Polishing the aluminium paint on the front of my Fiat (1 Viewer)

[rosalan]

I discovered that the aluminium painted front on some Fiat vans, seems to have no lacquer top coat.
Having tried just about every car polish going, they all seem to take off a layer of paint and still leave a streaky finish. Then I tried old fashioned Johnsons solid furniture polish and it was brilliant. Having left the lid off the tin it is now useless. I tried everywhere to buy more Johnsons or 'Mansion' wax floor polish and failed, my last resort was Beeswax polish for wood from a hardware shop. Not only did it clean the aluminium with no paint loss, it left a shine which produces neat beads of water when it rains. Job done!
Unless you have found something better.

Alan

 

[Tea Bag]

Hi.
Was it on here i read about.Peanut Butter bringing plastic bumpers/trim back to a shiny state? Would it work on Aluminium paint as well /........ I will let you try first...LOL
Tea Bag

 

[Jaws]

Make sure it is the smooth variety !!!!

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[laird of Dunstan]

Be careful what you use on any gell coat areas ,polishes that contain ammonia will discolor the gell coat ,they will end up with a yellow tinge

You pretty much get what you pay for with car polish ,my preference is for products such as diamond bright ,it's a two pack polish ,it leaves a great finish and shine

 

[scotjimland]

The original and best.. hard work but can't be beaten..

don't do on a sunny day and only do a small section at a time..

Simoniz Carnauba Wax..



Bumpers and trim..
I tried Peanut butter, .. looks good but doesn't last any longer than a rub over with an oily rag

 

[Jaws]

Be careful what you use on any gell coat areas ,polishes that contain ammonia will discolor the gell coat ,they will end up with a yellow tinge

You pretty much get what you pay for with car polish ,my preference is for products such as diamond bright ,it's a two pack polish ,it leaves a great finish and shine

Now that stuff is absolutely brilliant ( no pun intended ! ).. Used to use it on all my show stuff

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[rosalan]

If I was really keen for polishing I would splash out for 'Paintseal'. We bought our previous van that had been 'Paintsealed' and like their advertisements say, a swill over with water and it is like new but for the cost of it, I am happy doing it all by hand.
Alan

 

[laird of Dunstan]

If you have just bought a brand new van it's worth considering Paintsheild, it's not a polish but a clear film that stops stone chips .

Probably the biggest mark up in new car sales is what they referred to paint protection, they sell it at around the 350 mark and it is two pack polish save yourselves a lot of dough and do it yourself ,diamond bright can easily be bought on ebay , detailing with a high content carubba wax takes a bit of skill and you need some tools

All of these waxes sold by car dealers are the same type of wax , that includes paintseal, just trying to save folks some money

 

[rangi]

Had a mate with an Alvis from the 1920s which had an Aluminum body, he used to use a bees wax based furniture polish on it.
It was hard work putting it on, but man! did it look spectacular when finished

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[Charlie]

From what I've seen of the silver finish on Fiat bumpers its a matt finish.. So no lacquer which means polishing it will result in fast degradation of the paint.

So a simple wax or sealant is about all that can be safely added to protect the rather delicate finish.

Please do not rub at it with a polish !

Not an ideal finish for such a hard working area !

Edited to add... If I had that finish on my front bumper I would get it lacquered as a permanent solution...