Found a fix for dull aluminum trim

Hi all.

There was once a recurring thread on how to shine up the dulled aluminum trim that plagues older MB's once the anodizing wears out, and at one point a forum member claimed to have found a magic elixer for sale at some flea market. Well, having noticed that the trim shined up nicely where I hold my left arm with the window open, plus how it shined up temporarily when I wiped ATF on the trim, I had an idea.

Clearly a light oil erases the cloudy mottled dull spots but only for a short while (like until the first rain or car wash). But I was once a gunsmith, and wondered if a linseed oil based gunstock finish that has hardening agents mixed in might not do the trick.

I used Birchwood Casey Tru-oil (available in most any gun shop) and it worked great! I cannot say how durable the finish will be, but I shined up a test spot two weeks ago and it is still bright with no clouds after a auto wash and driving thru a rainstorm.

The key I think will be to rub the oil in with a soft cloth on a warm day and let it cure for a couple of days (tru-oil dries from the outside in and when totally cured is a very durable finish)

If this shine lasts, boy does it ever make the car look better. Give it a try.

[68greezr]

if you can get any large truckstop,they carry all kinds of alum polish and cleaners.these products work great !also around truckstops are people who polish alum,they have all the equipment to make it shine like glass.

[mbz72]

How can you bring rusted chrome back to life?

cK

[Plantman]

I buffed my 300SDl with some compound when I first got it.

If any have ever buffed a car, you know it's almost impossible not to hit the trim with the buffer and compound.

I found that it removes that whitish crap that affects the aluminum trim. Looks great,

[TX76513]

Originally posted by mbz72
How can you bring rusted chrome back to life?

cK

Alluminum Foil "crumpled up" works very good - just spray a little water on it

[anubisds]

Mothers metal polish is also an awesome product. Works nice for shining almost all metals, especially aluminum valve covers. Available at pepboys and auto zone.

I'm far from expert on the various types of chrome and aluminum trim MB has used over the years. Nor am I a metallurgy expert. What I have observed and as confirmed by past posts, is that some of the trim polishes via the methods several posters have mentioned, but some does not. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at least on the window/door trim of my current 280CE, of which there is a goodly amount, the metal had some form of anodized finish. As this finish has worn, it turns cloudy/mottled/dull, and conventional polishes have just a minimal and very temporary effect. What I did discover is that the finish is somewhat porous, and any rubbing with an oily product seemed to get under the cloudiness and bring back the shine, but only temporarily. My original posting of how I used a linseed oil based gunstock finish, seems to have worked. The oil gets "into" the anodizing removing he cloudiness, and the drying agents in the finish make the shine more permanent. I don't know how long it will hold up, but so far so good, and even if I have to touch up every year, it takes only moments.