Polished window frames ?

[mspirito]

I have been debating having my window frames re anodized or possibly just polishing them to the aluminum finish after stripping the anodize. This is a 71 911. Has anyone gone the polished look route and how does it look?

[wayner]

I just did mine this fall.

Stripping the anodizing is tougher than the polishing step, but the result is beautiful.
(There are plenty of write ups here on how to do that using easy off, although I did have to apply lots of elbow grease too).

My one concern is how often will I have to touch them up?

The way I look at it though is that if I did want to have them re-anodized, I would have had to go through the steps of cleaning them up and removing the old coating and scratches anyway.

NOTE: I also did the front and rear window trim but at installation time I realized that it was more cost effective to buy new chrome trim than to straighten the tweaks that the previous owner had put in them. In hindsight I wouldn't have wasted tie trying to clean up those parts, and instead just replace the front and rear trim as I ended up doing.

[fred cook]

I did this on my SC. I had the car all apart for a paint job so that part of the labor was already done. It took me quite a while to strip and polish all the pieces including the trim under the windows. The end result was quite nice. I simply wax the aluminum each time I clean the car. So far, after about a year and a half, no problems with the aluminum tarnishing! A picture.

[HelmetHead]

We had this done on our last build..The anodizing has to be reversed and then the parts get bright polished. Roughly $1000 for all bright parts including window seal trim.

[mspirito]

Thanks for the input. Can the rear vent windows be taken apart and the rubber inside be replaced, the rubber that holds the window in the frame?

[HelmetHead]

Yes, Pop-out quarter window frames do come apart to replace the seals. Be careful with the seals as they are very fragile at the seam. The outer seals on the quarter windows are much more difficult to get back on the frame. I used hairspray to lubricate the seal which then dries and is no longer slippery like soapy water (old bike shop trick for grips)

[mspirito]

Thanks for the tip, I have a new seal on the outer rim of the pop out window that doesn't fit well and needs to be redone. Ill give the hairspray thing a try

[RD911T]

Originally Posted by wayner

I just did mine this fall.
In hindsight I wouldn't have wasted tie trying to clean up those parts, and instead just replace the front and rear trim as I ended up doing.

wayner, where did you source the bright windshield trim. Pelican shows it as temp unavailable.

[Jrboulder]

Nice job, Fred.

How did you guys polish it? Buffing wheel on a bench grinder?

[Quinlan]

I am in the process of removing everything for my backdate project. I was thinking of having the frames, window trim and door handles powder coated with the "chrome" finish powder. I know it isn't like real chrome, but as long as it all matched....
Thoughts?

[fred cook]

I used sandpaper to strip off the anodizing. Once the aluminum was bare, I used progressively finer paper to get it as smooth as possible. Then, I used a bench grinder turned polisher to get the final finish. Lots of time and effort, but the end result was worth the effort (IMHO). Once back on the car, I used some chrome polish on it and then put a coat or two of paste wax. That was almost 2 yrs ago and no surface finish deterioration yet.

Originally Posted by Jrboulder

Nice job, Fred.

How did you guys polish it? Buffing wheel on a bench grinder?

[Fastdog911]

The process I just went through to do my S bumper trim is : Strip Aluminum anodization, then take it to a polisher, then have it re anodized. The re anodization will protect it from the elements and it takes a bit of the high polish look off and tones it down to look factory. Cost to do 2 rear bumper trims and big front bumper trim was $ 150.00. One thing to remember is if you have pits and some damage to the part the pits etc will not go away. Consider that patina.