C1 Air cleaner shine
I am in the process of reviving 2 original air cleaners, have the dents/scratches out, was wondering now how polished they were when new, I have them smoothed/shined using 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper, enough to see an image, but there are still faint sanding lines. I used Mothers metal/aluminum polish and well makes them almost look like chrome.
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Re: C1 Air cleaner shine
The original finish was dull, not bright like chrome or stainless steel. I used 3000 grit paper to dull the finish on my reproduction air cleaner lid, but even 3000 grit left swirl marks; so I got the finish brightness I wanted, but micro swirl marks I did not want. I don't know if there is a grade of steel wool that would be finer than 3000 grit sandpaper. The more you mess with it, the shiner it gets.
I just finished polishing an original air cleaner lid for my 1960 and used Flitz metal polish. The shine is probably a little brighter than original, but I am OK with that. I used Flitz before and it appears that after a couple of months, a light coat of oxidation forms on the aluminum.
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