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What is best to buff dull alluminum grille?

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GoldFinger View Drop Down
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    Posted: 20-September-2015 at 1:19PM
Hello!
 I am curious to know what tool and polish to buff my dull aluminum trim on the outer part of my 73 Torino Sport grille?
 
Weinal?..Dremel tool?..Any help and suggestions would be appreciated!
 
Thanks!
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californiajohnny View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote californiajohnny Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20-September-2015 at 5:55PM
dremel would work but is kinda small. i'd use a small 2" dia. cotton buffing pad like this:  Cotton Buffing Mushroom 2" Cotton Buffing/Polishing Xtra Thick Pad For Drill New
you can use it in a drill,or better yet a air die grinder (if you have a air compressor) if you have a harbor freight near you they have these, for a few dollars. and die grinders for $10-$15! they work fine for the money (i have several) Air Die Grinder Pneumatic Tool 1/4" Mini Micro Straight Inline Air Compressor

 and for buffing compound: probably a small brick of red rouge1 lb. Jewelers Red Rouge Abrasive Polishing Buffing Compound
 

if you do it on the car... i'd suggest masking tape to mask off and protect the paint!!! you can use wenal or similar product to hand polish after the buffing Wink but remember the trim is clear anodized, so it will clean up some but it won't look like fine polished aluminum unless you sand and buff down past that hard anodized layer, which i wouldn't do if you don't need to!!! 
JOHN
74 GRAN TORINO S&H CLONE
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77 CELICA CUSTOM
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twosfamily View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote twosfamily Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20-September-2015 at 11:47PM
What Californiajohnny said x2!

Over the years, however, I have never been really successful (or happy) with just buffing the anodized coating. For me, it never has turned out very well. If you remove the trim from the car and find the buffing does not turn out well, you can sand through the the coating. Sanding through the coating has proven to me to be a very, very time consuming process. There are some chemical products out there that work well for removing the coating in little time. Years ago, I used heavy duty oven cleaner (if you go this route, do so in a very well ventilated area!). That has worked well for me. You have to make sure you let the piece soak in the cleaner. I would place it in a container and spray it down until the piece is completely covered with the cleaner, like a bath. Within the last several years I have used Draino Max Gel with even better success. It works extremely well and because it is a gel, it covers the part with enough product much easier. As a container, I use PVC pipe cut in half. That will let the parts bath in the Gel while using minimal product and with longer pieces of PVC, you can fit longer pieces of trim. It usually takes 15-20 minutes of soaking until all the coating is removed. After the coating is removed, remove the piece from the solution and rinse it well. You can then work the piece if there are any scratches or dings. Scratches can be sanded out in steps. Dings can be removed with a trim dolly and trim hammer. I have found that there are not many small defects (and most large ones!) that can not be removed easily, with just some time! Then you can polish the piece to a phenomenal shine with the products Californiajohnny mentions above! I sometimes use Autosol in the polishing process. With being bare polished aluminum, you will have to keep up on polishing it more often. But, it looks great! Or, you can clear coat it, clear powder coat it, or send it out to be re-anodized. Some of which can be costly. This has been my experience with anodized aluminum trim. As with anything, I am sure there are many other ways to do this but this process has always worked very well for me!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote robot9000 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-September-2015 at 5:51AM
I second what Twosfamily said.

I would remove the trip piece and work on it.  Its a lot easier.  I too had to remove some dents and ended up removing the anodizing with lye drain cleaner.  I could not really polish the annodized parts enough to make them shine like the part missing the anodizing.  I bought some Por-15 Glisten to coat the parts, bud have not had time to do that.  I plan on removing the grill next spring for some engine work and will touch up the AL and Glisten it then.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Big Bird Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-September-2015 at 11:09AM
If you strip the anodizing off, polish with 0000 steel wool, and follow with Mother's polish. If you use a powerball or anything like that, you REALLY want the part off the car.
If you use the red rouge, take it off the car and 100 yards away.
It will spatter.
You won't notice.
It will dry.
You will cry.
Imagine red birdsh*t drying on your paint.
"What we do in full frontal view, is more honest than your cleaned-up mind."
Randy
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How the Heck does a REGULAR CAB SHORTBED weigh over 5200 pounds?
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