Protecting polished aluminum..

[cjshaker]

What's the best way to protect polished aluminum from forming oxidation or surface corrosion? I've done the silver powder coating on my timing cover, and while it looks nice, polished aluminum looks better. I have some polished valve covers also,  and while they look great, they will develop a surface corrosion unless they're constantly maintained. Wax will wear off. Will a clear powder coat yellow the finish?

[mn67]

Doug,
According to Race Coatings here in MN his clear powder coat is good to 400 degrees. But fuel carb cleaner etc will stain it. What he does for a lot of guys is cermachrome, simmilar to his header coating but it certainly is not as nice as polished aluminum. Or the alternative is a lot of maintenance.

[Stangman]

Hey Doug I painted my intake with a clear coating that I got from Eastwood about 15 years ago and if dirt gets on it it wipes right off. When I’m doing carb work I do put towels down but you know fuel it ends up going where you don’t want it too and it’s hit the manifold many times. As long as I wipe it right off it’s good. I heated up the intake to get the moisture out of it let it cool and painted right after.
Look up part# 149282 now that’s Ford blue I’m sure they have clear. Also it looks like it’s updated the can has a special two chamber can that sprays better and I think it used to be good for 350 degrees and now 650.

[wcbrowning]

Is that Eastwood's Nyalic clear coat that you used?

Hey Doug I painted my intake with a clear coating that I got from Eastwood about 15 years ago and if dirt gets on it it wipes right off. When I’m doing carb work I do put towels down but you know fuel it ends up going where you don’t want it too and it’s hit the manifold many times. As long as I wipe it right off it’s good. I heated up the intake to get the moisture out of it let it cool and painted right after.
Look up part# 149282 now that’s Ford blue I’m sure they have clear. Also it looks like it’s updated the can has a special two chamber can that sprays better and I think it used to be good for 350 degrees and now 650.

[67428GT500]

I have a ton of chrome and polished aluminum on my '67 Shelby. I had had good results with Flitz. They make a polish and a wax. It's their line for firearms. The wax is a protectant that has kept water stains and other petrolium products from permanently marring the finish. It works on chrome and my coated headers as well as plastics.
                                                                                        -Keith

[cjshaker]

Doug,
According to Race Coatings here in MN his clear powder coat is good to 400 degrees. But fuel carb cleaner etc will stain it. What he does for a lot of guys is cermachrome, simmilar to his header coating but it certainly is not as nice as polished aluminum. Or the alternative is a lot of maintenance.

I checked out their website and their ceramic coating looks much better than the typical powder coating, and would be pretty durable. Since this would be for another timing cover, the fuel staining wouldn't be an issue. I'll be getting in contact with them to see roughly how much it would cost to do a timing cover. Thanks for turning me on to them.

Joe, I've used the Eastwood clear on stuff before and was pretty happy with it. I've used it on bare aluminum stuff like alternator casings and water pumps with good results. I think I'm leaning towards the ceramic coating right now, for the durability.

[cjshaker]

Keith, first of all, that is a REALLY nice looking engine and compartment!!
I'm a gun enthusiast, and I actually have some of Flitzs' polish. Good stuff. I don't have their wax though, so I may have to give that a try on my own chrome and polished aluminum. Thanks!

[67428GT500]

Thank you!  By the way, the "Caution Fan" decal isn't there. I leaned on the shroud and broke it. I used the decal to hold it together while the fiberglass cured.

                                                                                                                                   -Keith

[Heo]

Dough, the wife bought the SL of a....dont know the english word for it but
he had a chadeliere in the garage and the car was standing on a persian rug.
And i think you could eat directly of the work bench. He had strapped discwasher
tablets with holes pricked in the plastic, here and there in the engine bay to absorb
moisture and told me to change them every three monts. And i must say newer
cars often have a uggly oxidaton under the hood on all the aluminium, i think there is
much sink in the alloy. But this one had not a trace of it...

[BruceS]

The guy who does my chrome plating and polishing (Craig Bierman at Speed and Sport Chrome) in Houston also recommended Flitz products for maintenance. 

[67428GT500]

I also failed to mention one of the other benefits of Flitz is that finger prints don't show up.

                                                                                              -Keith

[cjshaker]

I also failed to mention one of the other benefits of Flitz is that finger prints don't show up.

                                                                                              -Keith

That's the big reason for using it on guns; fingerprints contain oils and acids, and is the main reason for the start of corrosion and pitting. I never even considered using it on a cars chrome and aluminum.

Heo, I do use a desiccant in the interior, but for me to try and use something similar in my garage, in the engine bay, would not last very long. I need to finish the garage, but priorities keep getting in the way

[427Fastback]

I gave up trying to polish and detail all my aluminum parts.Some polished parts,some hand fabbed and welded,some cast and some billet...This time round I had everything but the water pump and heads ceramic coated.Small parts,valve covers,Jays 2pc intake etc...I got it all back and fricken hated it.The finish on cast covers looked like tin foil while other parts looked good...I ended up putting everything but the lower manifold in the blast cabinet and blasting it all with glass and then pressure washed it all with hot water.Valve cover baffles were removed before blasting..

Now....all the parts have the same finish on them.They are not what I would call bright but they are easy to clean and protected for life..I think the finish looks good and I can save the Autosol for the wheels......

I will post a pick in a few days when I am finished.....

[Heo]

I also failed to mention one of the other benefits of Flitz is that finger prints don't show up.

                                                                                              -Keith

That's the big reason for using it on guns; fingerprints contain oils and acids, and is the main reason for the start of corrosion and pitting. I never even considered using it on a cars chrome and aluminum.

Heo, I do use a desiccant in the interior, but for me to try and use something similar in my garage, in the engine bay, would not last very long. I need to finish the garage, but priorities keep getting in the way

Yeah, No fingerprints on the guns is a good thing

[ACHiPo]

Does anyone have any experience with the snake-oil-good Gibbs Lubricant?  With all of the infomercial pitches floating around, I'm very tempted to try it, although the skeptic in me says it's probably just a little protectant in alcohol.

http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-j3CIlfhUc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryN0iLEdg_E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phAn6kVeQBY