Keeping Aluminum Shiny

[Quickstep192]

I just got done making a small part out of 6061 aluminum. I polished it up and I’m wondering what’s the best way to keep it shiny.

I’d appreciate any suggestions.

[stownsen914]

If it's not anodized, I like to put some wax on aluminum to act as a sealer.

[cabmandone]

I use wadding polish on my wheels.

[Dpmulvan]

Cerakote clear for aluminum.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

Cerakote clear for aluminum.

This. If not, use Gord's. Gords Aluminum Wheel Polish Chrome, Cleaner, Polish & Sealer

[NotStock]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

Cerakote clear for aluminum.

This. MC5100 clear.

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by NotStock

This. MC5100 clear.

That will work, but the oven cure is better.

[NotStock]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

That will work, but the oven cure is better.

If there is a suitable oven cure clear that would be better. A lot of my parts were too big for the oven (trailing arms). There is an H series clear, but it says it isn't suitable for outdoor applications. I also thought H needed a blasted surface finish. Anyway, completely agree, oven cure would be better if you find the right product.

This was a quick and dirty spruce up.

[GaryR]

Eastwood makes a great clearcoat that is resistant to gasoline/oils/etc, have used it on many parts in the past. I ended up painting my rear trailing arms as they also make several shades of silver and I found after blasting they looked much better than just clear coated (to me).

[Dpmulvan]

Air dry 5110 still works great compared to clear paints et. H series says not for outdoor strictly because of UV Rays. Not too much sun on the trailing arms.

[Discseven]

Chromate conversion. 2 step process. There's a cleaning etch step with AluminPrep (also known as Bonerite C-IC33 Aero) followed by conversion with Alodine (also known as Bonderite 1001 Aero.) Both are from Henkel. This changes the surface layer of the aluminum in a way I can't explain (because I don't know the chemistry going on here.) It's NOT a coating---it's in the metal. I can say the process results in beautiful aluminum that stays that way... with the exception of it getting dirty. Non-abrasive cleaning is done. Brake cleaner or engine degreaser.



Converted.




All the aluminum seen here is converted. I found that one piece of converted aluminum will not necessarily match another even when the treatment process & timing is exactly the same. Dug into this... is simply because one piece of aluminum is not necessarily the same as another. (Magnesium here is clear coated with Cerakote.)

---Credit to "Rawknuckles" for turning me onto to this conversion nonsense. Hope you are more than well out there in the torrid desert RonO.

[Gretz]

I had all my aluminum suspension parts blasted and then clear powder coated. I will say they look great but they don’t look like standard aluminum. It’s too glossy so you can tell they are coated. I’d prefer the standard aluminum look, but the ease of cleaning these parts is worth the slight difference in appearance. I’m sure the other options presented in the thread are great. The clear powder was pretty quick and inexpensive.

[porschedude996]

All the examples are very nice. Clear powder coating would be my choice.