Restoring chrome?

[Sean S.]

So, does anyone know of a shop that can do reanodization? I want to get the trim redone on my E34. I got a trim piece from a yard to try different methods on before committing to removing the trim on my car. So far, nothing has worked. I've tried the lye treatment which only made the "fogging" worse. I've seen the Classictrim Coat kit, but wonder if my trim is too far gone for it to work.

Sub'd for responses.

[SkiFree]

As mentioned you can't really REALLY polish anodized aluminum trim. There are a couple ways to tackle it, just depends on how much time/money you want to sink into it.


1) For light haze: just use a "polish" as mentioned above.


2) For scratches that not removable with "polish" you will need to remove the old anodizing (use anything with Lye in it [sodium hydroxide], I found a $10 bottle of "Hair and Grease remover" from Home Depot to work like a charm).

Once the anodizing is removed you can either

A) polish the bare aluminum and throw some spray-on clear coat on top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3Jdlo-AQoAY

B) Have the parts re-anodized. If you choose to Re-anodizing the trim there are some basics you should be aware of a couple things ....

When anodizing an aluminum part the final finish depends largely on the surface finish of the part you are anodizing. Simply put, the more polished the part is when in goes into the anodizing tank, the shinier it will be when it comes out.

Now when you take trim parts to an anodizer the first thing they do is strip the old anodizing (if the part isn't anodized to start with it still goes in to clean the part). The stripper used is fairly abrasive and the part comes out with a flat/matt surface finish. Typically part is then put into the anodizing tank and given the matt-finish at that point, that's what you end up with for the final finish.

To avoid a matt-finish when re-anodizing you should plan on intervening between the anodizer's cleaning bath and the anodizing bath by picking up the parts and polishing them.

Hope that helps...

[ncsubowen]

It's actually anodized aluminium. I used this on Klaus. Highly recommended.

http://classictrimcoat.com/oxidized-aluminum-kit.html

Thanks for the link, I just ordered some. Will post walkthrough/results once it gets here.

[MyE30]

I checked you the rebuild thread. If the trim still looks like what it does in the pictures I'm definitely going to give that classic trim coat stuff a shot.

[agent]

I don't think it looks any different than the pics I have of Klaus in his build thread. Time permitting I'll gladly snap some pics this weekend anyway.

[MyE30]

agent, care to share some pics of how your trim looks now?

[agent]

Technically that's correct, though most people associate the hazy, weather beaten part of the trim as being "oxidized."

[AndrewBird]

FYI, anodizing is just the even coating of oxidation over the entire part. Colored anodizing is just the process of dying this layer of corrosion whatever color you want.

[agent]

There's no polish I'm aware of that will properly fix it. The oxidized part of the anodization must be (lightly) sanded off, then re-coated. Paul's product is the only one I've seen with any long lasting results.

[BMWManiac]

Yeah i tried the eagle one polish....no dice

[illest318i]

I like using Mothers brand wheel polish.

Mothers didn't work on my trim :/

[agent]

So far so good, though Klaus stays in the garage and out of the elements. He's only been washed about half a dozen times since being painted nearly two years ago.

[brbahner]

It's actually anodized aluminium. I used this on Klaus. Highly recommended.

http://classictrimcoat.com/oxidized-aluminum-kit.html

How long did this last for you? im looking for a long term solution rather than something i have to do with every wash

[Dakotademon7]

I like using Mothers brand wheel polish.

[agent]

It's actually anodized aluminium. I used this on Klaus. Highly recommended.

http://classictrimcoat.com/oxidized-aluminum-kit.html