johngammel

The new repro air cleaner that I bought for my '61 2x4 some weeks ago has some scratches and perhaps 200 sanding marks. There weren't any others available so I went with it. I used the best metal polish I could buy locally and a 6" microfiber pad on my DA at slow speed for over a hour and made very limited progress in getting rid of the defects. Looks like I'm going to need to sand it.

What at the recommended grits to progress through? Or is there some other way that I'm not thinking about?

csherman

try 1500 grit

KC John

If that is aluminum you can sand and polish them out if it's not anodized.

dcamick

Mother's Chrome and Aluminum Polish works wonders on chrome.

SDVette

I had similar issues with a new 1x4 cover.
Tried Mothers.. it took some of the scratches out, but it made the whole thing 'cloudy' as well. Not sure if it's the materials in these repro parts.....

I finally got some shine back on it by applying Zaino polish (!)..

AZDoug

You are going to need a sequence of grits if you are going to polish it to amirror finish.

It is aluminum, isn't it? If it is chrome steel, uh, no, take it to chrome shop.

If AL, first 1500, or 2000, then 2500, 3000, 4000 grit, then polishing.

Or, take it to pro metal polishing place and have them do it, as they have the stuff all set up already and can probably fix you up for less than $50.

Doug

chris ritchie

If you sand and polish the scratches out, won't you end up with a shiny surface? I seem to remember that the original surface of this item was a somewhat dull and unpolished.

How do you sand the scratches out, and leave the surface dull?

CorvetteMikeB

Try Mother's Bumper Chrome Power Buffer Kit. If that does not work, have it re-chromed or purchase a new one. These are your only options.

randy ransome

The MAIN thing is finding out if it's aluminum first. If it's aluminum the above article by AZDoug would be the process.

If it's chrome...re-chrome.

Canuck62

Those marks look like they were left by an orbital sander and will be tough to remove if it is chrome
i would suggest a good buffing compound for chrome or a good one for aluminum ,, they will be different
You could buy a buffing kit with wheel and compound or take to a a body shop or place that does chrome

GTOguy

Keep in mind that the original cleaners are not shiny....my original has a machined, almost matte finish. It looks nothing like the repop posted above.

SDVette

Yes. This has always mystified me. I have my original (it's pretty beat up), but it has a matte grey finish. I was shocked when my repop came and it was super shiny!

Is it really chrome, or highly polished aluminum? I'm not sure.
Does anyone make the matte finish version like the original?

johngammel

It's non-magnetic so I'm assuming it's some type of aluminum. There aren't any polishing shops near me that I know of as I don't live in a metro area. I'll see what I can find further from home (perhaps Tampa).

I have cleaned up some aluminum wheels using very fine sand paper and then polish. The last time I did this I wet sanded with 1500, then 2500, then polish. I don't know what type of aluminum this is but it seems to be different than wheels.

When I get the scratches out I'm hoping that after some months it will start to dull down.

You've got to love these poorly made incorrect reproduction parts.

Frankie the Fink

The last dual quad repro air cleaner I got for the 61 was buffed with distinct lines straight across from right to left...not super shiny. I suspect it was done with a buffing wheel and various grades of abrasive/polish.

Vettegeezer

As far as getting the polished surface to become dull, the following method was described to me by a fellow Corvette club member. He has restored polished aluminum to a factory finish by leaving the part outside for a few months and the rain will dull the finish down, assuming you have acid rain in Florida as we have in NY! I have not tried this myself, but he has used it to get close to the proper finish on Corvette valve covers that I have seen.
Phil M.

Muttley

You can check it with a magnet--if it's a GTO-style chrome steel air cleaner, the magnet should stick. If it's aluminum, the magnet will not. There may also be another possibility to explain the appearance, though.

I have an aluminum reproduction air cleaner that came with a protective coating on it, possibly clear lacquer. I'd gotten the air cleaner second hand, and it had been on the shelf for a number of years, and I noticed the surface looked cloudy in one or two spots. Otherwise, the presence of the coating wouldn't have been that obvious.

In reconditioning it, the first thing I did was remove the coating with some paint stripper. I'd say give yours a close inspection and see if it's similarly coated.

(For anyone that was in the military, particularly Navy or USMC, the coating was very much like the "quartermaster" that came on new brass belt buckles. That made the buckles look shiny and stay maintenance free for a while, but any inspector or DI worth his salt would spot the quartermaster finish right away--and woe to the sailor, Marine, or officer candidate who got caught with that. So, better to strip it off from the beginning and let the metal look like metal).

Edit to add some photos; first one is with the coating that is starting to de-laminate, second is after stripping and some progressive wet sanding:

karkrafter

That should be anodized aluminum,

Consider the anodizing on aluminum the same as chrome plating on steel, You WILL sand or polish thru it, and it will show no different that buffing thru paint to the primer... when you do you will have a mess on your hands, then you will have to remove ALL the anodizing to get to bare aluminum , which would be impossible to do around the louvers. But if you DID get it all off it will buff up chrome-like BUT will stain and discolor in the elements like a sob. Best to get a new lid...

Muttley

I didn't think the original lids were anodized, but I don't possess one of those.

I can say definitively that the coating I removed (from a repro lid) was much thicker than anodizing would be--it wrinkled up and lifted after the stripper was applied, and came off as a gooey substance.

SDVette

Here is a photo of my original lid.
I agree.. I don't see any sign of anodizing..
Looks like bare aluminum.

karkrafter

I can't tell you what an original one was...His is not original it's a re-pop. The Re-Pops I saw were listed as anodized.