restoring anodized aluminum trim

[caproader]

Guys,

What is the best way to restore the anodized aluminum trim (top of doors, window frames, etc). Mine is pretty cloudy. Can I polish the snot out it using rubbing compound to restore the shine or does the anodizing have to be stripped off and reapplied. I tried a search in the threads but could not find any previous discussion on this topic.
Thanks

the capitalist roader, 3 1973 911's and now a 1969 912

[nick-moss]

I don't beleive this subject has been covered before. I refurbish Fuchs rims which also have an anodized finish. You will need to remove the anodizing and polish the frames before re-anodizing. There are different levels of anodizing which will give different levels of "cloudiness". For a very bright anodized finish get the anodizer to "chemically polish" the frames first.

[bobmagyar]

This is not an easy thing to do.

The trim achieves it high shine through a "bright dip" anodizing process.

Doing a high polish on the bare aluminum and then clear anodizing will not produce the same level of shine.

Very few shops do bright dip anodizing. Some shops will tell you clear is the same but they are wrong.

www.anobrite.com is one place that does work for collector cars. I have never used their services. They were extemely expensive when I asked for a quote on door pocket tirm. ~$300 for the pocket pieces.

Good luck.

[bobmagyar]

Additionally the door frames have steel nuts that are formed into the frames. You need to pay very close attention to sealing them when anodizing the frames. The anodizing will eat the steel.

When doing a friends black SC door window frames the best and most practical method was to use silicon to total envelope the steel parts. Removing the steel parts was not a practical process.

[nick-moss]

Bob is quite right about the steel parts and that different anodizers claims and results are not quite the same thing. I will be doing some re-anodizing on my 72S trim in the next couple of weeks if you are prepared to wait and see those results.

[caproader]

Guys,
Much thanks for the information. Long story short (Too late!), the bright work on the three 911's is in reasonably good shape.
However, I just bought the 69 912 because my first ever Porsche (and first car) was the 3 month old Irish Green 1969 912 I bought the day after commisioning in the Air Force. I figured with $343.50 per month as a 2nd Lt., I could live pretty high. So recently I bought an Irish Green 912 that is almost an exact copy my original 912. I am now well on my way to re-capturing my mis-spent youth.

It is the 912 that needs the bright work attention. But then so does a lot of other stuff on the car. So I have time to collect information and experiment. It sort of looks as if when I polish it with red rubbing compound, the shine comes back a bit. But maybe that's because I am polishing away the anodizing and leaving the aluminium exposed.
John