Protecting polished aluminum parts

[chevynut]

I have been looking for a way to polish and protect my aluminum suspension parts and other parts on my car. I have thought about chroming them but it's gotten so damned expensive to do that and my car really isn't a show-only car...it will be driven.

A customer of mine bright anodized his parts and they look nice. The anodizing changes the mirror polished finish to a more "frosty" look, but it's bright and shiny. Here's an example of it on a C4 batwing, knuckle, and dogbone:

SDC10432.jpg

The bright anodizing looks good but doesn't have a mirror polished finish to it. I believe these parts were all polished to a bright shine prior to anodizing.

I've looked at other aluminum protectants like Zoop sealer but I'm not confident that it lasts very long. I don't want to be re-doing it a year or two from now. Some of the reviews I've read on it say it doesn't work very well or last very long. Even Zoops says 3 years.

So I've been looking at coatings. I know some wheels have a clear-coat on them but I don't know what they use. Powder coating seems pretty thick, and it might cause problems with bushings and other close-tolerance holes. Also I read that it may yellow over time, but there are some UV blockers that can be used with it. Not sure how to remove it if I'd ever want to either although I read that it's removable with paint stripper...any truth to that? The other downside is the cost of powdercoating.

I just found a POR15 product called Glisten PC Clearcoat that sounds interesting. It's a 2-part moisture-curing urethane that can be sprayed or brushed on and it goes on fairly thin. It's not too expensive compared to other coatings. Here's what they say about it:

GLISTEN PC is a High Gloss, Rock Hard, Water-clear topcoat designed for spray or brush application over all metal surfaces, including highly polished aluminum and chrome surfaces. GLISTEN PC will not leave brushmarks, and will dry in less than one hour, but will take 3-4 days to reach maximum hardness.

When GLISTEN PC is first dry to the touch, it will appear to be very soft. Avoid touching it for several days until it becomes hard and tough. Accidental contact could damage the surface before full cure has taken place. Like many other coatings, GLISTEN PC is a MOISTURE-CURED coating, which means it is strengthened by exposure to moisture. It will never crack, chip, peel, or yellow, and is very flexible as well.
Note: When applying over polished metals (aluminum, chrome, brass, copper etc) you must use AP120 metal prep according to instructions.
IDEAL USES: As a protective coating on aluminum wheels, chrome bumpers, marine railings, chrome or aluminum covers, grills, handles, ornaments, lights, etc


The problem is I've found several negative reviews on the Glisten PC, including this one:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f474...oat-84858.html

What about regular urethane clear coat? How is it really different from Glisten PC? Automotive urethanes hold up for years on cars left in the sun and seem durable. I just wonder about adhesion to polished aluminum.

[chevynut]

Here's another positive post on Glisten PC:

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/shop...lear-coat.html

[Rthur]

Don't have any experience with glisten but I would recommend Cerakote chrome. We use cerakote on match rifles that take a beating and it protects the action/barrel well. As a side note it is also very good with heat. Might check it out as it could be your answer.


R

[Rick_L]

C'nut, have you checked into a ceramic coating like is used on exhaust headers? I had an intake manifold done with that and it came out very nice.

You would need to mask any precision holes, etc. For instance, on my manifold, the injector holes were masked.

This may be the same/similar to what Rthur has in mind.

[NickP]

http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/?...oCj2fw_wcBGood stuff and a wide selection of colors. Several different types depending on the duty it needs to serve. I have several weapons with the coating - not silver but camo. very durable. Laszlo they are in your neck of the woods, sorta.

[MP&C]

By all means, some type of permanent coating. This was after Mothers polish inside and out, I don't think these wheels looked this good when they were put on new... (We're getting the Fairlane ready for the Nationals in Kingsport TN this weekend) Not something you want to do on a regular basis. We did use Zoop seal on some of the other aluminum trim and it had dulled quite a bit as well..

[chevynut]

Wow, they really don't want to tell you squat about this stuff. I looked over their website and can't really find anything telling me what it is. Here's what they're FAQs say:

"What is Cerakote?

• Cerakote is a ceramic based finish that can be applied to metals, plastics, polymers and wood. The unique formulation used for Cerakote ceramic coating enhances a number of physical performance properties including abrasion/wear resistance, corrosion resistance, chemical resistance, impact strength, and hardness. Each of these properties is rigorously tested to guarantee that Cerakote products remain at the foreforont of the ceramic coatings market. Cerakote ceramic coatings utilize state-of-the-art technology to out-perform any competitive coating in both laboratory settings and real world applications. "
  
  
  Wow, that really tells me a lot . It's a "Ceramic based finish"...I got that from the name. If it can be applied to plastics, it must not be very hot. Sounds like some kind of paint with ceramic powder in it. So far I'm really not impressed.
  
  I see they have two different firearm coatings, one is oven cured with a hardener, and the other is air cured. I guess I fail to see how this stuff is any better than urethane clear. They do have a clear coat but they don't say much of anything about it. Is it just the paint without ceramic? They're very vague.
  
  I see there's an applicator in Longmont, about 40 minutes from me. I may have to stop by. This looks like some proprietary coating that anyone could do if they bought the stuff.
  

[NickP]

It is proprietary.

[markm]

Top secret if they told you they would have to kill you.

[chevynut]

Proprietary is fine, but at least they could tell you if it's an epoxy, urethane or whatever that carries the ceramic and binds it together. It's surely not just ceramic you spray on and bake or let it dry. It has a hardener in it...ceramic doesn't need a hardener.

I see a pic of a clear-coated polished wheel on their website. So what is the clear coat? It can't have ceramic in it or it wouldn't be so clear. Ceramics are metal oxides like alumina (Al2O3). I wonder how they get all those colors and if it's pigments or colored ceramic.