Cleaning a building's 50 year old aluminum window frames

A. Try this mixture:

10-40 gm sodium carbonate / washing soda [affil links]
5-10 gm water glass [on eBay or Amazon]
1 lit water, temperature 80 °C

Only for well degreased objects (petroleum or benzene or [on eBay or Amazon] ). Use rubber gloves [on eBay or Amazon]. Rinse well.

A. Try SOS pad [on eBay or Amazon]. Not Brillo. They're messy but they do the trick and shine the aluminum as well.

A. I just tried using WD-40 [on eBay or Amazon] on my dark brown oxidized aluminum window frames & it improved their appearance quite a bit. Worth a try!

A. I finally found the way to clean it and I am very happy.

Tools: large and small slot screw driver, sanding block, spray bottle, old tooth brush, used cotton underwear, paper towel.

1. Remove any moving part and clean them with soap water separately. The latch, screen holder and turn handle can all be removed by loosening the screws. Get new screws from hardware store (cost $5.00 for a 100, two types of screws are needed, a long one and a short one). If you gonna spend the effort to clean them, you may as well enjoy the new screws to make it worthwhile. The handle is a little tricky, study the underside of the window to see how to dislodge it. Once you dislodge one, everything else is easy. Aluminum windows are very sturdy, it is not likely you break any parts by cleaning. Lightly pry open the slot by 1/32 inch to remove the handle, it will budge but it does not break.

2. brush away dirt, spray soap water (laundry detergent will do) and clean with wet cleaning pad (must have some scratchy surface, not just sponge. Too much water will get very messy to deal with. Wipe dry any excess water when it starts dripping ).

3. Spray soap water again and sand with a sanding block lightly (wearing rubber gloves). Wipe away dirty water to see whether more sanding is needed. When the sand block gets smooth, restore it by washing it in the water. You can get sand block from home depot which is sand surface coated on a piece of hard sponge.

4. Tiny corners can be cleaned with cloth wrapped around a screwdriver.

This will get aluminum window back to its wonderful "like new" state. I have been wondering how to do it for 8 years. I finally got it last week.

A. I am using a product called Autosol [on eBay or Amazon] which is taking all the oxidization off my 1957 aluminum frame windows - :)

A. Naval Jelly

A. The best thing to use on aluminum window frames is Mothers Cleaner and Polish. Did one side of my VW bus and they're starting to look like Chrome. Wipe it on and wipe slowly back and forth will start to see back the Polish. Wipe off with a soft cloth and repeat it until Thursday if you want. Just did it tonight; starting to look like Chrome. Use a small buffer in between cleanings. Hope this helps

A. Naval jelly is not supposed to be used on aluminium, read the label. Using any abrasive will leave scratches on the metal. I have used steel wool and Murphy's Oil Soap [affil links] with good results; however, have not found a good wipe-off chemical solution. Looking into aircraft cleaner next. This is not a cleaner that will be available at big box stores. You will need to look into commercial cleaners.

A. I agree with the Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish [on eBay or Amazon]. My windows are the "bronze" aluminum clad and 30 years old. Lots of oxidation and dirt. The Mothers cream wipes on and you rub lightly until it starts to turn black, then buff with a soft cloth. It's more time consuming than actually being hard work but the finish will look new.

A. Hi Gord. Oxalic Acid / wood bleach [affil links] should remove the blackness from the wood. See thread 54875 for starters on that.

Regards,

A. I'm cleaning the interior window frames of a school built in 1960. Although it is a lot of elbow and wrist "grease", I'm using the sanitizing surface wipes (like Lysol) with the gritty surface they add to some of them. Wipe the (largely alcohol) wetness over about 3 feet of frame, wait a little bit (like 15-20 seconds) and then start wiping with the same gritty wipe ... back and forth ... back and forth. Not perfect (and rather product wasteful) but I'm satisfied; it can keep the glass from needing to be washed and it's (relatively) non-toxic.