Afternoon all,

Is there a way to may chrome pieces look like brushed aluminum? Reason I ask is that I'm not a big fan of chrome, and some interior components that were formerly available in both brushed AND chrome trim now are only available in chrome. Since the vast majority of the interior trim pieces have a brushed appearance, is there an effective way to achieve this look?

I thought about roughing them up evenly and thoroughly with some ultra fine grit sandpaper and then hitting them with a satin-finish clear coat.

Suggestions welcome...

Thanks!

 

Doing this by hand will be difficult at best. Hand-sanding might not get you an acceptable, uniform finish.

A soft stainless wire wheel, driven by a 1500 RPM drill might work OK. Practice makes perfect on a project like this. Try it out on your neighbors' '67 Olds bumper down the street first. 'Til you get the hang of it.

 

That's what I was going to suggest also John. Brass wire brush on a drill or sanding stone wheel

 

Do you think the soft brass will scratch the chrome? And will it stain it? I mean leave a brass coating on the surface when it's finished? Just askin'...

 

Try fine steel wool only brushed in one direction. Then clear coat it, be very careful to do always in one direction only, very lightly brushed. You will see what it takes to make it look the way you want. Go buy a few pices of junk chrome to practice on.

 

Wonderful tips guys, thank you.

Definitely practicing on some scrap chrome. Of course, being a perfectionist, I'll likely end up paying the stupid tax (VAT tax) and shipping from Germany to get these from the only supplier on earth still making these pieces in brushed aluminum.

Chrome ones are readily available, and much cheaper as well. But, with the pieces being so small, I'm thinking the chrome bits would "cheapen" the interior. No offense to those lovers of chrome, but I just don't want a gaudy look.

For those totally lost, I'm referencing the trim pieces/button surrounds for the console. CTD-Germany offers them, as does Pogiparts.de

AutoXclusive has the chrome ones, I've been speaking with James from there all morning in emails. He said there was a supplier issue bantering back and forth between chrome/brushed, and finally they deemed all brushed pieces obsolete and only stok chrome now.

To get the brushed pieces, you MUST order from Germany.

$$$....

 

you'll do just fine with what you're thinking John. Since these are small parts I think the steel wool idea is the best, bigger pieces with a softer brass brush and a light hand, which btw I hope you don't have to experience anymore, is the ticket. It gets down just enough to brush the top of ala the brushed aluminum look. They'll look great.

 

To get the finish that you want may take a bit of trial and error.
Steel wool will not touch chrome.
Sanding with wet and dry will make it hard to get an even finish.
Wire brushing will hardly touch chrome and risky
Your best bet is to use sand blasting, start of with glass and work your way up the grades of silica until you achieve the finish you want.
Do tests before you do your components and do a minimal amount of coverage as you do not want to remove the chrome.
The glass bead would be the best, use the lowest air pressure that will do the job to minimize the depth of the texture.