OK, maybe I'm being picky. Other than the aluminum trim, which has some discoloration and minor pitting, my Pinto looks brand new.
I've tried McGuire's, wax, polish, everything I can think of. After all this, the aluminum looks better. Still, it needs some work to look new.
Anyone have success with this? Or do I just chalk this up to having a "survivor"? Am I being obsessive about my beloved Pinto?
I'm in the middle of this as we speak. Mine is a '74 which has an anodized coating. I just got quoted 150 bucks to have the coating removed on all the pieces so I can polish the aluminum. They charged me 10 bucks for one piece just to see if it worked and it did with great success.
Correct me if I am wrong, but arn't the trim pieces SUPPOSED to have a dull appearance to them?
I know for a fact that anodized aluminum WILL be dull, because of how the anodized coating is/works. It isn't chrome trim like you see on some other cars, but it can be made to look just as good by removing that anodized coating and polishing it, then it's just regular upkeep of the polished pieces from there on out.
The chrome trim on my 78 sedan's drip rail came off of a 76 runabout, and it IS chrome plated, and looks fabulous! I just wish it all matched!
I would love to have all of my trim shine like the sun, but I don't have the patience to remove all of it, sand off the coating, and then polish each piece to perfection like I want to. It's more work getting all of the chrome off and back on the same way than it's worth, to me at least!
You can try autosol, it isn't cheap, however with time, care and hard work it does work wonders.
http://www.autosol.com/ (http://www.autosol.com/)
Now, the biggest question is....Are these trim pieces aluminum or stainless steel? I've heard both...
$14.95 isn't expensive at all considering the possible results!
I used to test thermal compounds for computer processors (graphical and central processing units). I would spend $25 on a newly introduced compound to test in on three different CPUs, never using more than a third of the tube/syringe. Sometimes it would come out well, sometimes it was mediocre, but either way, it was cheaper than replacing the CPU or video card due to overheating!
Using that story in this case, $14.95 for a 3.33oz tube isn't bad at all considering it's $150-ish to have a professional shop remove the coating off the pieces, and that doesn't even include polishing the trim! I don't know if this autosol stuff would work though, since it would have to cut through the anodizing to actually polish the metal. It's like trying to polish paint that has cloudy clear coat. If you can't get through the cloudy clear coat, all you are doing is making it more reflective, giving it more of a "shine", not really polishing and shining the COLOR of the paint.
Hey guys i maybe wrong here!!!! but all trim on a pinto is stainless steel except the door sill moldings
Aluminum, latter model gutter trim rail plastic. Fred
yea Fred i hated that stuff lolol
Many thanks for all the suggestions. Today, I ordered Autosol Aluminum Cleaner, Polish, and Preservation Oil. I will post results, good or bad, after I try these products.
beicholz
read the directions. and polishing aluminium isn't about pressure placed on the work as much as it is about the finish. I use the polish with a drill and polishing pads. or dremel for fine work
cheers
Again, I will say this was on my 74 (others maybe different) but mine would not polish with Mothers, Blue Magic, paint buffing compound or my new metal polisher wheel using black rouge until I got rid of the dull coating. My local chrome guy explained they started using anodized aluminum for weight savings at about the time my car was built. Maybe I'll spray some oven cleaner on the back side that should tell quickly what it's made of.
CHEAPRACER
after the finish was off did it polish better? I did think of this after it dawned on me, once I had to take a fine wire brush attatched to the electric drill on 4 aluminun mags before I could go over them for hours with autosol.
cheers
:) Just wanted to follow up on this one, because I had such great results.
Based on member suggestions, I bought all of Autosol's products, including the polish, sealer, and aluminum protective oil.
What worked the best? The Autosol Aluminum Protective Oil. After 3 easy applications, the aluminum trim went from dull, dingy, spotted and pitted to shiny and smooth. This product made a huge difference in the appearance of my Pinto. Hint: Put on a thick coat at let it soak in over night.
Autosol Aluminum Protective Oil rocks!!!
Easy-off oven cleaner works well for stripping ano, too.
I'll give that a shot. I did pay to have the anodized coating removed on one piece, polished it out with the rouge and looks like a mirror now. They wanted 150 bucks to do the rest but I'm taking a break for now...sorta lost interest in the whole car lately for some reason.