Polishing the aluminum.

[2BLUE4U]

all im going to tell you is this...

After polishing it never looks the same and corrodes 10 Times as fast...

I polished the tunnel on my warrior last year and if you dont keep it perfectly clean it looks like crap a day later.. and will never look the same as when you first bought it..

Just a FYI

You must not be married. That gives me another excuse to spend countless hours in my shop drinking beer, watching football and admiring my new toy

P.S. There's a reason I have surrond sound in my shop and it's not get the best sound from the movies on Lifetime or WE

 

[Cuzino19]

FLITZ IT!

 

[rhoag]

I am suprised that someone that is really dedicated to keeping their tunnel perfect hasn't tried polishing it to the desired gloss then clear coating it. This would prevent the air from oxidizing it. I wonder if this would work? I know where your boots rub on the clear coat would eventually scuff and wear off, but I wonder how the rest of the tunnel would fair??? Just another idea???

 

[2BLUE4U]

A good friend of mine restores a lot of old cars and he said that is what he would do if he spent that much time polishing aluminum.

 

[BlgsRX-1mtn]

The clearcoat would be a great idea except for one problem. Paint won't stick to polished alluminum. Alluminum polishes have petroleum distilates in them along with the abrasives. This is what gives you the black haze while polishing (microscopic particles of alluminum, the abrasive compound and Petroleum distilates). Even if you use a cleaner such as windex to remove the polish residue the alluminum surface is too smoth for the paint (clearcoat) to properly bond to the surface

In order to get paint to stick to an aluminum surface you need to hit it with an alluminum cleaner (usually this is a mixture of Hydroflouric and Sulphuric acid diluted to about 100:1 with water). The alluminum cleaner does the reverse of polish; it corrodes the surface so there is a rough enough texture for the paint to bond to. In my previous job (comercial truck detailer) I have seen many a semi trailer that had paint peeling due to a poor job of "acidizing" the alluminum prior to paint. We also had a contract with the local tuck/trailer paint shop to prep new off the lot polished trailers for painting. Have you ever noticed how clear coated wheels for cars are machined and not polished? This is the reason why.

Jim

 

[paulrxwarrior]

The clearcoat would be a great idea except for one problem. Paint won't stick to polished alluminum. Alluminum polishes have petroleum distilates in them along with the abrasives. This is what gives you the black haze while polishing (microscopic particles of alluminum, the abrasive compound and Petroleum distilates). Even if you use a cleaner such as windex to remove the polish residue the alluminum surface is too smoth for the paint (clearcoat) to properly bond to the surface

In order to get paint to stick to an aluminum surface you need to hit it with an alluminum cleaner (usually this is a mixture of Hydroflouric and Sulphuric acid diluted to about 100:1 with water). The alluminum cleaner does the reverse of polish; it corrodes the surface so there is a rough enough texture for the paint to bond to. In my previous job (comercial truck detailer) I have seen many a semi trailer that had paint peeling due to a poor job of "acidizing" the alluminum prior to paint. We also had a contract with the local tuck/trailer paint shop to prep new off the lot polished trailers for painting. Have you ever noticed how clear coated wheels for cars are machined and not polished? This is the reason why.

Jim

There goes my idea of keeping the shine..........

Does anyone else have any ideas?????

 

[xcsp]

Not to polish the aluminum?

I'm thinking instead of polishing the aluminum tunnel that for low maintenance to put some grip tape (Sandpaper-type tape with adhesive backing readily available at skateboard shops)

The only thing is to make a template of the running board as to trim out the holes for the grippers in the runningboard.