Allloy Bull Bar - shiny finish ??

After 7 years and over 180,00 km I have stopped being precious about my Prado.

Some things just aren't worrying about, the shine of your alloy bar, the red dirt stains under the car.

The bar has so many scratches, dents, etc I stopped worrying abiout anything more than washing the buggs off years ago.

I've kept the main part of the inside and paintwork of the truck up to scratch.

You'll get over it too.

Hi True Blue.
We use a metal polish & small buff at work to bring alloy bars back to their original condition.
Cheers.
Vince

Unfortunately some detailers just use an alloy cleaner on the bars and sidesteps which cleans the stains off but sends the alloy flat. They don't have the time to polish the bar back again.
A good metal polish and lots of spare time will do the trick and yes it is normal for the cloth to become black.
If there is any oxidisation on a new bar (it may still be very shiny) the cloth will still go black although not as quickly as from your older bar.
You can use a woolen buffing pad on a drill for a faster shine but may need washing a couple of times.

Cheers
Dave

Hi True Blue, Just a thought re something my mate found on his cruiser (100 series) and that is that the alloy bar which protrudes above the bonnet slightly reflects light from oncoming vehicles, and anything else that shines light on a road, back into the drivers eyes. Suggest you either blacken the top of the bar or leave it dull if this is the situation with your bar. Just an idea.
Regards, Bruce.

Hey True Blue,
I have attached a pic of my Cruiser which I had detailed and they acid washthe alloy bits. It looked so good I didn't want to drive it.
This car is 16 years old and still looks pretty smick.
SteveImage Could Not Be Found

Hi True Blue

What I use on the bull bar and wheels is 50/50 brasso and kero, mix it up and put in spray bottle, shake often, rub hard and the black stuff is what your looking for. If real bad use a bit of vinegar and lemon steelo pads, not to hard and then the mix.

Happy rsi

The CT people (Truck Wash etc) make a product called Alushine which is very good. Available from Supacheap in a 1L bottle. They also make a cleaner product which I cannot remember the name of right now. This is an acid and is good for cleaning old oxidisation off before polishing. You probably only need the Alushine. The more black rub you get off, the more polished result. Lots of elbow grease but the result is worth it. Good luck.

braso does it for me every time.
dont mix it, just plain old braso. it will come up like brand new

Hey true blue,
I believe the black that comes off aluminium when it is rubbed is actually graphite but I stand to be corrected on that. Ian

clean the bar with soap and warm water first. Dry it off then using a heat gun warm it up. Then use brasso/autosol whilst still warm. The heat allows the polish to work in and clean better resulting in a mirror finish quickly. That's how Simmons wheels would polish the rim outers on thier polished alloy rims.
With this method you will notice the rag go black alot quicker because the black is caused by heat which brings the dirt to the surface.

Rob

The surface of polished aluminium will 'fade' over time as the surface layer oxidises - it does this naturally. The oxidised layer protects the alumium alloy from wear and corrosion.

Aluminium parts are often anodised, which is a chemically accelerated oxidation process that produces thicker layers of the oxide, which in turn improves the wear and corrosion resistance.

Whilst some of the black may be dirt, it is more likely to be the aluminium/aluminium oxide being polished off the bar.

Aluminium alloys do not normally contain any carbon.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Great advice...........now back to work.

Thanks again.

True Blue.