Aluminium polishing

[Paulprior]

Hi,
I am about to polish some under bonnet aluminium parts and hope to achieve a high shine finish, but what can I do myself in the garage to maintain that finish without having to repolish every week ??

[LeeJV]

If you use the metal polish, I would really recommend Angelwax metal polish, its far better to use than AutoSol

After they are cleaned and polished, give them a good wipe down with a panel prep, then use a wheel sealant to keep them tip top.
KKD R volve is great on metal finish and will last for years, as is Carbon Collective platinum wheels, Both products are really good and durable on metal finishes.

[TheSpudfather]

Aluminium when exposed to air oxidised and produces a dull protective oxide layer. If you polish bare aluminium and do nothing else you will need to re-polish regularly.

I have a similar issue myself that I will need to deal with when I get to it, lots of polished aluminium trim pieces to try and bring back to a good finish. The original trim bits were anodised after polishing to keep the shine, but the anodised layer has degraded over time and is turning milky. The only way to get rid of this will be to polish though it back to the raw metal, but then I will e in a similar position to yourself, looking for a way to make it last.

Anodising is not something that can be DIY'd, so I am thinking some sort of lacquer will be the solution. I haven't looked into this in detail yet, but have seen that there are aluminium lacquers on the market. Might be something worth looking into.