[acd65post]

Hello all,
I got a little ambitious and over sanded a scratch I was trying to get out of my grill ( I was using 800 grit wet sanding ). What are my options?
I went over it with 2500 grit so far. I see Eastwood sells a re anodizing kit.
Is that my only option?

I appreciate the help.

 

[sbc1320]

Strip, polish, paint or powdercoat?

 

[CdnL79 Registry]

Yes, almost impossible to get a scratch out of anodized aluminum without going through the coating. I found out the hard way, too. Unfortunately, very few options and both require removing the anodizing. You can remove it and then just polish the bare aluminum. This leaves a great shine, but requires constant polishing to keep it that way. The other option is to remove the anodizing and have it redone. I don't have any experience with the Eastwood kit. Maybe other members can chime in. You can remove the anodizing yourself using oven cleaner, but it's a labor intensive job on big pieces like a grill.

Bob

 

[acd65post]

Yes, I watched a You Tube video where West Coast Customs showed how to use Oven cleaner on an a/n fitting.
Will have to do some more research.
JZ White used the Eastwood kit to re do all of his trim and as he mentions the good thing about the kit is you do not have to remove the protective coating everywhere.
He then wet sanded and buffed but did not re anodize, he waxes it to keep looking awesome.
https://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212114&highlight=JZWhite&page=6

What to do...

 

[riverboatman]

Without having to re-anodize the whole grill you could just buy a small bar of either white or red rouge and a couple of buffer wheels for a dremel tool and shine it up. It will polish the anodizing around the scratch and also make the aluminum shine so it's not so noticeable. I did the same thing and used the above method to got it back into decent shape. Just a suggestion.

 

[acd65post]

Thanks. I may try that.

 

[TechNova]

I bought some of this to experiment with on other polished aluminum.
https://www.clearcoating.com/products/MC-160/

I don't know how it would work on polished trim.

 

[heduncan]

all is not lost. For such a small and inconspicuous area, try going
over it with 2000 dry until the scratches are reduced. Then get a can of Krylon semi-gloss clear and dust it lightly - LIGHTLY. That will dull it back to match and protect it from weatherizing. It's a band-aid, I know, but it worked for me.

 

[novajoe]

get it stripped polished and anodized.
you went to the point of no return...
at least try to do it right now.

 

[acd65post]

I bought a variable speed die grinder and a polishing kit- I needed an excuse to buy them anyway
I will see how that works this weekend -if I get some time.