HOw many polished out Kirkham 427 body styles have been sold?

[Yetiman]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Well, I spilled my cup of coffee all over my desk this morning, so for practical reasons, I'd rather not handle brake fluid on a regular basis.

No, you use brake fluid for cleaning a painted car. Brake cleaner for the brushed aluminum.

Oh, and don't try the brake fluid, as it cleans the paint right off (if you didn't catch the humor).

[tcrist]

Has anyone ever clear coated a polished Kirkham? Do you think that might help with the maintiance issue?

Terry

[Murphy]

I want to hear any comments on this as it is a constant chore to keep the polished car looking good. Someone suggested Zoop. Has anyone tried this product on a large plane surface?

[RedBarchetta]

Rock chipping of the clear coat would look like $#!t after a while (probably like acne). Maybe the alternative is something like a ZoopSeal, but I've never heard of someone doing a WHOLE CAR with that stuff.

[RodKnock]

Oops, you see even my attempt at humor went awry today.

[RodKnock]

Isn't taking care of the polished finish essentially the same as waxing a car? Polish on, polish off. Wax on wax off.

[RedBarchetta]

It's not that simple...paint doesn't oxidize as quickly as bare aluminum. You could take a freshly painted car (no wax) and a freshly polished Kirkham and expose them to fresh air and sunshine for 90 days (pick dry Arizona for ease). The Kirkham would show signs of minor oxidation while the freshly painted car would still have considerable luster. Just drive by any new car dealership with their usual 90+ days of inventory and you'll see where I'm going with this.

BTW, love the Kirkham cars but would probably paint mine for the reasons that others here have stated, i.e. brushed or polished, it takes some effort to keep those finishes top notch in the absence of a top clear coat. Don't bet against the Kirkhams to figure out a solution for this, too.

[big-boss]

I think you could clear coat a polised or brushed car, they do it to alum. wheels all the time look how easy they are to clean. In fact all Tri-co wheels are clear coated and most of us have those.
I am with Jamo-you just can't buy enough "patina".

[RodKnock]

Is one finish (brushed versus polished) subject to more patina faster than the other?

[ENTDOC]

My brushed car looks the same as the day it arrived 3 years ago, wash it then WD 40 and it looks new.. the WD40 seems to prevent oxidation to any significant degree

[RodKnock]

Do you think the WD40 would work on the polished finish as well? How often do you apply the WD40? Thank you.