Aluminum Decklid unfinished?

[shaunmbenson]

Hey Gang

I'm thinking I may want to put an aluminum rear decklid on my 3.2 carrera - have been for awhile and am ready to pull trigger
It may look ghastly but it's an itch I need to scratch

Question -- do I clear coat the aluminum, which I understand can trap in fingerprints and dull the finish
or do I leave it as it comes from Restoration or AASE and let it age as it does and rebrush/polish down the road?

thanks

[joanna]

well

[skinnerd]

Most aluminum deck lids are painted the same color as the rest of the car....

[shaunmbenson]

Skinnerd - yup - I'm thinking of not painting it

[javadog]

Originally Posted by shaunmbenson

Skinnerd - yup - I'm thinking of not painting it

Which, to 95% of people, will not look good. You have to ask yourself, are you considering the lack of paint because you like the look of aluminum, or just to show it off?

JR

[will hung]

If it were mine, I'd paint just the outer visible parts. So to the common observer, it's a stock lid, but to somebody that cares, you open the hood and show that glorious bare aluminum.

[Indescikov]

In the aircraft world, polished aluminum is the ultimate in never ending maintenance.
It takes daily, weekly, monthly work to keep it looking reasonable and keeping it looking "nice" will grow old after a short time.
As said earlier, paint it and leave the inside aluminum.
Thoughts from 40 years of aircraft ownership

[Elombard]

I think it would be cool....I like the idea of leaving the inside bare too. I saw some pics recently of a car with a really nice amber FG rear deck and the inside was bare FG out side was painted. It was very cool. Maybe Will H saw the same thing.

Why not try it for a while, you can always paint it later?

[tdw28210]

Louvered deck lids can look cool naked.

[will hung]

Originally Posted by Elombard

I think it would be cool....I like the idea of leaving the inside bare too. I saw some pics recently of a car with a really nice amber FG rear deck and the inside was bare FG out side was painted. It was very cool. Maybe Will H saw the same thing.

Why not try it for a while, you can always paint it later?

Although the bare fiberglass lid sounds really cool, I've never seen it. Having said that, I'd love to see pics of it.

I got the idea from a longhood I saw being built on the early s registry. Here are some pics for inspiration.

[shaunmbenson]

Thanks guys. The naked or half painted really appeals to me

Thanks for the warnings and advice. When I make a move I'll post pics

[Jayboundless]

Polished aluminum exterior. Love the idea! Go for it.

[Canada Kev]

Originally Posted by Jayboundless

Polished aluminum exterior. Love the idea! Go for it.

Then ya gotta get a polished aluminum frunk lid and do the same thing for that end...

[skinnerd]

I would go for painted on the top where you can see....

and bare aluminum underneath.

You'll want to put some kind of preservative on it as aluminum will still oxidize.

Alodyne comes to mind....


On my 914 R Gruppe car, I have fiberglass hoods that will be painted on the top, but the undersides will be clear coated raw amber fiberglass.

So I can appreciate the aluminum hood thingy....

[Joe Bob]

Look like crap real rikki tick, dude....

[3literpwr]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVRzG5tp7B0

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I could polish and then bright anodize it. Not the best pic of a door frame vertical strip but gives you some idea.

[Tidybuoy]

I think leaving the lid unfinished would look ghetto. That would be a shame since you practically have to be a millionaire to have an aluminum deck lid.

I would paint and keep the upgrades stealth.

[Cook&Dunning]

How about sanding the paint off your steel lid, as a test run? Maintain it with a green scrubby or SOS pad, like a Delorean. If you like it, spend the $ on Alu

[Tippy]

I think it'd look trick. You can use scotchbrite for the "right" look.

I learned from machinists at work, that when you scratch aluminum, simply scotchbrite the scratches off.

Not sure if clear over bare AL is ok?