Tarnished aluminium trim

[Charles Morgan]

My red car has a lot of aluminium trim that was pretty badly tarnished. Using Autosol got rid of much of the tarnish but still pretty flat to look at:

By chance I was using Meguiars Ultimate protectant on some of the black finish by the aluminium, and some of it ended up there - I wiped it off to notice there was much more of a sparkle and a richer finish. (photos taken with lousy iPhone but entirely unmanipulated). Not sure how long it will last, but definitely much better than untreated! Other tips for aluminium polishing welcome!

 

[Will]

Do I get a prize for guessing the car

 

[Charles Morgan]

Guess away.

The prize would be a mug of tea and a drive!

 

[Will]

Bmw M5 3.4

 

[zoros]

Looks the same to me. It's your imagination?

 

[Charles Morgan]

Almost Will!

 

[stevehg]

Was the aluminium bare? Normally when used as trim on cars, it normally has a clear coat, even on many classic cars. So normal process is to treat it like the rest of the paint on the car and use a paint compound polish, followed by refining polish.

If it's bare, you'll need to wet sand with a fine grit and then use a metal refining polish. Be aware that the finish won't last for long. However you could use one of modern sealants like Gtechniq C1/C4 to seal it in for ~2 years. You can then use a sealant like C2 or a wax to give it a bit more gloss.

cheers, Steve

 

[Charles Morgan]

Steve - I'd say whatever clear coat there was originally has gone (it's 30 years old - I suspect someone has used chrome polish with ill effect). So sanding, metal refining polish sounds like the way to go!

 

[del320]

Bmw M5 3.4

AskMID says BMW M535i

Boy, that was hard...

 

[stwat]

Kent Bergsma has done some vids on this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSk-AN1pNcg

[YOUTUBE HD]KSk-AN1pNcg[/YOUTUBE HD]

 

[s500colin]

Wheeler dealers refurbed a frog eyed sprite and they had the aluminium trims professionally repolished the section on the programme that covers it is about 18 minutes into the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqlsoNVjAI8

 

[donshl]

I've seen white diamond Bringing up aluminium trim nicely

Metal Polish

 

[Doodle]

Charles, I presume this trim was silver originally?

The SL's trim pieces could do with improvement but unfortunately they're gunmetal so I suspect replacement is the only option.

 

[sallison1504]

Apparently Coke cola is good for this. Google it. At your own risk.

 

[ringway]

I have used Metal Polishing Supplies with success in the past.
Their site shows their own YouTube video tutorials and they have a wide range of pastes, mops and sealants. LINK.

Around 10 miles from PCS.