How to polish your Aluminum trim

[Biscayne737]

I tried just about everything to get those annoying water spots out of my aluminum my aluminum trim. I tried clay bars, vinegar, clr, metal polishes etc to no avail. I was literally going through everything on my garage shelf searching for a solution. I came across cerium oxide powder that I bought to polish some scratches out of glass. I gave it a shot and it worked perfectly! I took a lot of work but my aluminum trim is back to new. Hope this helps!

Before
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f95/flyguy327/IMG_2096.jpg (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/flyguy327/media/IMG_2096.jpg.html)

Polish with a wool pad on a rotary drill and plenty of elbow grease and patients. This stuff works very slow but it works.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f95/flyguy327/IMG_2093.jpg (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/flyguy327/media/IMG_2093.jpg.html)

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f95/flyguy327/IMG_2099.jpg (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/flyguy327/media/IMG_2099.jpg.html)

Im sure you can find the kit cheaper but this is essentially what i used.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cerium-Oxide-High-Grade-Polishing-Powder-8oz-Felt-Polishing-Wheel-Kit-/251043122771

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

Wow man that came out great. I think I have some relevant questions you can answer. What about all that slung everywhere? Harmful to paint? Wash right off? How long overall did it take you?

[DRAKLORE]

Isn't there a clear cost over our trim?

[Obsidian]

I have been thinking about either painting or wrapping my chrome trim for quite some time now. How hard is it to remove the trim? Is there anything adhesive that would be needed to reinstall or does the trim snap/clip into place?

[alphaVR]

wow. that looks like it worked perfectly!

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

I have been thinking about either painting or wrapping my chrome trim for quite some time now. How hard is it to remove the trim? Is there anything adhesive that would be needed to reinstall or does the trim snap/clip into place?

Ask Draklore he can tell you. The trim is riveted on I believe. But Drake was able to get his off and back on, just not sure how he secured it.

[marlboro]

Where did you get the cerium oxide powder from? Isn't there a clear coat on top and are you not removing it by this method?

[Biscayne737]

Wow man that came out great. I think I have some relevant questions you can answer. What about all that slung everywhere? Harmful to paint? Wash right off? How long overall did it take you?

The excess washes right off. Didn't stick to paint or rubber parts. as far as a clear coat, I have no idea if it had one or not. If it did its likely still there. This stuff is very fine and very gentle. I actually did this about 3 months ago (I just got around to posting) and it still looks like new. As far as removing the trim i know nothing about that and wanted to avoid it. I have to admit it was a lot of work. It took a good 4-5 hours or so but I polished it to like new conditions.

[DRAKLORE]

Ask Draklore he can tell you. The trim is riveted on I believe. But Drake was able to get his off and back on, just not sure how he secured it.

the top portions are riveted on, pretty easily drilled out and then riveted back on..

now the door and 3/4 window trim are a completely different story, they snap on and there is practically no conventional way that I know to remove them without warping them somewhat...
this means that you would need to rework the strips back into shape before attempting a reinstall, also a pita...

difficulty level would be a 8/10 for sure.

[Biscayne737]

Where did you get the cerium oxide powder from? Isn't there a clear coat on top and are you not removing it by this method?
Check out the link at the bottom of the post. But shop around, I'm sure you can find it cheaper.

[Aznkae]

Where did you get the cerium oxide powder from? Isn't there a clear coat on top and are you not removing it by this method?

http://www.amazon.com/Cerium-Oxide-Grade-Polishing-Powder/dp/B007KOC19C

[marlboro]

Can you please describe the whole procedure? How long did you keep it on, what tool did you use to polish with, etc.? This would make a very nice DIY.

[Biscayne737]

This isn't very complicated. Buy Cerium oxide powder and a wool pad for a rotary drill (see link at the bottom of the original post). Mix the cerium oxide powder with water so it makes a slurry. You really cant screw it up. Then dip the pad in the slurry and polish the aluminum being careful to avoid rubber. The cerium oxide wont harm the rubber but the friction from the wool pad would. I used tape on the paint and rubber to help protect them. Then polish to a shine. You don't have to leave it on for any amount of time. You can take it off immediately or a day later it doesn't matter. I just hosed it off. I did remove the mirrors for easier access to the entire trim. I also had to polish the upper surfaces with the doors open. To protect the interior from splatter I taped on a garbage bag. Some splatter did get on the interior but again, it come off easily with a wet rag. Cerium Oxide is like baby powder. If you can imagine mixing baby powder with water thats about what this is like.

[PNW Avant]

I used Meguiar's M105 and a microfiber pad, and polished hard with my thumb and achieved the same results.

[Biscayne737]

I used Meguiar's M105 and a microfiber pad, and polished hard with my thumb and achieved the same results.

I tried everything. Including waxes, polishes and compounds. Nothing got the the water marks out. South florida has very hard water.

[PNW Avant]

Mine didnt appear as bad as yours, but nonetheless.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/349276-Cleaning-Avant-roof-rails?highlight=cleaning+avant+roof+rails

[Ornithology]

Pics of finished product!!

[Ornithology]

How many oz of the cerium oxide did you need?

[CLEANA3]

Looks good

[V2Rider]

I saw a product "shadowline" that you can wrap the trim in without removing it, supposed to last many years. Ive been looking into it.......