Last Fall, we had a thread going on how to get the shine back on anodized aluminum trim, and I made a suggestion. I took a product named Birchwood Casey Tru-oil, and rubbed it onto the trim. This is a linseed oil product with hardeners that is used as a gunstock finish, and can be found at most any gun shop. It worked pretty well, I think because the oil penetrated the anodizing film, taking away the cloudy mottled look. But at the time, I wondered how long it would hold up. Well, the car has now been used through a typical Minnesota winter. The results are mixed. The trim still looks much better than before, but some of the cloudiness has returned. I expect another quick wipe with tru-oil will bring the shine back. So, while the fix isn't permanent, a once a year touch up that is easier than a wax job, is a pretty good solution.

where does one find such a product? I have no experience refinishing gunstocks so I dunno if the local hardware folks will even know of this product.

I just tried the Birchwood Casey Tru-oil on the cloudy anodized trim on my 300sdl a few days ago. I had tried other metal polishes etc with no results. So, figuring that it couldn't hurt the trim, I tried the Tru-oil. It is available, BTW, at most Wal-Mart super centers for $3 or $4 in the 'gun' section.

I must say that I am pleasantly surprised - after a week, the trim looks really good, not 'show car' good, but way better than it has in a long time. You have to look close to see any cloudiness. I rebbed it in hard, and it is kind of like a varnish but dries clear and pretty fast.

Today I was using "Scratch-X' polish, and it made the trim shine ever a little better. The pieces of trim that I hadn't tried so many different things on look almost perfect. The ones that I had experimented on are not quite so good.

I don't think that this product will hurt the trim, and can't really see any reason not to use it. Thanks yorkTown5, for the guidance.

Just began detailing the sdl again, and the trim was a little cloudy - not quite as bad as last season, but still not good. I had used the Birchwood Casey gunstock oil last year, and just rubbed it on again.

On the trim that I had not tried to polish last year, the appearance was almost perfect. The pieces that I had steel-wooled, scratch-xd', dremel'd, etc... do not look so hot.

Not show car, but very very much improved. Acceptable to all but the most demanding, and I think that the solution for those is to remove and have trim re-anodized.

I found the Birchwood Casey stuff at WalMart and used it a couple months ago. It goes on sorta weird since it is like tung-oil and is gummy for a bit. I did not do some pieces with it but used various other polishes, etc. on them to compare. The Birchwood Casey treatment held up far better and renews nicely with a quick wipe as well. Thanx again yorktown.