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Take clear coat paint off aluminum trim.

Cornpatch MO

Cornpatch MO

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1968 Roadrunner- Satellite...Grill and headlight bezels. Aluminum. Previously I had the stock anodizing stripped and parts polished. We sprayed clear coat on them in an effort to keep the aluminum shiney. Now the clear coat is peeling off . I would like to have them anodized, but they tell me I have to strip off all the clear.
Any idea's of what to use that won't harm the aluminum and fairly easy to use? I don't think I want to use harsh oven cleaner. Input would be appreciated.................MO
 
Kleen Strip Aircraft Remover..... What are airplanes made of ???? Aluminum.... Aircraft stripper is effective & doesn't hurt aluminum....
 
If you just "sprayed clear coat" on them, chances are it was a spray bomb coating? That would remove quite easily with lacquer thinner or acetone. If you used catalyzed paint out of a gun, use the above mentioned aircraft stripper.
 
5.t7 Hemi polished my grille and I chose to keep it bare. Had my intake and Valve covers done locally and they cleared them. I will NEVER clearcoat again. Next time I have it apart I will remove the stained & peeling clear coat.
I prefer to hand polish for maintenance. :popcorn2:
 
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Once you get the clear off of it, check out the MC Series of liquid ceramic clears on NICIndustries.com in the Cerakote section. They have several formulations, marketed as The World's Strongest Clear Coat (they aren't kidding), for polished metals, PVD, etc.

I use the MC-160 on everything I buff and polish for customers now; it has completely replaced the previous clear powder I used to use on it.

All you need is an HVLP gun with a .08 mm tip (found one on ebay for $17.99). A little bit goes a LONG WAY! The trial size is enough for all of your trim with leftovers. It requires no mixing or hardener and you use it straight out of the bottle.

Here's a few pics Before to After, used on a set of REALLY rough aluminum fins for a pair of Commando valve covers. These belong to YouTuber Jed Scott if any of you follow him and his dad at Scott's Speed shop.
20190206_175302.jpg

20190206_175324.jpg

20190206_175408.jpg

And now, straightened, polished, buffed and protected for a lifetime ...
20190328_160925.jpg

20190328_160352.jpg

20190410_115536.jpg
 
Le,,,how does that stand up to gasoline and hot oil? My intake and valve cover are both stained and the intake is peeling.
I dig my bling and I'm disappointed at my results from the local wheel company Elite Rims.

5.13.15 005.jpg
 
HEMI-ITIS said:
Le,,,how does that stand up to gasoline and hot oil? My intake and valve cover are both stained and the intake is peeling.
I dig my bling and I'm disappointed at my results from the local wheel company Elite Rims.

View attachment 872670
Click to expand...


The website says it has "excellent chemical resistance and flexibility."
https://www.cerakote.com/finishes/

I do know polishing is time consuming and costly; once you get that far you don't want to have to redo it. Since yours is peeling though, a few passes over the buffer will probably be needed to remove any haze whatever chemical you strip it off with leaves on the metal.
 
Thanks! Next time it's apart I will bring it back to them,have them strip it and REpolish it. If they refuse,I tow for at least 15 places that use them,,,,,,for now:elmer::elmer::elmer::elmer::elmer:
 
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I've found that soaking anything with an anodized coating in EvapoRust will strip it off.
 
HEMI-ITIS said:
What did you give a bath to??
Click to expand...
I had a bunch of old ADDCO swaybar hardware that I wanted to clean up before selling...which had a nice yellow 'cad-plating/anodized finish' on them. The next day, they were bare shiny steel. Lol
 
HEMI-ITIS said:
But how would that work on Aluminum??
Click to expand...

Yup, Brite Dip aka anodizing doesn't act like yellow zinc....
The good news Evaporust is pretty easy on parts & probably wouldn't damage aluminum trim... But whether it would remove anodizing? Personally I doubt it...
Zinc plating comes off pretty easy, lots of chemicals will strip it to bare metal....
Anodizing is impervious to most chemicals & is usually striped with a strong base/caustic solution...
 
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