Hey guys. I have an interesting question:

My Washi-Aluminum Trim is slightly (or a bit scractched) in some areas, however that is not my main concern right now.

Apparently, the trim has a "coat" that goes all over it. Over the years, this "coating" got dirty and has started to fall off (and the difference in tones between the dirty remaining coating and the washi-aluminum underneath is disgustingly noticeable)

I would like to remove all the coating and leave the aluminum bare. What would you guys recommend for doing this? What do you think would be the best approach/substance without damaging the trim underneath?

Check out the attached picture for a sample!

Thank you so much for your answers!

 

Acetone would probably do the job.

Do a test on an out-of-the-way area first, and don't get any on the surrounding materials...

 

I removed the door pulls and wet sanded them, after I got all the old clear off I re-sprayed them with clear. It's not that complicated.

 

Wet sand ==> hand polish with aluminum polisher ==> clear coat

 

Well, I'm not talking about the door pulls, those I already fixed. I'm referring specifically to the washi trim along the door inside

apparently the pattern is part of the clear coat, so once that comes off, its just plain aluminum underneath....

didnt use your method on the door pulls, but i used very fine steel wool to polish them. there is a post about it with pics that i started!

thanks for the suggestions guys, will try that acetone too.

 

My mistake, and apologies I would take the door panel off of the door and remove the trim, then do the same thing you did on the pulls. If you use Acetone, you might want to mask off the area around the trim first.

 

I suspect that what you consider "dirty" is actually where the clear coat has worn off, allowing the bare aluminum to oxidize. For this reason, I'd suggest you rethink stripping all the coating off and leaving the aluminum bare, as it will most surely oxidize very rapidly, and unevenly as well. Once you get it all stripped off, it should be very easy to reapply a uniform clear coating which should keep the finish looking bright and consistent.

.02