Keeping Aluminum Shiny

[cofooter]

On your v-drives, do you guys prefer to clear anodize the aluminum to keep it shiny, or just polish and keep polishing. I'm talking big parts like cav plates, shaft log, rudder post/strut support, engine rails, etc. I've got parts almost ready to go back in and trying to decide which way to go. Thanks!

 

[King295]

I can't speak to boat parts as I haven't anodized any of my aluminum boat parts but I used to clear hard anodize polished aluminum back when I built custom minibikes. It took some of the shine out of it but held up to anything thrown at it and cleaned up with simple green and a pressure washer.

 

[02HoWaRd26]

I can't speak to boat parts as I haven't anodized any of my aluminum boat parts but I used to clear hard anodize polished aluminum back when I built custom minibikes. It took some of the shine out of it but held up to anything thrown at it and cleaned up with simple green and a pressure washer.

View attachment 702392

That thing is super bad ass

 

[DLC]

I can't speak to boat parts as I haven't anodized any of my aluminum boat parts but I used to clear hard anodize polished aluminum back when I built custom minibikes. It took some of the shine out of it but held up to anything thrown at it and cleaned up with simple green and a pressure washer.

View attachment 702392

What are the stats on that little guy?
Is it a 50

 

[poncho]

On your v-drives, do you guys prefer to clear anodize the aluminum to keep it shiny, or just polish and keep polishing. I'm talking big parts like cav plates, shaft log, rudder post/strut support, engine rails, etc. I've got parts almost ready to go back in and trying to decide which way to go. Thanks!

Real hard call on that one, there was a guy putting a coating called Nantech on aluminum parts when I was putting mine together. The stuff he did still looks great and some of the parts I had to do later without the coating are definitely duller.
If there are any shows/races coming up in your area I would go and look at the boats and engage the owners as to what they did.....good luck.

 

[vdcruiser]

I anodized some of the parts on my cruiser and left some polished. While the anodized parts are easy to care for, the polished parts look better.

 

[King295]

What are the stats on that little guy?
Is it a 50

That bike is a Honda 50 based build with a BBR Perimeter frame kit along with all the high end goodies. Some rough stats:


BBR perimeter frame
SuperComp +5 swingarm
Elka Supershock
Marzocchi 35mm dual compression / rebound forks
Kitaco 124cc SE motor that was fully ported
Takegawa 3 speed special clutch
Kitaco inner rotor kit
Takegawa black magnesium clutch cover
Lightspeed carbon fiber ignition cover
Skunkwerks billet dress up kit
Custom oil Cooler setup w/ Speigler lines / fittings
CR85 kick starter
Joker billet 1/4 turn throttle, etc.

Probably $20K wrapped up into that thing that. That was when I initially finished it. Here is what it ended up looking like before I ultimately parted it out after break my second leg on those damn things.

 

[obnoxious001]

On your v-drives, do you guys prefer to clear anodize the aluminum to keep it shiny, or just polish and keep polishing. I'm talking big parts like cav plates, shaft log, rudder post/strut support, engine rails, etc. I've got parts almost ready to go back in and trying to decide which way to go. Thanks!

Pete,, there are some very good coatings right now that water spots just wipe right off of. Not sure about the cav plates, even anodizing fades on them. You have an aluminum shaft log? Most of the old ones were chromed brass.

 

[cofooter]

Yep, old caselli cast aluminum that i sanded smooth

 

[cofooter]

Real hard call on that one, there was a guy putting a coating called Nantech on aluminum parts when I was putting mine together. The stuff he did still looks great and some of the parts I had to do later without the coating are definitely duller.
If there are any shows/races coming up in your area I would go and look at the boats and engage the owners as to what they did.....good luck.

Good idea, we'll be down at the Sundance thing next weekend so I'll ask some questions!

 

[jbird]

This product might be worth a try. Yet to try it but I am hearing good things about it.

https://shinesupply.com/products/beadlock

 

[oldschool]

I powder coated my cav plates and some of the other cav hardware. On the polished aluminum on the boat, I polish it with Mothers and then use aerosol glass cleaner on it for clean up.

 

[wettrthebettr]

I have never anodized my aluminum cav plate , and the hardware was Chrome on my Flatty.
I did polish the valve covers, and timing cover, thermostat cover, Mothers is what I used also
I had to scratch my head thing about the cav plate, My plate always looked find if a stayed off dirt roads.

 

[Molassesmaker]

I’ve had luck with a product called shark hide Once polished you apply this stuff and it seals the metal. It does however dull the polished metals a little bit but the end result is still a nice finish. I used to polish the swim step after every other trip now it lasted 4 trips and still looks fresh

http://www.sharkhide.com/

 

[racerden]

On your v-drives, do you guys prefer to clear anodize the aluminum to keep it shiny, or just polish and keep polishing. I'm talking big parts like cav plates, shaft log, rudder post/strut support, engine rails, etc. I've got parts almost ready to go back in and trying to decide which way to go. Thanks!

As for the V-Drive no coatings, they look good however they're great at retaining heat. Either polish away (ugg) of leave it cast. Plates get lot's of friction and sunlight exposure, anodize works well (for awhile) coatings like porcelain (i/e headers etc) and others has been proven more durable. Things that are in the boat that stay somewhat submerged like shaft logs, rudder posts/mounts etc. are nice to look at anodized but again there's that maintenance deal. My shaft log and a few other 'wet' components are coated.
Hope it helps
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