Polished cockpit trim

[Whitephrog]

I had may Bugeye cockpit trim polished this week by a guy who works for Knox Custom Chrome but does buffing and polishing on the side. He strongly suggested that I apply a coat of clear lacquer to the polished pieces. Is that consistent with what others on the BCF have done?

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Zoopseal!

https://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp

 

[BugEyeBear]

Trevor,

Have you used this Zoopseal stuff?

If so...
How long does it last?
How durable is it?
How often do you need to reapply?

I read the instructions, & it kinda sounds like a cleaner/sealer.
I suspect that the level of protection wouldn't be as durable as a coat of clear??
Says that you need to use non-PH cleaners, so I suspect that the coating is easily compromised...

What is your experience??

-Bear-

 

[Bugeye_Al]

Hey Ray, I need to get my cockpit surround polished too. Do you have the contact info for the guy in TN and was he reasonable?

 

[mightymidget]

I am pretty sure all of Fords polished al. wheels are clear coated from factory.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

I used it on my original Midget windshield pillars. It looks like they changed the product/instructions. It works very well (based on the small section I missed). It will NOT protect or seal as good as a clear coat lacquer. The advantage is that the shine is brilliant like freshly polished aluminum. It will not turn it to the hazed gray color that lacquer does.

I have not decided if I will use it on the Ugly Bug's cockpit trim. I hate to reapply the stuff every couple of years, but if you anodize it and then scratched it... you have to look at the scratch or redo the whole thing.

As for buffing aluminum... run the extension cord and bench buffer outside with a good mask/eye protection. Sisal wheel, spiral sewn, loose layer using the correct compound. Buffing metal is messy, but easy, and strangely addictive (at least for me)

 

[mxp01]

My father got me an electric motor from an old clothes dryer. I got a Mibro buffing wheel and compound from Lowes (about $10), and it was off to the races.

True, it is a dirty, dirty job. It is also time consuming. My wife hates the mess I track around, but the finished product looks like new.

Mike Pennell

 

[smaceng]

The people I have talked to say that it is hard to get the same finish as the original with anodize or iridite. They recommend a polyurethane (i.e. prof. paint clear coat) to the top.

 

[PAUL161]

I had may Bugeye cockpit trim polished this week by a guy who works for Knox Custom Chrome but does buffing and polishing on the side. He strongly suggested that I apply a coat of clear lacquer to the polished pieces. Is that consistent with what others on the BCF have done?

Because it's near impossible to get the original finish on the MGB windshield frame, I polished mine. I did not clear coat it with lacquer as it can chip and it's a PITA to redo. I leave mine natural. It's polished with Mothers mag wheel polish. I touch it up about every 6 months. Takes no time at all. Everyone who has seen it, loves the look.

 

[toysrrus]

Hi Folks,

"Never-Dull" does a great job of polishing a variety of steels, alum. etc but Your going to have to go over it on a somewhat frequent basis.

I enjoy detailing things so I don`t care how much time it takes or how long it lasts.

Regards,

Russ

 

[longbridgehealey]

Hi, Russ - Would "somewhat frequent" be every couple of weeks, months? (days??).

Thanks
Larry

 

[ichthos]

I would have to agree with Paul - I chose not to add a finish to my polished aluminum. I have a few reasons for this. The problem I had with putting on a finish is that when it scratches, I have to take the trim off, remove the finish, polish it, put the finish back on, and install the trim back on again.(Of course this is not practical with some pieces). It then rarely matches the rest of the aluminum. It is much easier to touch up aluminum that has not been coated. I know they sell polish/wax that protects the polished aluminum that might be more practical. Aluminum does oxidize quickly but the resulting aluminum oxide forms a tight barrier against further oxidation. Even though it does not have a high polished chrome look for very long, people that have seen my car still complement me on the results. The bottom line is that personally I like the look without any finish.

For what it is worth, I polishe the aluminum myself. I had never done buffing before. Eastwood was having a sale on supplies and a "how to" video. At the time Grizzly was also having a sale on one of its buffers. For less than the price to get my aluminum buffed, I was able to purchase the buffer, video, and supplies. Now I have the equipment to do this anytime I want. I admit it is very time consuming. There is a lot of prep work first before buffing. I like to learn how to do things myself on this car and it was rewarding to do this myself.

Kevin

 

[Jim_Gruber]

So what are people using to clean up the vent window frames on Spridgets. I've gothazed, sorta rust coating starting on the what I beleive to be stainless not chrome.

 

[198686d]

Because it's near impossible to get the original finish on the MGB windshield frame, I polished mine.


Wow. That's a great looking MGB. Congratulations.

 

[msoylemez]

Have to be honest. Have not had much luck with a clear coat on polished aluminum. Since the aluminum is highly polished, it appears the clear coat has some difficulty adhering properly to the surface. Not a big deal on long smooth stretches, but problematic around bends/corners, and if it comes into frequent contact with anything.

I tried polishing and clear coating my trim pieces... Didn't like the look, so I chemically stipped, repolished and the anodized. Much better this way. Yes, one of the MANY things (hello, brake lines anyone???) I did more than once during my rebuild.

 

[Whitephrog]

I believe I'm going to skip the clear coat and just do the occasion polishing. My guy in Knoxville charges $15 per foot to buff and polish. He wants a bit more than that to do the windscreen pillars because of the nooks and crannies.

 

[John Moore]

Because it's near impossible to get the original finish on the MGB windshield frame, I polished mine. I did not clear coat it with lacquer as it can chip and it's a PITA to redo. I leave mine natural. It's polished with Mothers mag wheel polish. I touch it up about every 6 months. Takes no time at all. Everyone who has seen it, loves the look.

That's the same thing I do with my B windshield frame too.

 

[nomad]

Curious as to what BMC called that shiny finish on early aluminum windshield frames?
I don't recall.
Also what was the process and can it be reproduced?
TNX, KA

 

[Billm]

After I removed and polished my windshield frame I just waxed it with car wax. It polishes up pretty nicely and is easy to redo. It has been around 2 years ago and it still looks pretty good.
Bill