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Here's the latest caravan renovation - took about 3 months worth of weekends and was great fun to do. Enjoy!
Hello @twocutekelpies
It's amazing how beautifuly polished those parts are. In theory, the polish will stay for at least a couple of weeks unattended. If it's regularly maintained the polish will stay indefinitely. It's only when you run it through dirt, mud and water and don't clean it up will it start to lose its shine. You'll notice it starts to get hazy and then cloudy, those are your indicators that it's time for a quick shine.
If you're willing to invest in your parts you could have it electroplated. There is the option of using Rust-Oleum 298g 2X Ultra Cover Gloss Clear Spray Paint. However, the drawback to using a paint sealer is that it will eventually chip and tarnish. It will be difficult to remove the coating and repolish the aluminium. Using specialist waxes and sealers will protect the aluminium, but you'll still need to buff it to get that shine.
I'm sure @MitchellMc will add more information if he has a different sealing plan in mind.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Polished aluminium is a bit of a labour of love @twocutekelpies. To keep it gleaming, it needs regular maintenance. You'd always want to use a sealing product to maintain the shine for as long as possible. I'll be using something like carnauba wax on these parts. However, I do like the idea of a hard clear coat product, and on a window frame which will be exposed to weather, that might be an option. I'm also a fan of what you've done with painting the frames. That's a great solution.
These particular bicycle parts were clear coated by the manufacturer. I've removed that clear coat and repolished, knowing that without the clear they will tarnish quickly. As a temp solution before applying a wax-based polish, I've got the aluminium parts coated in WD-40 to prevent air from getting to their surface and beginning the tarnishing process.
Mitchell
