Aluminum on the lower part of the dash

[peakandscoot]

Does anyone have experience with the Aluminum on the lower part of the dash on b bodys. My 62 has aluminum that needs polishing however i'm sure it must be done by hand. It is about the thickness of 10 pieces of foil folded together. I cant express how easy this stuff would be to dent.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

You've definitely identified the problem.....it's thin & easy to mess up. "Maybe" there's a not-very-aggressive chemical means of polishing it? I seem to remember that you could cleans silver by putting it in a bath of baking soda with a piece of aluminum foil in the bath or something like that.

I like the vinegar approach in this article (vinegar = acetic acid)
http://www.howtocleanthings.com/surfaces/how-to-clean-aluminum/

I would NOT use hydrochloric acid. I tried that once and it turned my aluminum black.

Aluminum tractor-trailer washes used to (might still) contain a very small amount of hydrofluoric acid which works, but is very dangerous (if concentrated enough). I worked at a plant that made this type of truck wash & a guy got one drop of concentrated hydrofluoric on his finger and it almost instantly drilled a hole ALL THE WAY THROUGH his finger....looked like you could put string through it and sew with this finger. We later switched to making the hydrofluoric acid inside the tank using boron triflouride + sulfuric acid. If you go this route wear dishwasher gloves and safety glasses. The vinegar method will be much slower, but only slightly irritate your skin.

Oh yeah, and like carpet shampoos say, "try first in a small inconspicuous spot" before doing the whole part....maybe on the back of it?

 

[bmelvin1998]

Handle like the peak molding on a 67 Charger. De-anodize it by dipping it in a caustic solution from Jestco Products. The mix comes dry in a bottle, then add 2 table spoons to a gallon of water. Soaked the trim for about 15 minutes and rinsed with cold water(per directions). buff with white rouge. http://www.jestcoproducts.com/