Sealing a brushed body from the elements

[Superarnie]

Hi to all.
Please can anyone with a brushed finish kirkham advise me on how you protect or seal the body from the elements. I have a brushed ac superblower that shows every fingermark. Is there a wayY to seal the body? I tried using a product named sharkhide but it left the body very streaky. I have also tried to protect the body with a silicon spray however it made my polished stripes cloudy. On that matter, does anyone know of a good product to remove the silicon from the stripes. I have tried a cutting polish to no avail. Many thanks
Gary?

[Learjockey1]

The Street Rodders used to use a product called Zoop Seal on the polished aluminum. It is very thin, uses a process, and long lasting as I had read of it years ago. I Googled to research for you and understand they went out of business. Now there is one call ShineSeal.com. Sorta expensive but worth it to save time on such a large surface area. I have never used it but may order some soon. Google it.

[Superarnie]

Thanks learjockey1. I have had a look at the product on your link. It sounded great until is read it has been formuated by a person without a background in chemistry. Has anyone got personal knowledge of the product?

[Jerry Clayton]

There are two choices -one is red and the other blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Dupont has a lengthy history in chemistry

[ACademic]

I would focus on a small section of the car and start with chemicals that are the least caustic. Plain lacquer thinner can be used safely on bare aluminum and should be strong enough of a solvent to break down the silicone. WD-40 is also known for its silicone-eating properties, albiet it's a bit more oily and may need to be followed-up with a swipe of the lacquer thinner. You could also research materials that body shops use to prep a car prior to painting. These all have silcone-removing agents that are safe on primers and fillers, so it should also be safe on bare alloys.

[Superarnie]

Thanks ACademic. I have tried laquer tinners and body sop type panel wipe products but it still persists. I wondered if a weak solution of Phosphoric acid may do the trick?

Thanks Jerry also. I didn't know Dupont made the Shineseal! If that's the case I'll give it a try. One red one blue???

[RodKnock]

Sealer - Good luck with that. IIRC, the Kirkhams have tried everything to no avail. But polished aluminum holds up for a long time, if not exposed to the elements.

Cleaning Polished Stripes - I'd try the most fine polish that I think is available and that's Nuvite S. If that doesn't work, then I'd try a Mother's Billet Aluminum polish. After that, then I'd move down to more coarse polish in the Nuvite line. They have several levels:

Nuvite Chemical Compounds Corporation - Metal Polish NuShine II System

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by Superarnie

.... I didn't know Dupont made the Shineseal! If that's the case I'll give it a try. One red one blue???

Oh....I thought he was talking about red paint or blue paint
Cheers,
Glen

[Jerry Clayton]

Yep---I was talkin PAINT---RED or BLUE---stripe color optional-------

[Dimis]

Use toothpaste... it should cut through the silicon without damaging the alloy.
At least that's what the artisan jewelers here tell me. No kidding.

[Superarnie]

Toothpaste???

I'll give it a try. Thanks everyone for your contributions.

[rodneym]

While toothpaste has abrasives in it that may do the trick (it's an old plastic watch 'crystal' polishing trick), I'd stick to purpose made polishes.
Plus, aluminum has different grades that may polish better than others. My Kirkham hood scoop is probably softer than the body. It's polishes to a different degree than the rest.
Get in touch with Tom at Nuvite (think that's his name). Email him some pics. He'll lead you in the right direction.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by rodneym

While toothpaste has abrasives in it that may do the trick (it's an old plastic watch 'crystal' polishing trick), I'd stick to purpose made polishes.
Plus, aluminum has different grades that may polish better than others. My Kirkham hood scoop is probably softer than the body. It's polishes to a different degree than the rest.
Get in touch with Tom at Nuvite (think that's his name). Email him some pics. He'll lead you in the right direction.

There's a Tom at PerfectPolish.com, but the website isn't available.

[rodneym]

That's the guy.
Thanks, Rodknock.

[Jerry Clayton]

Bonami------------never left a scratch!!!!!!!!!!!

[FatBoy]

Autoglym make a product that will clean off the silicon:

Intensive Tar Remover - Products - Autoglym

I believe the aluminium used on the Kirkham bodies is much higher quality than that used on the AC. The Kirkham bodies stand up well without any treatment on them. I polish mine once a year and then just use a vinegar type window cleaner to take off bugs and the inevitable finger prints.

I did a charity track day a few weeks ago taking paying passengers for laps around a circuit. It was very busy and as soon as one passenger was out, the next one was in. What I didn't realise was that people weren't taking care when taking off the harness and the buckles on the shoulder straps were bashing against the door top. I now have dozens of small dents and scratches in the aluminium.

I might look into putting a clear film on the tops of the doors. Has anyone tried this?

Paul

[Superarnie]

Thanks Fatboy and others for your help.

I will look for the Autoglym product and see how I get on.

Many thanks
gary

[OnyxRider]

I thought that with todays different "paint" technologies some type of clear coat could be used. When Kirkham placed that ad for the silicon valley cobra I thought of this. Maybe the polished bare aluminum lasts but why spend the money later in time to have it re-polished? How much does that run? Hard to believe there is no clear coat option out there.

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by FatBoy

Autoglym make a product that will clean off the silicon:

Intensive Tar Remover - Products - Autoglym

I believe the aluminium used on the Kirkham bodies is much higher quality than that used on the AC. The Kirkham bodies stand up well without any treatment on them. I polish mine once a year and then just use a vinegar type window cleaner to take off bugs and the inevitable finger prints.

I did a charity track day a few weeks ago taking paying passengers for laps around a circuit. It was very busy and as soon as one passenger was out, the next one was in. What I didn't realise was that people weren't taking care when taking off the harness and the buckles on the shoulder straps were bashing against the door top. I now have dozens of small dents and scratches in the aluminium.

I might look into putting a clear film on the tops of the doors. Has anyone tried this?

Paul

I put clear tape on top of doors, where my radar detector cord hangs on the dash, and I had a clear bra on front hood and rear fenders, that was on my SPF...

[Superarnie]

I bought the Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover product today. I am cautiously optomistic that it has worked! After using it, I buffed a small section of the polished stripes on my car with a fine cutting compound and it looks superb and not cloudy. however that was in artificial light and it can look completely different in natural light. But for now.......fingers crossed. Thanks Fatboy!

Now, how do I seal my brushed body?

I have heard that clear paint lacquer will flake and yellow over time.
I'm guessing plain old WD-40 is the way to go?