This is my first writeup, so any feedback is appreciated.
First off - the trim on our cars is anodized aluminum - not chrome. The fading/discoloration of said trim is therefore oxidation, and the only true way to completely restore it is to sand/polish it, and then to have it re-anodized, or to just buy new trim.
Here's what mine looks like prior to just plain cleaning. As you can see in the pictures, the trim is not shiny at all and looks a bit yellowed if anything.
Prior to treatment, I washed and dried all of the trim using a pretty standard household cleaner/degreaser.
That said, there are a variety of after-market products out there aimed at polishing/restoring aluminum trim pieces, so, at the recommendation of another forum member, I purchased the Oxidized Aluminum Kit from Classic Trim Coat. The kit comes with 'special' rolled paper towels, a roll of masking tape, an instructional DVD, and the aluminum deoxidizer itself. At first, I was put off by the fact that I paid $40 for such a tiny little bottle of the stuff, but I can say after following the instructions and even spilling a bit that it's definitely enough for one car, and probably for about 15 if you only make one pass per car.
Following the instructions, first you mask any paint you may accidentally come into contact with. Then you dab enough deoxidizer to get the paper towel damp, and smoothly pass over the surface in a single motion. No scrubbing or back and forth. You should be able to actually see it work. For comparison, I did the bottom part of the door trim and left the top.
The bumpers were harder because of the width, I wet the whole rolled paper towel and held it lengthwise, pressing down with the outside of my hand and went all the way across in one sweep. Then I came back and touched up the edges using the standard motion.
It looks pretty good, but by the time I finished it was dark and I couldn't quite see how much of a difference it had made. I'm going to assume that repeated applications will also help, as I noticed in going back to where I started that some of the initial sheen had already died down. It still looked much better than when I started. I will post a follow-up tomorrow when I get the chance to see how it did overnight.
First off - the trim on our cars is anodized aluminum - not chrome. The fading/discoloration of said trim is therefore oxidation, and the only true way to completely restore it is to sand/polish it, and then to have it re-anodized, or to just buy new trim.
Here's what mine looks like prior to just plain cleaning. As you can see in the pictures, the trim is not shiny at all and looks a bit yellowed if anything.
Prior to treatment, I washed and dried all of the trim using a pretty standard household cleaner/degreaser.
That said, there are a variety of after-market products out there aimed at polishing/restoring aluminum trim pieces, so, at the recommendation of another forum member, I purchased the Oxidized Aluminum Kit from Classic Trim Coat. The kit comes with 'special' rolled paper towels, a roll of masking tape, an instructional DVD, and the aluminum deoxidizer itself. At first, I was put off by the fact that I paid $40 for such a tiny little bottle of the stuff, but I can say after following the instructions and even spilling a bit that it's definitely enough for one car, and probably for about 15 if you only make one pass per car.
Following the instructions, first you mask any paint you may accidentally come into contact with. Then you dab enough deoxidizer to get the paper towel damp, and smoothly pass over the surface in a single motion. No scrubbing or back and forth. You should be able to actually see it work. For comparison, I did the bottom part of the door trim and left the top.
The bumpers were harder because of the width, I wet the whole rolled paper towel and held it lengthwise, pressing down with the outside of my hand and went all the way across in one sweep. Then I came back and touched up the edges using the standard motion.
It looks pretty good, but by the time I finished it was dark and I couldn't quite see how much of a difference it had made. I'm going to assume that repeated applications will also help, as I noticed in going back to where I started that some of the initial sheen had already died down. It still looked much better than when I started. I will post a follow-up tomorrow when I get the chance to see how it did overnight.
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