Aluminum Grill

[Ditchdigger]

I hope I spelled the A word right. I found a perfect grill, except the green haze that has been left on for the past 15 plus years it has been left out in the woods. What kind of steps will be involved to get it like new again? I want it to look like it came from the factory, even if it means 20 to 40 hours in cleaning and polishing. I have never tried to clean aluminum before. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[FORDification]

Read THIS THREAD over at the Eastwood's forum. Willowbilly got into a discussion with an professional aluminum polisher there in regards to polishing our aluminum truck grilles with some good recommendations.

I understand that the anodizing on these grilles and headlight doors is very tough, and very hard to remove without destroying the aluminum. It might be worth the expense to have the grille shipped to an anodizing shop for them to remove the coating, and then you can do the polishing and have it re-anodized.

[BCOOLEY]

What do you use to chemically strip this trim with?

[FORDification]

Oven cleaner and lye (and I've even heard Liquid Plumber) will remove the coating, but both will also attack the aluminum....add that to the fact that some of these chemicals are not to be taken lightly (for example, a drop of lye in your eye will blind you), it might be a better idea to spend a few bucks and have the pros do it for you.

Here's a messageboard thread with some info for you:

http://www.finishing.com/149/12.shtml

[91Bear]

So, in 1969 were the grilles aluminum or steel? Were any of them painted?

I know that some 1967 grilles were white, but I've never seen a white 1969 grille.

[FORDification]

You could get them either way...painted steel or polished aluminum. However, I think a vast majority of them were aluminum. Here's a pic of a painted steel '69 grille:

[91Bear]

So was it dependent on a trim package? My 1969 Standard has an aluminum grille. I would think that the aluminum would have been more "fancy". Ranger grills had a red stripe and blacked out headlight buckets.

[FORDification]

I think normally the base model would have gotten the steel grille, since it was standard equipment. However, the person ordering it could have specified an aluminum grille. Also, over the years it's entirely possible a previous owner simply decided he preferred the look of the aluminum grille over the steel version.

[NM5K]

So was it dependent on a trim package? My 1969 Standard has an aluminum grille. I would think that the aluminum would have been more "fancy". Ranger grills had a red stripe and blacked out headlight buckets.


Yea...The "standard cab" got the painted "ivory" grille.
The custom cab got the aluminum grille. The ranger got
the fancier aluminum grille...The trim package was done
in groups...IE: if you have a custom cab, with an aluminum
grille, you should also have the aluminum headlight buckets
instead of ivory painted. Also, the interior will reflect the
higher trim.
Chrome horn ring, instead of just a horn cap, etc, etc...
MK