Cleaning/brightening anodized aluminum

Lane's Wheel Cleaner

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. Hi, Laurie. Anodizing, like anything else, can eventually corrode -- especially outdoors.

Anodizing is nearly glass clear and used on highly polished street light reflectors and dentist's lights. But unfortunately, if it's corroded it's corroded, Anodized surfaces look like a tiny honeycomb; if they are not well sealed they readily absorb dirt into the honeycomb that is almost impossible to remove.

Aluminum cleaners work somewhat, but I think you're going to find it hard to get a bright and durable finish put back on that aluminum in place.

One possibility is to strip the anodizing, polish the aluminum to a good shine, and clear coat it ... let's see if your inquiry gets additional comments.

Good luck.

A. Hello, J. You can paint anodized aluminum siding. Scrub it well and use a primer for aluminum & galvanizing, and I think you'll be satisfied -- but try it on a small area first to make sure the adhesion is sufficient. Good luck.

Regards,

A. To get off anodized finishing, Easy Off oven cleaner ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] works well. it contains a solution based on lye, so I suppose lye itself would work if of a lesser concentration.

A. It probably is protected by an anodized or clearcoat. Bare aluminum corrodes quickly so it needs a protective coating. If you do polish the material it will remove any protective coating that may be there and it will corrode pretty soon if you don't have it recoated.

A. Sean - if it is anodized then I bet you'll battle to polish it/clean it/whatever. Anodizing if done okay is very hard, and even light abrasion won't affect the surface. But, if there is some other coating on it like a clearcoat, I suggest you use waterpaper and sand out the acid marks deep as you need to then use a high speed drill with a cloth mop and some polishing compound (rouge). Once you have the required finish, just apply a clearcoat over. If you really wanted to and it was in your budget just have it stripped of any existing anodizing if that is what's there and get it replated, but remember that if the anodizing shop does a strong etch you will loose any shiny finish you have spent time on -- just find a good balance. my $0.02

A. Oven cleaner ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] will remove the anodized coating but it's caustic, nasty stuff able to blinding you, burn you, or leave you with aching lungs. Oven cleaner also attacks the aluminum, so you need to leave it on only for the right length of time. Then you need to buff and clearcoat. As Michael implies, if it's worth doing it's probably worth sending to an anodizing shop.

One thing that might be worth a try instead is Everbrite [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]. The general guideline is that if it doesn't look good when wet, this won't help. But if it looks good when wet (due to the leveling effect of the water compared to the rough surface of aged aluminum), Everbrite may be able make it look pretty much like that.

A. I didn't hear about re-polishing after anodizing. Also I don't suppose an application like that because when you anodize a profile, the sealing layer will be to protect it from exterior effects. So if you even polish it, you will never succeed. If you improve brightness, check your alloy (for example high Fe rate means less brightness, +6463 series suitable for brightness). Brightness not only related alloy, also anodizing process (hot sealing makes it more dull compared to cold sealing. Plus, anodizing bath's aluminium rate should be 5-15 gr/lt. If you use electrolytic polishing bath, it gives more extra brightness, etc.)

Sincerely,

A. Busra

You are referring to color buffing.

You can use red (fine) or white (very fine) rouge to polish the surface of the anodize. I'm not sure you will be able to use this for a matte finish.

You may need a thicker coating to be able to do this as you will be removing some of the anodize. Remove too much and the aluminum will start to show through.

The ability to polish the anodize will depend largely on how smooth a surface you have to start with, and how your anodize process alters the surface finish.

A. Hi. Everbrite is a thin single component clearcoat that is used to offer some corrosion protection to metal surfaces. I am not aware of it being used on anodized aluminum by OEMS to brighten it. Rather, it is sometimes used on old anodized or painted aluminum to level the surface and give a "wet look" and reduce the chalky look of old aluminum. You are certainly invited to contact Everbrite and see if it has applicability to your situation, but I think Willie's suggestion is closer to the mark. Good luck.

Regards,