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  #11  
Old 2nd June 2016, 11:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by briang9 View Post
think he had then powder coated IIRC
HERE is the thread for what he did
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  #12  
Old 1st October 2016, 04:59 PM
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You could always get the trim chrome wrapped
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  #13  
Old 6th October 2016, 08:18 PM
Joe2.0E Joe2.0E is offline
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Sounds like a good option. Any photos of this done ?
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  #14  
Old 19th October 2016, 11:11 PM
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May be an option here, ive just spent the last couple of hours cleaning up the rear bumper chrome trim.
Gave it a rub down with 1200 grit wet n dry, followed by a liberal application of Alumagic paste.
A quick buff down with microfibre cloth seems to have cleaned it up.
How long it lasts is anyones guess
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  #15  
Old 3rd November 2016, 10:32 PM
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Seems I remember boiling in simple H2O will cause a surface layer of aluminum oxide to form - a very durable substance. Only trouble is it's a matte gray finish AFAIK.

Yes in the US I bought some "Air Conditioner Coil Cleaner" liquid which turns out is simply a strong sodium hydroxide (lye) and water solution. It foamed up madly and removed 40 years' worth of dirt from my evaporator and condenser coils on the home HVAC, and shined up my dear departed Granma's espresso (moka) pot. Can't one buy lye drain opener in the UK?

Haven't experimented much with it as it requires full protective gear which is HOT and cumbersome in the Tennessee heat... and I actually heed warnings to the point of buying a $90 respirator w/ organic vapor filter for this job. Along with industrial rubber sleeve gloves, face shield, etc.. Having worked on an ambulance here in "Hey man, hold my beer and watch this!" country, I've seen some things...
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Old 4th November 2016, 02:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aTOMic View Post
Seems I remember boiling in simple H2O will cause a surface layer of aluminum oxide to form - a very durable substance. Only trouble is it's a matte gray finish AFAIK.

Yes in the US I bought some "Air Conditioner Coil Cleaner" liquid which turns out is simply a strong sodium hydroxide (lye) and water solution. It foamed up madly and removed 40 years' worth of dirt from my evaporator and condenser coils on the home HVAC, and shined up my dear departed Granma's espresso (moka) pot. Can't one buy lye drain opener in the UK?

Haven't experimented much with it as it requires full protective gear which is HOT and cumbersome in the Tennessee heat... and I actually heed warnings to the point of buying a $90 respirator w/ organic vapor filter for this job. Along with industrial rubber sleeve gloves, face shield, etc.. Having worked on an ambulance here in "Hey man, hold my beer and watch this!" country, I've seen some things...


Yes you can get Sodium Hydroxide drain cleaner here. some have recommended it for cleaning the drains in the scuttle (probably called something different in USA ) but I am not sure I want it near paintwork even under the bonnet(hood) as is (obviously) caustic. By the way, how did the coffee taste?
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  #17  
Old 4th November 2016, 02:45 PM
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Aluminium and Caustic soda is a VERY VERY BAD IDEA! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdRrZH3M5O0
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  #18  
Old 4th November 2016, 03:05 PM
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But look at how CLEAN it is!!

That could be your body work.........
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  #19  
Old 5th November 2016, 07:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David's8 View Post


Yes you can get Sodium Hydroxide drain cleaner here. some have recommended it for cleaning the drains in the scuttle (probably called something different in USA ) but I am not sure I want it near paintwork even under the bonnet(hood) as is (obviously) caustic. By the way, how did the coffee taste?
Coffee was fine; in fact the reason I researched how to treat the "raw" aluminum (aluminium* to you guys) was prevent any metallic taste - before I cleaned the 100-year-old pot, which had a layer of mineral buildup in the bottom (remember a moka pot boils dry each time)nothing would (chemicallly) touch.

I don't know what the US equivalent of "scuttle" is ("Sump?) however I do know what the word means, but I know VWs and Audis have a definite problem with their (scuttle) drainage!

*My wife is from Germany, moved to the US when she was 13; when I met her 20-odd years ago, she could not say the Al word either way; especially funny since she has two Masters' degrees - and one is biology! (A good old science joke here is to have someone say "aluminum" ten times as though it were a tongue-twister, then ask them what a tin can is made of)...

Quote:
Originally Posted by HPsauce View Post
Aluminium and Caustic soda is a VERY VERY BAD IDEA! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdRrZH3M5O0
You are correct, sir; as I said...
Quote:
Originally Posted by aTOMic View Post
...it requires full protective gear... ...and I actually heed warnings to the point of buying a $90 respirator w/ organic vapor filter for this job. Along with industrial rubber sleeve gloves, face shield, etc.. ...
In any case I have misunderstood the question - OP is talking about the plastic strips, and I was thinking of the removable window trim that is worn-looking on so many of our cars. I have always wondered how they chrome-plate plastic (assuming they do). There was an episode of "How It's Made" (Canadian TV series) which detailed the process IIRC.
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Last edited by aTOMic; 5th November 2016 at 09:04 PM. Reason: Grammar, info added, clarity, etc.. OK?
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  #20  
Old 4th October 2017, 04:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HPsauce View Post
I think it's made from polished aluminium with a lacquer coating on top, and water is penetrating between. So any surface treatment is doomed to failure.
I had a little experiment today and now think there are two problems, one of which is sort of fixable.

I've seen comments about people polishing the trim with just WD40 and have tried that myself. It works in some areas but not others.

Thinking about it, where it works the damage must be mainly on the surface, so I tried a test area with a thin layer of lacquer topcoat, having cleaned it thoroughly first and it worked quite well. It's the small shiny area in front of the mirror pivot in the first picture below. That trim on the drivers door is only slightly milky.

I think a fair bit of the trim on my car is just affected by surface degradation, so I plan to treat all of it, in stages, with clear lacquer.
I know some bits (notably the trim under my offside headlight) will not be improved much by that, but I'll give it all a go eventually, I don't have enough lacquer on hand at present to do anything other than small tests.
The second picture shows that headlight trim, it was all milky but I treated the centre and right areas. The right improved a lot but the centre highlighted the deeper damage that is shown by the obvious milky streaks.
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.).
2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one!
Finally: gone, but not forgotten.....
1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors.
e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later)
1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer.
And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850!

Last edited by HPsauce; 4th October 2017 at 04:42 PM.
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