I am putting a new windshield seal in my 84 300d. My car was missing the aluminum trim that goes around the windshield when i bought it. I bought some used trim which is in ok shape but the anodized finish is pretty trashed. It looks like it probably sat out in the sun most of its life. Im not going for a show quality look as i would just buy the trim new from mercedes. I mainly bought the trim as it helps lock the windshield in place. Should i just leave the trim as is or polish it or paint it or some other idea? Im looking for any advice on what to do.
Any good diy ideas on refinishing aluminum trim?
- Thread starter joegreen
- Start date
Rubbing compound… it’s cheap and worked well for the aluminum grille shell on my late 70’s F250 and Bronco.
Mothers Mag Polish?
https://www.iversonautomotive.com/s...ext=There is no way to,remove all of the pits.
Not really, according to this.
Not really, according to this.
Thanks for the article. Since these trim pieces for me serve mainly as a functional locking piece i think i will just clean up and polish it.
JHZR2
Staff member
Just polish it. If you get it looking good you might experiment with clearcoat paint.
They all get a little bit iridescent with age.
They all get a little bit iridescent with age.
I've seen friends get decent results with very fine steel wool, but I don't like the idea of possibly leaving deposits of ferrous metal...but I my be overly cautious here. I have had decent luck with Mr Clean Magic Erasers, original. They take a bit of work, but I would rather start with a very mild abrasive and work my way up only if necessary. Finish w/ regular wax or clear coat, maybe a matt finish depending on the original part. Oh, stick w/ the name brand magic erasers, I find some of the knockoff, dollar store ones can be inconsistent abrasively.
So i tried polishing it but it was taking forever and it wasn’t working that well considering most of the anodizing was still on there. I would of had to remove the anodizing then polish. I didn’t want to put that much work into it. I found an old post from 2003 i think on a Mercedes’ forum where someone that was a gunsmith mentioned using beachwood casey tru oil on the trim. It supposedly dries to a hard finish. So i bought some and boy was that the answer for me. Its so easy to apply and it does dry to a hard non sticky finish. You would never know it’s on there.