I'm wondering is anyone knows of a system/method to refinish one of our aluminum grill shells that will make it look good. After seeing how much these things are now selling for, I am exploring other options. Thx.

 

There is only one way, you can try to do it or have it done professionally which will cost more than a new one.

Work the dents out, if they're bad you will not succeed. then remove the bright dip, some say oven cleaner works I have not had any success with it. or mechanically, 400 grit sandpaper and scotch pads at high speed work, and it's a lot of work. then buff and polish it to the desired shine. then use aluminum polish occasionally to maintain it.

unless you find a shell that's been indoors most of its life and babied the bright dip on nearly all of these 50 year old used parts is shot, there is no fixing it, period. once you accept that the work begins.

 

Depends on what you want. I didn't remove anything, just spent a couple hours listening to Willie's Roadhouse on XM as I rubbed and buffed both by hand and drill mounted buffing wheel using Semi-Chrome aluminum polish. I followed with Liquid Glass (an old school non wax polish) If you get real close, you can see the years but I don't allow that level of closeness in traffic. It didn't have any "damage" .... just 45 years of sitting outside on the truck when not pushing wind.



I did it in 2022, still looks the same. I thought about a new bumper, but then I'd have had to get a new grille shell, so this was what I did.
I had already polished the bumper but it has some age related spotting too..

I did mask my new paint.

 

I have had pretty good luck with WD-40 and Scotch Brite RED pad.
Try a small spot down low to see if it works..

 

I will. Sounds like worth a try on my bumper for sure.

 

It's no different than old chrome, it's a bright dip over aluminum you can polish the finish but you cannot fix it .

If this what you're after you should have asked how to polish a grill shell. in that case any metal polish and a high speed buffer will do what little can be done.

 

Glass cleaner and 0000 steel wool, finish with "Met-All" aluminum polish. Stuff is amazing.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...BoCu7gQAvD_BwE

 

There is a shop in cali ,I think called Kings that restores grill shells ,,,removes bright dip ,repairs dents and restores new brite dip,,,,,When I inquired about the process it was the price of purchasing a new grill,,,,,,the shipping is what killed the deal

 

Some folks paint the shell to match or contrast with the body color. This allows repairs using body filler. It would also be nice to have a fiberglass repo of the shell but I have yet to find one. It's just too complex.

Just to be clear, we are talking about the 1973-1977 grille SHELL because the 1978-1979 models are quite different in design. Nonetheless, the 1978-1979 versions present the exact same problems in restoring an original. Prices for repops in steel and aluminum range from 680 to 850 for '73-'77 which is at least 100 higher than they were in, say, 2015. The grille inserts are another matter entirely. With those you have the choice of getting something other that a stock appearance, especially 1978-1979.

 

If you want it to shine like new it is doable but labor intensive.
You cannot polish the anodizing it is too hard.
1. Remove the grille
2. Go get several red Scotch Brite pads and a couple of cans of not environmentally friendly oven cleaner and some rubber gloves. The anodize has to be removed and a caustic is required.
3. Somewhere outdoors spray a generous coat of oven cleaner, it will start to foam. Do not let it dry. Rub with the scotch brite and rinse with a hose. This will usually take more than one application. Anodize is non-conductive so you can use an ohm meter to make sure it is all off.
4. Do not use any sandpaper or compound coarser than 320 grit. Sand out any deep scratches.
5. You need at least a good drill and a Dremel tool. Go buy a bunch of felt and muslin bobs and some polishing compound. Harbor Freights a good place to get that stuff. Never go to a finer grit without using a new bob or at least cleaning the old one.
6. Start with a medium grit and work down to the finest grit. The degree of shine depends on how dedicated you are. Finish up with some Blue Magic or Mothers metal polish. Since it will be bare aluminum you will need to keep a coat of polish on it to prevent any corrosion.
This is a 65 grille I did because they are not reproduced.

 

That's a nice job, and I know how much work went into it.

You're absolutely correct the bright dip has to come off, you can't polish a turd.

 

and on the '78-79 grill removing the grill is a turd, you have to go in under both front wheel wells - altogether there must be 30 fasteners.

 

King of Trim

they did mine. Nice people. Prices are good. Happy to pay $1500 for a restored original grille than $1000 for asian stuff that doesn’t fit. Still have some other stuff being worked. I’m 30 min north of Sacramento. It’s a 7-8 hr drive. I make it a point to find some other business to handle when I go to make it a little more worth while.

 

They are a great outfit I've used them before. if I hadn't found an NOS one that's what I'd have done too.