bright dipped), the polished trim has to be dulled down slightly prior to anodizing?

Kendog 170 said:
I have a pedestal polisher the works great on polishing trim similar to these.
POWERTEC 6 in. Heavy-Duty Bench Buffer with 2 Extra Thick Spiral Sewn Buffing Wheels BF601C - The Home Depot
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That does seem like a good deal. A buffing wheel on my bench grinder seems to work fine for me.
 
mopowers said:
Thanks for the input guys. I'm not worried about achieving a perfect shine. I'm really just wanting to see what options are out there for protecting the polished bare aluminum so I don't have to polish it often. Has anyone tried Sharkhide or similar products?


Would a regular automotive-grade clear urethane work? I figured it would be tough getting it to properly adhere to polished aluminum


Thanks for the input. I'm not quite sure what you're saying though. Are you saying that if having the trim clear anodized (not bright dipped), the polished trim has to be dulled down slightly prior to anodizing?


That does seem like a good deal. A buffing wheel on my bench grinder seems to work fine for me.
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sorry for the confusion. For me it's all one process due to being in that manufacturing setting for so long. Bright dipping gives it it's shine and anodizing adds the corrosion protection after it is dipped. If you dull it down evenly and then polish it you would not have to remove the bright dip coating. (unless the piece was not properly anodized after the dipping which has caused defects in the bright dip finish). If that has happened you can strip the finish and polish the aluminum. If the extruder used an inferior grade aluminum rather than the 1000 grade your results will not be nearly as good.
 
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I have done numerous aluminum parts using Easy-Off to strip the anodized finish. Here' what I did.

1. Strip the parts by leaving the easy off on them for several hours. You will see the parts dull out as the cleaner works.

2. Wash the parts thoroughly to clean away excess easy off.

3. Fix dings, sand down parts using paper grades from 400 to 2000

4. Use a sisal buffing pad mounted on a bench grinder and start with red compound stick, move to green and then finish with white.

5. Buff using 3m compound and final finish

6. Protect with a good paste wax. I used McGuiers.

Here's what I used.

Sisal Pads

1718289294218.png


Compound sticks


1718289336452.png


3m Rubbing Compound


1718289500922.png


3m Ultra Fine finish compound


1718289595849.png



Heres my Grill parts after easy off and sanding



1718289784796.png


Finished product.

Tried Clear coat but it started to yellow so I removed it and re-polished . All that's on it now is wax and the grills look as good as the day I installed them.

I would estimate that I have at least 50-70 hours into refinishing these parts to this level.

Hope this helps!!

Cheers!


1718290696944.png
 
If you look at the DIY anodizing kits, they'll tell you how to mix up some lye to clean the aluminum, and some nitric acid to desmut the aluminum after the lye. You'll put them in the lye, and it's going to fume and make noxious fumes, and you'll think you ruined your parts, and then when you dip them in the nitric acid solution, the 'gunk' will just fall off and the aluminum will look as good as it can look without being polished.
 
I would do as Super-Cuda suggests. And yes, I remember the paste wax thing now, and the clear coat problem. I think it was the long lost member “Mullinax” who fist did a tutorial on this, with almost exactly the same directions as @Super-Cuda offered.
 
jeff alder said:
sorry for the confusion. For me it's all one process due to being in that manufacturing setting for so long. Bright dipping gives it it's shine and anodizing adds the corrosion protection after it is dipped. If you dull it down evenly and then polish it you would not have to remove the bright dip coating. (unless the piece was not properly anodized after the dipping which has caused defects in the bright dip finish). If that has happened you can strip the finish and polish the aluminum. If the extruder used an inferior grade aluminum rather than the 1000 grade your results will not be nearly as good.
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That makes sense. Thank you. At this point, it's just not worth it to me to have them re-anodized. They've already been stripped completely. I did that because the were pretty rough and needed to be straightened and cleaned up. Now, I'm merely looking for something I can coat the trim with to protect the bare polished aluminum. Sounds like some type of wax or clear coat would work.

Super-Cuda said:
I have done numerous aluminum parts using Easy-Off to strip the anodized finish. Here' what I did.

1. Strip the parts by leaving the easy off on them for several hours. You will see the parts dull out as the cleaner works.

2. Wash the parts thoroughly to clean away excess easy off.

3. Fix dings, sand down parts using paper grades from 400 to 2000

4. Use a sisal buffing pad mounted on a bench grinder and start with red compound stick, move to green and then finish with white.

5. Buff using 3m compound and final finish

6. Protect with a good paste wax. I used McGuiers.

Here's what I used.

Sisal Pads

View attachment 1716261967

Compound sticks


View attachment 1716261969

3m Rubbing Compound


View attachment 1716261970

3m Ultra Fine finish compound


View attachment 1716261978


Heres my Grill parts after easy off and sanding



View attachment 1716261979

Finished product.

Tried Clear coat but it started to yellow so I removed it and re-polished . All that's on it now is wax and the grills look as good as the day I installed them.

I would estimate that I have at least 50-70 hours into refinishing these parts to this level.

Hope this helps!!

Cheers!


View attachment 1716261985
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Thanks for the write-up. That's more or less the process I've been using. What kind of wax did you use?
 
Sharkhide and other wipe-on or liquid products are more or less glorified wax. It's a polymer resin sealant and will be temporary like a wax, but slightly more durable. Wax will do the job as well and probably easier to get ahold of. Paint should last longer, but getting it to bond without fish-eye on a super smooth surface could be tough. Bare and clean aluminum typically polishes up quick with mothers or other compounds versus paint that requires more work to strip and redo.

If it were me, I'd just hand polish with mothers and keep it well waxed in between. I'm sure some of the more modern ceramic waxes and such would hold up longer and likely not impact the appearance as much.

If you did ever decide to puruse an anodized finish, companies like Caswells do offer anodizing kits for the DIYer and they work pretty well. Certainly not super-cheap, but for someone restoring a car or who has other hobbies which include anodized aluminum it mike make financial sense. For small parts, the power needed isn't too terrible but the power supply is definitely the most expensive bit of kit.
 
i could not find a galvanic shop here in switzerland who handels bright silver anodize.
But this would be the first choice.
I used painter scotch 400 and 600 up to 1000 grid to remove the coating, then polished with a polish paste and machine. Needs from wile to wile easy fresh'up. Dont ride on salty roads!
 
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mopowers said:
That makes sense. Thank you. At this point, it's just not worth it to me to have them re-anodized. They've already been stripped completely. I did that because the were pretty rough and needed to be straightened and cleaned up. Now, I'm merely looking for something I can coat the trim with to protect the bare polished aluminum. Sounds like some type of wax or clear coat would work.


Thanks for the write-up. That's more or less the process I've been using. What kind of wax did you use?
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Here's the wax I used.

Same stuff I use on the car's paint finish.

Great stuff!!

1718324779047.png
 
4spdragtop said:
Best thing for your trim is to avoid Partsmonsta...:lol:
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Everyone should watch this.


Mr. Blake posted a follow up today that will make you smile though!

Thanks for the mention @RustyRatRod!!

Rather than clear powder or automotive clear, I don't do a ton of polishing and buffing but have had fabulous results from Cerakote clear ceramic coatings the last 8 years.

They're liquids, shot with a HVLP gun with a .08 mm tip, and air dry (no heat required). Check out the MC-160 (or MC-5100 especially for aluminum) and hit me up if you have questions. You won't be disappointed.

Cerakote Coatings & Cerakote Swatch Samples | Shop All Products

It can also be used with powders.

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