blueray72

I started a thread in the car care section but I think I should have asked here.

I'm looking for tips on polishing my rocker panels. Has anyone done this? Should I use ruge(sp)? will mothers work?

rosslato

i just took my to a polishing place and had it done but lots of forum guys done their own and look great.

foundvettelifeisgood

Glass Act

I used Mothers Mag & Alum. polish, it did a excellent job of removing surface contaminants. My polishing rags turned black during the cleaning, but the end result was like day and night. I have since re-painted and added a ground effects kit, so my rocker panels are now removed. You'll be pleased with the result, but it take a couple of hours to complete.

MYBAD79

I used paint stripper to get the flat black paint off... then I used Mother's aluminum polish and a buffing pad on a 4" angle grinder.... works great

yellow 72

I started with 220 paper on a jitterbug sander, worked progressively up 320, 400, 600 wet-dry paper(wet) followed by Mothers mag & aluminum polish by hand.....

Red73

I was going to suggest that you IM yellow 72 buy he beat me to it.

blueray72

Cool. I'm on the right track, thanks for the help.

yellow72 looks like 2 sets of pipes now that's a shine.

I'll try the mothers.

Techno

You might want to try simichrome too. It doesn't do the polishing act just finishes up.

Eddie 70

Here is an inprogress picture of one of mine. I used an angle grinder with a scotch pad on it to remove the anodizing that is on the rocker panel. Then I wored my way up in grits like Yellow 72 suggests. I went to like 1500 and then polished mine on a buffing wheel. Mothers also does a nice job.

Big Fish

I also polished mine, they came out great. It's a real SOB to sand through the anodizing. I started with 80 grit and had to get pretty aggressive, also sanded out minor pitting and gouges, etc. Then I kept working my way up to 320 grit paper with my orbital sander and finished the job on a buffing wheel using white rouge. It's a messy job and you will get black from the buffing operation, but the stuff will wash off. I then masked off and re-painted the black strip with semi-gloss (after removal of remaining paint with goof-off).

flyinrazrback

Old thread, but question. Has anyone tried using Easy Off oven cleaner to remove the anodization? I have tried sanding with my sander and 120 grit and that is going to take a very long time! I have seen several videos of people using the oven cleaner in other anodized aluminum and curious if it would work on rocker panels too.

7T1vette

The anodized layer is there to minimize road rash damage. The aluminum under it is very soft and flimsy, if you remove the anodizing. If you use anything rougher than 600 grit sandpaper, it will eat through the anodizing and leave the part weak and subject to stone damage.

Try fine steel wool (#000 or #0000) to buff the surface up; or use 600 grit and finer paper to get a better luster. But, try to keep the andozing, if you can.

Rotonda

Eastwood offers an anodize remover. It is sodium hydroxide.

Mooser

I use drano but more or less it's the same thing (sodium hyd.) which I prefer over the oven cleaner only because on larger parts the mixture maintains an even action where the over cleaner will weaken in different spots quicker than other spots.
Also you can change the strength of the mixture so it's not as aggressive, takes longer but easier to control.

For the plates I made a frame out of some 2x4's layed on the ground, places a heavy plastic sheet over them to form a "pool"
Place both parts in and then covered with enough drano solution.
You can see the action slightly as it foams lightly where it's working
Stirring the solution every so often keeps the action fresh
Flip the parts so the areas touching the ground get worked also

Use a meter to check conductivity of the parts. Anodize doesn't conduct so when you touch the 2 probes and it shows a connection you know the anodize is gone. Check about a foot apart from one end to the other
If one end is "done" and the other isn't, lift that end out and put a stick or something under it and let it go a little longer

I didn't polish, only went up to about a 400 w/kerosene for a shiny satin finish and then used some flitz as a brightener/polish/protection. About once a year (spring) it gets a few passes with the flitz to refresh

HIH
M

zwede

The primary purpose of the anodizing was to protect the rocker panel from salt damage during winter driving, something GM had to worry about back when these cars were new.

I removed the anodizing and went with a brushed look by using a brown scotchbrite pad and WD40. Still looks great 5 years later.

flyinrazrback

Well, the EZ Off works but you have to spray them and let them sit for an hour and use some steel wool to help it come off.