Can’t buff front 345 grill?

[Jenniflow]

Hey, so Joe took out the wire brush and got a nice shine on the model number

Then he tried it on the grill.


I don’t know how much time he spent on it.

Are they different materials? Can we expect a shine on the grill with a wire brush? With anything?

Thanks for any thoughts. :-)

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Jenniflow

Hey, so Joe took out the wire brush and got a nice shine on the model number Attachment 358401

Then he tried it on the grill.

Attachment 358402
I don’t know how much time he spent on it.

Are they different materials? Can we expect a shine on the grill with a wire brush? With anything?

Thanks for any thoughts. :-)

Not with a wire brush. Ernie spent a bunch of hours polishing Peanut's grille hand sanding, power sanding and various other techniques.

[Jenniflow]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Not with a wire brush. Ernie spent a bunch of hours polishing Peanut's grille hand sanding, power sanding and various other techniques.

Hey Brad, thanks. I was having trouble understanding why a power sander would work but a wire brush wouldn’t. Joe tells me he has an orbital sander and he’ll try it.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Jenniflow

Hey Brad, thanks. I was having trouble understanding why a power sander would work but a wire brush wouldn’t. Joe tells me he has an orbital sander and he’ll try it.

Just be careful with the grit selection and check often. The grille has thin enough strips that it would be easy to get carried away.

[mayco]

Might want to start with various grades of steel wool.

[Voltair]

Hi J,
A good choice off tool to do all thoes alloy trim castings is a what panel repair shops use. Its a vairiable speed hand sander that has a foam backed stick on abrasive pads. The soft foam pad as it spins deforms to the shape off the cast alloy part. As for the stick on sanding disks I'd start with 120 grit then 240 grit then 900 grit then 1500 grit end with 2000 grit. Then with the same rotary disk sander stick on a lambs wool pad with fine buffing pollish to finsh . 10% Boiled Linsead oil mixed with 90% Turpintine stops it from dulling off too quikly. The grade off alloy used on these 345 castings is poor grade ie white corrosion re-appers, so re-oil regually.
Take a look at your bumpers next :}
Rus

[davejay]

Hey,
Don't use an orbital sander on the grill. You lol knock off the sharp edges , and it lol look cheesy.
Get yourself some 320-400-600 wet sand able sandpaper. It s gray in color. Get a 3x4 sponge . Wrap the 320 around the sponge. With a soapy water solution, sand the long way on the grill. When cleaned up, do the same with the 400. And finally do the 600 paper. You should be right about where you can use mothers aluminum polish to bring out the shine.
I did my grill that way. Looked just like your picture. But over the winter, it chalked up again. So I cleaned her up again, washed it with dawn blue, let it dry, and I clear coated it. Now it's not as lusters shiney as before, but it is really nice looking and not chalky looking anymore.
You could use 0000 steel wool as the final rub. That will bring up some good shine to it, but I'd still clear coat it. DJ

[davejay]

Hey,
Oh and before you clear coat it, if you go that way, paint the rough part of the grill. Really makes it look new.
I used rust oleum gray metallic. If you want a little darker, go rusoleum, black night metallic. That s what I painted the gray stripe and my lower compartment with. It s really close to the AS gray. And it's got a little metallic twinkle to it.
It's not black. It s a deep gray color. I thought about black on the grill, but I think it's to stark, doesn't t match the rest of the coaches gray theme. DJ

[davejay]

Hey,
Oh, oh. Try those little brushes. Little bigger than tooth brush. Get the brass ones. They really get into the edges of the trim. Doesn't t scratch the aluminum or the black plastic 1/4 inch insert plastic. DZj

[Jenniflow]

Hey DaveJay
This sounds like great advice! Thanks, I think we’ll do exactly as you say.

And we’ll use the brass brushes too.

We have our marching orders! 😁

[Voltair]

I had trouble cleaning my Grill up so if you look behind the grill you will see 3 easy nuts to take off for each individual slat, a minuite to remove.
With very moderate hand skills that tool I described ie vairible speed rotary sander with velcro stickon sanding disks makes for clean sharp edges if that is what you are intending for.
My castings after I had them sand blasted came up with thousands off tiny pin air holes. So I ended up painting my grill v dark grey. Smartens up the front.
Previous poster had a good choice off paint but overshot the concerns off my tool choice.
Other trap is if your going to sand any castings is to use way finer than 600 grit, I went upto 2000 grit makes for the final pollish part off the job real quike and you dont end up covered in black on both my bumpers the smoother the finish less likely to re corrode. If you do your bumpers which are relativly easy to remove thoes overiders with rubber inserts are crappy allioy and do re corrode real quike . I'v kept away from synthetic clear coats and went for an oily rag with linseed n turps or wax once or twice a year.
Aiming for my banana raps this year, way tricker job....

[jhenry]

Steel wool is the best and take the grill apart as stated, much easier

[Jenniflow]

Voltair and jhenry, I don't know if Joe looked carefully enough yet to find those screws for removing the grill pieces, I'll make sure he knows.

And I'll leave the choice of process up to him because he wants to do it. Maybe it's possible to get a lot of the work done and then soften the edges? It sure does sound like a lot of work!

Thanks all!

[davejay]

Hey,
All good ideas, I agree 2000 sandpaper will really smooth it out. I sanded my 50 caddy with 1500 to get the clear coat ready for buffing. My arms almost fell off. But it did look good. The 0000 steel wool is good too. Taking it apart is a good plan. I did that too. Not to impressed with the fit of all three parts though good luck Jen. DJ

[ROBERT CROSS]

This worked well on aluminum.

And 'chrome' power coating.

BTW...that is a good thread to peruse for all things corrosion.

Bob
🇺🇸

[Voltair]

Here is a solution to save sore arm muscles and a lot off time, alloy being a soft metal will work up to a smooth mirror surface if you step up the velcro sanding disks in close steps ie 240grit then 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000. As each one takes out the micro scores from the one befor in very short time, a dollar each disk, 10 sec to change too n from, being velcro'd to the velcro FOAM PAD you can keep each disk going for miles off sanding, the more worn they get the better the finnish! Have a container part filled with turps to soak them in as you work, keep them wet as you work also.
Its so pleasable you'll be fighting over who does the next bit :}
I can see your bumpers shinning allready.
I havn't ever used 0000 steel wool I'll find some as this would get some tricky edges, corners or resesed areas like thoes grooved grill slats. Maybe paint stripper would make that part off the job easier also....

"These are only mere suggestions and require moderate hand skills n half a common sense, few bucks and a beer or two to exacute"

[ROBERT CROSS]

...that 'steel wool' used anywhere tends to leave stuff behind that will rust, left behind on AS aluminum tends to look pretty schity.

Bob
🇺🇸

[rmkrum]

Use a 3M nylon abrasive pad instead. They do not leave any rusty particles. Comes in many grades equivalent to steel wool without the downside of rust.

[davejay]

Hey,
Yah , your right about the steel wool leaving fuzz. The 3m scrubbys are really good. I got the white ones. They are so fine, I was able to buff the side of the coach. Brought out the kind of brushed look, with a little softer looking glaze to it. Lots of good ideas . DJ
Ps don't press down on the pads, and use a fair amount of soap for lubrication.
I don't know how it would work on clear coat. Our coach has none.
If your carefull, the results are good.