How do you keep polished aluminium shiny?

[madmaxx]

I was wondering the secret besides mothers polish to keep you polished aluminium parts, manifold, valve covers shiny without polishing all the time. Does zoopseal work, clear coating? Any suggestions. The car never gets wet and has never been in the rain but after awhile I have to polish to bring back the shine.

Thanks

[Gunner]

Simple - seal your garage and keep it filled with pure nitrogen. You'll want to add a big window so you can see your shiny car parts.

There are some ways to seal polished parts - clear powdercoat is one, various chemical sealants are another, and there's always chrome - but in the end if you want something to stay shiny, you have to keep it clean, keep it away from corrosive gases (tough on a car or under a hood)... and polish it from time to time.

[mickmate]

Zoopseal or clear anodise.

[thudmaster]

Housekeeper does mine...........

Get yours out of the house and get her busy....

[Slick61]

that's why I live in California... so I only have to polish the aluminum every year or two...

[Zedn]

I used a product called Glisten PC made by Por 15. Its a 2 pack clear for polished metals. It worked well but nothing will be as good as freshly polished bare alloy.

The hub in this pic is coated.

[madmaxx]

Thanks for all the suggestion

[RonNichols]

http://www.sharkhide.com/

[Silverback51]

Drive more, polish less.

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by RonNichols

http://www.sharkhide.com/

I use this stuff on my pontoon boat, but I don't think it would look that good an polished engine parts. It gives the aluminum kind of an anodized look.

As far as polishing an engine, a good polish like Mothers aluminum, Flitz etc... use some good polishing cloths as well. Keeping an engine in a car shiny is easy. I had a Blown / intercooled BB in a boat (everything was polished from the blower down) that required about 8 hours of polishing everytime I took it out. That is the last time I will put a polished motor in a boat where it gets misted with water. After that ordeal polishing the motor in the SPF is easy.

[patrick076]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

Drive more, polish less.

agreed with you

[Excaliber]

A friend of mine was attending a car show, he and a few of us showing our cars. We got there in plenty of time to do a little polishing and such. So after our cars were done we decided to help our friend out. Went to work polishing everything that could be polished. Wheels, steering wheel, gas cap, etc, wow, it looked great. Some months later my friend said he was sure getting tired of keeping the shine and wasn't sure if we had helped him or hurt him.

[Ron61]

One of the guys around here that used to have a Cobra had all of his engine polished and it looked great. But he told me that he had to really keep any water off of it as that was the worst thing. It just seemed like a lot of work to me for a car if you want to drive it at all. But it really did look great and he did well at the car shows.

Ron

[emberglo66]

It's easy first clean with this...best stuff I have ever used!!!

http://performanceunlimited.com/cobr...talpolish.html


then protect with this

http://performanceunlimited.com/cobr.../zoopseal.html

[Paul F]

Maxx, bare aluminum is the worst. It really should be your last choice for shiny parts. Chrome or nickel plate, stainless, and if you must, clear powder coat, are the way to keep you happy with shiny metal parts without spending all your time polishing.

Holley clear coats their carburetors and has branded it as 'Endurashine'. Clear powder coat is very tough stuff.

Get the manifold and covers plated..... or clear coat them or paint them. Then enjoy the ride.

[PatBuckley]

I had to wax my polished Kirkham about three times a year.

I used plain jane paint wax.

[SD5805]

Unfortunately, the car needs to be maintained and detailed periodically to look its best.
I get into a routine so as to not get overwhelmed.
1 day undercarriage 2nd day wheels tires n pipes 3rd day interrior
4th day exterior etc