Aluminum opinions

[Al_C]

There are probably as many ways to deal with aluminum panels as there are Roadsters. Everyone has an opinion, and I’d like to tap into that collective experience. This is the time of year for me to start getting things in line for the warmer weather when I’ll be able to get back to my build.

My favorite options right now are David Hodgkin’s polished approach or powder coating of those panels that you can actually see. (If it’s covered by carpet, it’s probably not worth messing with.) With the powder coating approach, there are a few considerations: durability, attractiveness, and ability to hide dirt. I was going to go with gloss black, but based on a few conversations I’ve had already that may not be the best color from a dirt perspective.

Here’s where you come in: if you were going to do it again, given my three factors, (durability, attractiveness and ability to hide dirt) how would you deal with aluminum? And, if you were going to powder coat, what color would you go with? Yes, I know that color is a personal choice, but I’d like to hear what you’d choose and why.

It's only about 5 weeks until Pitchers and Catchers report to camp, so spring can't be far off!

[6t8dart]

I just used sharkhide yesterday on my panels for protection, I am only using it on the exterior side of the panels. It was easy, my advise is the make sure you get all the burrs off any edge or drilled hole that is visible, saturate the cloth, and wipe in one direction. The stuff dries pretty invisible, but the lint sticks in the coating. Powdercoating would have been nice, but an expensive option.

[skullandbones]

I saw a roadster at the HB cruisin last year that impressed me with regard to your questions. He was an engineer so things were done very engineer like. One of the things I liked best was his choice of powder coating the engine bay panels. He had them the same color as the body (as close as that process can be). It was a light gray and the body was a beautiful silver gray. He said he had not cleaned the car up since he arrived. It looked pretty good to me. I think what ever color you choose, make it not too dark or it will show dust and spashes a lot worse than light. JMO.

Good luck,

WEK.

[bansheekev]

I saw a roadster at the HB cruisin last year that impressed me with regard to your questions. He was an engineer so things were done very engineer like. One of the things I liked best was his choice of powder coating the engine bay panels. He had them the same color as the body (as close as that process can be). It was a light gray and the body was a beautiful silver gray. He said he had not cleaned the car up since he arrived. It looked pretty good to me. I think what ever color you choose, make it not too dark or it will show dust and spashes a lot worse than light. JMO.

Good luck,

WEK.

Sounds similar to what I did... My car is painted Lamborghini Titanium with silver stripes. I powder coated the visible aluminum panels a satin silver with the lightest / smallest texture I could find. The combo goes well together. I live in the country with lots of open fields and dust so I was going for something that would not show dust much. I've had the car on the road for almost a year and simply wipe them down with a damp cloth every couple months. You can't even really tell when they are dusty.

497054970649707

Kevin

[David Hodgkins]

Beautiful car Kevin, and a good example of how powdercoating can really "step up" a build.

:)

[Gumball]

I left all of my aluminum alone and will let it gather its own patina over time, just like the rest of the car. Actually, so little of it is really visible - pretty much just the foot boxes, a tiny bit of the firewall, and the F panels (plus a few additional panels I added to the engine bay) - that it just wasn't a priority on my build and I spent five years and was OCD on it for the most part.

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/IMG_20150901_195649037_HDR_zps68opfdfv.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/IMG_20150901_195649037_HDR_zps68opfdfv.jpg.html)

[2FAST4U]

I am doing the same as Chris. I am sanding all the aluminum pNels, starting with 220 wet/dry, and finishing with 400 wet/dry. I then allow them to age naturally for the patina

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/GT40_Bill/image.jpg4_zpsowceslem.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/GT40_Bill/media/image.jpg4_zpsowceslem.jpg.html)

[CHOTIS BILL]

I have built many cars and tried several different colors for the engine bay and ended up liking light gray or silver powder coat the best.

Bill Lomenick

[edwardb]

I am a big fan of powder coat for everything, so let's just get that out of the way. It looks good, will stay that way for a long time, is durable, and relatively easy to clean. It's not inexpensive (what is with these builds?) but find a coater you can work with, and sometimes there are discounts to be had. Especially if you take as much as you can at once. Multiple small lots will cost more. If you add up the cost of some of the other choices, especially if you consider the time required, it's maybe not so expensive in the big picture. But I know it's not for everyone. Also my experience is there's no difference in cost between all sides and selective sides. If a part is completely buried, I don't coat it. But even if covered with carpet (like trunk pieces, cockpit pieces, etc.) if one side is exposed it gets coated.

Regarding color, I've completed two so far. First was silver, including the chassis. Looks great and doesn't look too bad even when it's a bit dirty. Highly recommended. The second I did in gloss black. It's very cool, and shows really great especially with a little contrasting bling on the engine (if you're into that sort of thing) but it is definitely high maintenance. The slightest bit of dust shows. My current build is an Anniversary Edition so is mostly dark silver/grey and then white on the firewall, f-panels and footboxes. Just putting it together, and it's different. But it will be distinctive. I suspect it will be somewhat high maintenance as well. Pictures of silver and black:

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%20Mark%203%20Roadster%20Build/Finished/IMG_1377.jpg (http://s867.photobucket.com/user/edwardb123/media/Factory%20Five%20Mark%203%20Roadster%20Build/Finished/IMG_1377.jpg.html)

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%20Mark%204%20Roadster%20Build/Completed/IMG_2975_zpsb6facb51.jpg (http://s867.photobucket.com/user/edwardb123/media/Factory%20Five%20Mark%204%20Roadster%20Build/Completed/IMG_2975_zpsb6facb51.jpg.html)

[insurance guy]

I had all the aluminum panels in my build powder coated, I found a really great company in NJ that was really inexpensive. I was going to go with gloss black. Based on his suggestion I went with a matte black finish as the Gloss Black shows all the dust.
I am glad I did, panels look great

[CraigS]

One thought to add no matter what the coat actually is regards color. The aluminum is silver, so the closer to that color your coating is, the less any scratches will stand out. Another thought adding to the idea that light grey or silver is a good idea is look at professional high level race cars. They are nearly always a light color because they want to see any leaks that might occur. They don't want a damp spot buried in a dark corner because they want to see it, and fix it, before it is a problem.

[Jazzman]

. Powdercoating would have been nice, but an expensive option.

I guess cost is relative. I have most of my panels powder coated already, and they are into me for less than $500. In context of the cost of these toys, not too bad. Would have been less had I done them all at once or chosen a flat color rather than a textured one. Live and learn. I think it really makes the build look "finished". Of course I am no where near as talented as David Hodgkins so polished was out of the question. It sure looks nice though.

I would powder coat again. I like the hammered silver I chose. Is looks nice with the black frame. I think it should hide dirt and nicks pretty well.

[rickscobra]

I have been on the fence for weeks trying to decide on the color of my panels. Thought it was black, but given my aircraft background, I painted all my firewall and engine mounts white. This brightened up the engine bay and allowed me to see any leaks or loose hardware. So, I am going with the aluminum colored powder coat. As much as I love polished aluminum, I had two polished airplanes, which looked fabulous, but the polishing never stopped. Hopefully my choice will be a balance between the two options. Thanks for your insight.

Rick

[Al_C]

Thanks for all the input! (of course, if you still want to add something here, please do...) Looks like a light color wins.

[Gloveman]

I had every panel anodized in clear. The panels came out flat gray and are extremely scratch resistant.

[Avalanche325]

I did polish and Sharkhide to protect it. Polishing is a HUGE amount of effort. As mentioned, you don't see that much of it when it is all together. But, it does look nice.

[Raceral]

I would carpet where I can carpet... the rest, you keep very nice by using a brillo soap pad and water. Gives it a very nice brushed look. On my last car, each spring, I would jack it up on stands take the wheels off and brillo the heck out of the fender well area and it looked awesome. You can do the foot boxes every once in a while this way also.
Carpet just gives the car a very "finished" look

[bcovell]

I left the panels in my MKII natural and they looked fine for a while. Over time they did oxidize and look pretty bad. If I were to do another build, I would either anodize or powder coat them.

[Jacob McCrea]

So far I've wet-sanded my aluminum panels with 220 grit, then applied POR-15's "AP-120" metal etcher, then used a fine 7" foam roller for house paints to roll on 2 coats of POR-15's "Glisten PC" clear coat for aluminum. This sounds crude but if you paint one side of the panel at a time, and apply the clear coat at around 50 degrees, the finish will flow out very nicely, even compared to a sprayed finish. The adhesion seems to be pretty good. It is probably not as durable as powder coating on a properly prepared surface, but the finish is great for the money.