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My side exhaust covers aren't that terribly beat up but they do have some nicks here and there and the finish is dull. I understand they are clear anodized as well. Has anyone TIG'd up dings etc and polished them out? Can that clear be removed easily by just wet sanding and buffing or does it need to be chemically stripped?
Shops that do anodizing remove it chemically. It's a pretty painless process, but finding a local shop with tanks large enough to immerse your covers is going to be the challenge. Plus, they usually want the customer to remove any accent paint first and you'll find the grainy silver between ribs is a form of paint over clear anodize.
Once you're back to the underlying metal, how to 'fix' (remove dents, polish, Etc.) is up to you. When you're happy with the finished bare product, the anodizer will have no problem redoing it for you to add back the final accent paint touches.
That's how a serious restorer goes about salvaging used and 'wounded' rare original parts like early mid year grilles, early Shark rocker panels, Etc. BUT, by the time you're done hunting down a local anodizing shop, doing the prep work, having the parts re-anodized, and re-assembled (individual pieces of grilles were typically riveted together to form the completed assy) and accent painted, you may find it was cheaper to buy the reproduction item and loose a few points. It's a tradeoff of your personal time vs. your restoration pride in knowing you've got the real McCoy item on your car!
Just found the recipe in case anyone likes chemistry.
The chromic acid/phosphoric acid solution used in the Acid Dissolution Test ASTM - 137 will remove the anodic coating without affecting the underlying surface. The composition of that bath is 80 grams of chromic acid in 3.5 liters of water, add 140 ml of 85% phosphoric acid, add water to make 4 liters. The bath is operated at 190 - 200 deg. F. Immerse the part for 15 minutes and then rinse well in water. Great chemical site below, it's much cheaper than Caswell's.
Scott, My side exaust looked like finish was rubbed off & pretty scrongy was even thinking of replacing them. I took windex & bristle brush they came out shiny with a little elbow grease. No help with dents tho. Regards, Don
I refurbished a pair of badly beaten covers a few years ago. It took an incredible amount of work and patience, but they ARE beautiful. This was done about a year before the reproduction covers became available again, and if they had been at the time, then I would have bought a pair.
You will NOT be able to resurface them unless you remove the extremely hard anodized layer first. If you need a contact for anodizing REMOVAL, I brought them to a shop in Brooklyn, NY. If you are interested, I will TRY to find the info, if I can. This is certainly easier than becoming the "mad scientist" at home, and possibly creating a cloud of mustard gas which wipes out the entire neighborhood!
THE HARD PART, is to find a shop that will replace the clear anodizing after you've got them polished up. I did not, and ended up clearcoating them. Again, they look great but, they are now very delicate.
I am going thorgh this process right now. Here is what I have done. My exhaust covers were coroded from salty knight air. I took to the local chrome shop and had them stripped and polished. Then when I got them back I taped off the area that has the dul finish and sand blasted the recessed area to reproduce the finish and look of the original. They are on there way to be anodized. The anodizing will give the polished area a dul look.
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