Need help with bringing metal to orig. finish-Please

Hello Gentlemen,

I’m detailing my 79 308GTB, and I have a series of questions:
Where the battery compartment is are two coolant pipes (aluminum), the acid from the battery corroded one. I tried to polish it out but made is shiny, any ideas on how to bring it back to the original finish?

Thanks Guys,

Chris.

 

If it is as you say aluminum, then buffing aluminum /Al alloy will definetely shine it up big time......for a limited period of time, though. You have actually exposed the raw aluminum to oxygen, which it must react with to form the oxide. BECause you are actually removing the built up Al oxide, which actually protects the metal from further oxidation (a type of "rust") . This oxidation is one of the most densely packed of all the elements (much unlike iron), that's why aluminum lasts so long, but not forever.

I would never polish off the matte look of aluminum finishes for a short lived, temporary, shiny appearance, for within a few weeks (depending) the film will develop again.

So, just leave it alone, and your aluminum tube will natually take on is "old" look within a short time.

Joe

PS when you say "corroded it", I hope you dont mean it ate right through it.

 

Hi Chris. To answer the question, I can't say I'm much of a detail person -- actually quite the opposite -- but I did go to town on the crossover pipe at the thermostat (not sure why ). Scotch brite and brake cleaner seemed to work well.

In the area you mention I found corrosion, but not directly from the battery. Batteries can cause trouble, but my battery seemed well separated from these pipes. What I found seemed like normal crud around coolant pipes many years old. I was most concerned about the poor condition of the hoses and clamps. I was not worried about the aluminum pipes as they seem pretty sturdy, and fairly inconspicuous in this area of the car . All were cheap to replace (except for the 90 degree one at the top of the radiator).

Seamus

 

I'm pretty sure that all of the coolant pipes on my GT4 are clear anodized. If you went at the pipe with enough vigor and scotchbrite you could wear through the anodizing. The only solution would be to have it re-anodized.