stripping anodize from aluminum trim

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yellodog
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stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by yellodog »

iv'e read several different ways to strip the anodize, and seen several different products used. i tried drano max gel and easy off oven cleaner with poor results. today i tried regular drain cleaner crystals, mixed 4 tablespoons to a gallon of warm water. i submerged the headlight doors for 20 minutes, removed them from the solution, and cleaned them with a scotchbrite pad & water. excellent results, far better than the other 2 products, cheaper and easier too. great way to strip old anodize if your'e trying to get some shine back in your trim!

now i gotta' find something big enough to strip my grill in. a peice of gutter or 1/2 drain pipe with the ends plugged ought to work for the hood, door, & bedside trim.

if this is old news, sorry. but i was so pleased with todays results that i wanted to save someone else the aggravation & cost of using those other products.
SteveCanup
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by SteveCanup »

Yellodog....thanks! I've read a thousand posts about this. I too am trying to get the shine back with my anodized trim and I've tried oven cleaner, etc. I was sanding it off with 150 grit going down to 320, then green scrubby pad and so forth. What exactly were the "drain cleaner crystals" that you used? What brand? Thanks for the post.
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yellodog
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by yellodog »

it's called "ROOTO" and i got it at ace hardware. it says "100% LYE" household drain cleaner, and comes in a white plastic bottle. $3 for 16 oz, and it looks like 2 or 3 of those bottles will do all the trim on my truck. cheap, easy, effective.

actually, after i pulled them from the solution, it was only a few minutes before i was done with them. no real scrubbing, it just wipes off easily with the scotchbrite. while it was in the solution, it took a few minutes, but it looked like it was boiling, small bubbles coming off the metal.
SteveCanup
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by SteveCanup »

Thanks for the info. I'm going to my local Ace Hardware today. Here's a pic of my 'mess.'

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yellodog
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by yellodog »

oooh, at the kitchen table! i'm still trying to think of something big enough to put my grill in.
yellodog
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by yellodog »

ok, i took some time today & got serious. went to ace hdw and got some 400, 600, and 1500 wet or dri sandpaper, some #7 rubbing compound, and some mothers mag and aluminum polish. i came home & got busy on my headlite doos, first with the sandpaper 400, then 600, then 1500. i'd cleaned them with the scotchbrite pads, so they were actually pretty smooth to start with, and although the sanding smoothed them up even more i wasn't real impressed with them yet. next, i went over them pretty thouroghly with the #7, then washed them in soap & water. still, not what i was hoping for, but starting to get some reflection from them, just like a satin finish at this point. so on to the mothers, a good rubbing by hand using old socks for rags, turned inside out so the fuzzies were exposed. after that, the mothers said to buff the polish off, so i did that with an old flannel shirt.wow, they shine like new! i can easily see myself in them, they turned out even better than i'd hoped without a buffing wheel. good enough that i'm not going to buff them, just seal them & call it good. this whole process is much easier than i'd expected, and the results were unbelievable for the amount of effort & money i spent.
tomrooster
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by tomrooster »

yellow, what are you going to seal them with? Tom
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yellodog
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by yellodog »

i'm not sure. are there are some products available just for that? actually, i made so much progress so quickly, i didn't even think to look at whats available. it thought some car wax if nothing else, but i'm going to start looking around. any suggestions appreciated.
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F7BIGJOB
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by F7BIGJOB »

Not sure what I used to clean my signal light bezels, but after, I sprayed them with clear rattle can paint I had laying around, been on them and still looking good about 10 years later. :')
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SteveCanup
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by SteveCanup »

I was able to polish one of my headlight bezels this afternoon. I used Easy-Off oven cleaner. I was cheap the first time and used Walmart brand oven cleaner...didn't do squat. Easy-off heavy duty has lye or Sodium something or another that eats the anodize off of the trim. Here's the two together.
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SteveCanup
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by SteveCanup »

Forgot to mention that I am planning on using some quality rattle can clear on them.
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yellodog
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by yellodog »

looks great steve. i tried easy off, but got very little of the anodize off. but after i used the drain cleaner crystals, it took it of in 15 minutes, so easy, minimal cleanup, cheap. what did you use to polish with?
SteveCanup
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by SteveCanup »

I progressively sanded it beginning with 120 grit, 220, 400, green scrub pad with Turtle wax heavy compound (red), then polishing compound (white), and finally a rub with Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. I tried to find the Rooto Drain cleaner but no-one in my area stocked it. The EasyOff listed lye as the main ingredient and did better than anything I have tried yet.
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yellodog
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by yellodog »

well yours look about like mine do, pretty darn good! actually, if they were any brighter, they'd look too good. i want them to look about like they would have when new, not any brighter. i'm gonna' tackle the grill next, if i can find something to put it in to de-anodize. my side trim has some small dents in it to deal with first, so i guess i'll learn about that process next. hope it goes as well, and as easy, as the polishing did!

i'm going to make a real small slide hammer, with interchangable tools for the end. i'm thinking that might be easier to control than a regular hammer & tool. i'm also thinking it would be really easy to turn a dent into a bump, so i'm going to make that slidehammer small enough that i can go in baby steps, something i'm not used to, or good at.

btw, that mothers mag & aluminum polish is amazing stuff!
LM14
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by LM14 »

The best thing I've found to remove the anodizing is a drain cleaner found at Home Depot. It's in a brown bottle and usually comes sealed in a plastic bag. Takes it right off. Much better than Easy Off.

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yellodog
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Re: stripping anodize from aluminum trim

Post by yellodog »

i think the secret is a high lye content. the stuff i used was much easier to remove than the drano gel or the easy off, way more effective & cheaper too.
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