Hold your tongue & say polish it!

[jeepman42]

Trying to polish roof rails on my '85 . watched several videos re polishing aluminum but having probs getting a good shine and when i'm more aggressive w grit spots start showing up? is it possible these are aluminum with a chrome plate? opinions appreciated.

[Full Size Jeeper]

Yes, the rails are anodized and can look kind of funky after years.
Try this one, my father works in the ship yard sweeping up ashes.

[jeepman42]

aluminum rails

thanks for the reply.
think I'll polish as I can &call it a day. new decal strips will make up for lack of shine.
good one on the tongue twister!

[Kaiserjeeps]

If you have a lot of time to use up, you can strip off the anodizing with easy off oven cleaner. Then polish all of it to a nice shine, then coat it with cerakote MC160 gloss clear after a stout degreasing. It is not paint. It is the toughest coating on earth. Easy to apply and does not require a catalyst. I bought a very expensive spray gun for it. But discovered Preval disposable sprayers. Super cheap and works like a high end spray gun. Even a monkey could do it. Cerakote just came out with a new coating for aluminum and magnesium that is even better. I use their trim coat for rubber type trim and just obtained a headlight restoration kit recently that is a do it once and be done with it thing. All others need reapplying. Anyway, another way to get good results without having to pay for an anodizing recoat. Strip it, polish it, and coat it.

[RM45acp]

I've had really good experiences with Eagle One chrome polish when it comes to my grill and rails, except that I have to re-do it about once a year. Not a big problem since I never get to drive it while I'm on the road for work

[jeepman42]

Thanks for info Kaiser Jeep &RMS45
Will look into ceracote products & Eagle one chrome polish
(At 77 I don't know if I have spare time or not? LOL)

[Kaiserjeeps]

I powder coated the grill on my build a while ago with a prismatic chrome silver. It came out beautiful with a peal hint to it. Depending on time and funds you could try that. It would be less work just a few more bucks. I think the shop that coated my grill got the powder from eastwood. But several companies have the chrome like finish. It is a subtle shine and not super bright. This came to mind after reading the updates here.