I'm prepping the Jaguar for Concours season. It was so cold and rainy this weekend that I couldn't work outside. So I pulled some interior parts, brought them inside, and worked on them. I took lots of pix and will post some comparisons elsewhere. But here's my biggest challenge at the moment. Three interior metal pieces are this "textured" metal. As you can see (or I hope I got the camera settings right to capture this detail) the metal is "textured" -- has all these little ridges. So far -- adhering to the "start with least aggressive" principle -- I've used Weiman Cook Top Cleaner, Eagle One NeverDull, and Meguiar's ScratchX. But none of those even touched the fine scratches. Then I tried Meguiar's #7, thinking maybe a glaze would at least fill in the scratches. Wrong! Any other tips on how to remove/hide the scratches without "wearing down" the raised/textured sections? I do have 3M SMR on hand. But I have no power tools.
polish for textured metal
- Thread starter chris0626
- Start date
No advice yet, Autopians?? Maybe there's just no good solution for me without power tools?
Last night, I went at it again, this time working on the door sill plates. Tried Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish, 3M SMR, and even 0000 steel wool. Nothing is touching the scratches. (But they are nice shiny scratches now!)
So I'm still open to any ideas about either reducing/removing the scratches or doing something that will make them less visible.
Last night, I went at it again, this time working on the door sill plates. Tried Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish, 3M SMR, and even 0000 steel wool. Nothing is touching the scratches. (But they are nice shiny scratches now!)
So I'm still open to any ideas about either reducing/removing the scratches or doing something that will make them less visible.
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forrest@mothers
Serious no BS kinda guy
I can't think of any way to remove scratches without removing the texture and/or the paint that's down in the grooves.
You can try uising a cotton buffing wheel in a drill with the aluminum polish to see if that makes a difference. Just make sure you use light pressure and keep the wheel moving to prevent bluing the metal.
BTW, did the aluminum polishes turn black when you were polishing? Those pieces may be stainless steel instead of aluminum. If SS, try a marine store for some stainless polish.
Send a PM to Brad B - he's the expert of all things Jaguar. Maybe he has an idea.
You can try uising a cotton buffing wheel in a drill with the aluminum polish to see if that makes a difference. Just make sure you use light pressure and keep the wheel moving to prevent bluing the metal.
BTW, did the aluminum polishes turn black when you were polishing? Those pieces may be stainless steel instead of aluminum. If SS, try a marine store for some stainless polish.
Send a PM to Brad B - he's the expert of all things Jaguar. Maybe he has an idea.
Thanks, Forrest. Yeah, I'm afraid you may be right. Maybe there is no magic bullet for this one. Might just have to break down and buy new sill plates.
The polish itself didn't seem to turn black on the pieces, but there was a lot of black on the cloth. I feel really stupid that I can't tell the difference between aluminum and stainless steel.
The polish itself didn't seem to turn black on the pieces, but there was a lot of black on the cloth. I feel really stupid that I can't tell the difference between aluminum and stainless steel.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Lynn- Oh, how those pieces bring back memories! You've got me wishing I'd kept MY coupe!
I guess the judges would take off for "patina", huh? I agree with Forrest that you're not going to be able to do much without messing them up. IMO, removing enough metal to remove the
flaws will have undesirable consequences.
Get some NOS pieces (while you still can!) for the shows and use the old ones when you drive it. I wouldn't risk damaging the OE ones with any more work until you have the NOS replacements in hand.
BTW, you really oughta spring for a (continuously variable-speed) Dremel and some good felt bobs. You'll find plenty of uses for it to justify the expense. Especially under the hood.
Many metals will leave black residue on your cloth. Use a magnet to distinguish between aluminum and ferrous metals (visions of Lynn saying :doh ).
I guess the judges would take off for "patina", huh? I agree with Forrest that you're not going to be able to do much without messing them up. IMO, removing enough metal to remove the
flaws will have undesirable consequences.
Get some NOS pieces (while you still can!) for the shows and use the old ones when you drive it. I wouldn't risk damaging the OE ones with any more work until you have the NOS replacements in hand.
BTW, you really oughta spring for a (continuously variable-speed) Dremel and some good felt bobs. You'll find plenty of uses for it to justify the expense. Especially under the hood.
Many metals will leave black residue on your cloth. Use a magnet to distinguish between aluminum and ferrous metals (visions of Lynn saying :doh ).
forrest@mothers
Serious no BS kinda guy
Lynn - stainless won't attract a magnet, either. So, it's not a perfect test for determining metal composition.
Accumulator had a great idea about the second set - I say go for it.
Accumulator had a great idea about the second set - I say go for it.
Thanks for being so supportive, guys. :bow Yep, I'm planning to try to buy the set off the web. These really are not readily available from Jag parts suppliers. There aren't that many '75 parts around -- especially for the tiny little market of coupes (only about 6000 XJ6 coupes were built.)
Accumulator, I do remember recently reading something about the Dremels and felt bobs. Sounded most intriguing. Now I just need to do a search and find that thread again. (NO! That is not a pitiful plea for anybody else to do the search for me, 4DSC.
)
Accumulator, I do remember recently reading something about the Dremels and felt bobs. Sounded most intriguing. Now I just need to do a search and find that thread again. (NO! That is not a pitiful plea for anybody else to do the search for me, 4DSC.
)Accumulator
Well-known member
Lynn- Check out Eastwood for the bobs. Lucky you on finding the trim!
Forrest- Let's agree to compromise on the stainless steel/magnet issue. I suppose it has to do with what proportions are used in the "stainless mix". I just got out a weak magnet and it DID stick to various pieces of ss cutlery and it REALLY stuck to ss firearms, but it only stuck to SOME of the ss on my Jag (it wouldn't stick to the exhaust at all). Not that this will necessarily help Lynn out with her Jag trim, though. Heh heh, I think my wife is wondering "what's he up to now?"
Forrest- Let's agree to compromise on the stainless steel/magnet issue. I suppose it has to do with what proportions are used in the "stainless mix". I just got out a weak magnet and it DID stick to various pieces of ss cutlery and it REALLY stuck to ss firearms, but it only stuck to SOME of the ss on my Jag (it wouldn't stick to the exhaust at all). Not that this will necessarily help Lynn out with her Jag trim, though. Heh heh, I think my wife is wondering "what's he up to now?"
jerry@robs
New member
tried Dremel?
forrest@mothers
Serious no BS kinda guy
If it's anodized (a hard coating/plating), you don't want to use any sort of aluminum polish, or any other kind of abrasive on it.
The plating is not flexible or thick, and you'll damage it.
Accum - not a problem.
The plating is not flexible or thick, and you'll damage it.
Accum - not a problem.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Lynn- As Forrest said, be VERY careful with the anodized aluminum! Most anodizing is surprisingly fragile. And that does explain why the magnet doesn't stick.
I got my Dremel at Sears. Slight extra expense, but it was worth it for the immediate replacement when I abused it to the point of burn-out
It seems like you're gonna have to either switch sill plates a lot (sorta risky) or just resign the white one to showcar duties and redo the red one for your driver (in case you needed a nudge towards justifying/rationalizing having it done
).
Forrest-
I got my Dremel at Sears. Slight extra expense, but it was worth it for the immediate replacement when I abused it to the point of burn-out
It seems like you're gonna have to either switch sill plates a lot (sorta risky) or just resign the white one to showcar duties and redo the red one for your driver (in case you needed a nudge towards justifying/rationalizing having it done
).Forrest-
OK, good, I didn't want to sound like I was being contentious and it sorta read that way today. You're obviously right about the magnet not being a perfect test. I WAS surprised it didn't stick to my exhaust.
RegalGS
New member
I really don't know how this concours stuff works... but if the underlying metal is in good shape, and it's anodized... What about finding a place to redo the anodizing? I'm way outta my league here, but it seems that if the scratches are in the anodizing only, you should be able to find a place that would replate them? Would a concours judge be able to tell the difference? :nixweiss I dunno, shooting in the dark. Good luck with your quest.
Accumulator
Well-known member
RegalGS- I BELIEVE the problem is in getting the OLD anodizing off without damaging the part/changing its texture, etc. Sorta like it's too easy to remove it when you DON'T want to, too hard to remove it when you DO. Not like de-chroming/replating a part, different sort of process.