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

[DavidinDurango]

It probably that thong you wear that makes you look fat . . . . .

Originally Posted by Jamo

They just don't understand patina and why it is a good thing.

Polish does show less fingerprints...and more scratches. It also makes you look fat when you look at yourself in its reflection.

[Ibr8k4vetts]

Originally Posted by Jamo

They just don't understand patina and why it is a good thing.

Polish does show less fingerprints...and more scratches. It also makes you look fat when you look at yourself in its reflection.

I don't think it is the "reflection" that makes you look fat
You walked right in to that one!

[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.

[Jamo]

Originally Posted by Ibr8k4vetts

I don't think it is the "reflection" that makes you look fat
You walked right in to that one!

Sometimes me likes to set them up so everyone has a chance to hit a home run at least once in their life.

With the brushed finish, you can stay on top of it and really spend no more time than you would with paint, except that scratches and rock chips can fixed with little effort (unlike paint).

Some of us getting a little more relaxed with it and let it sorta seal itself with a little patina. I completely wash mine once a year with soap and water just for sh!ts and giggles (basically to see if I've collected any scratches). The rest of the time it gets a duster whipped over it, followed by a quick wipe with Windex and a cotton diaper just for the finger prints. I keep a purple scotchbrite handy for scratches or stains. I clean up the ghost stripes by masking them off and using a little wheel polish (about once a year).

Easiest damn thing I've ever lived with.

[ENTDOC]

I probably do the WD40 treatment 4 times a year, however it takes literally 5 minutes to do, kind of like a spray detailer for paint. I do not know about use on polished finish, but it does ok on the semi polished stripes. Here it is after 3 years of use.

[kurtmart]

Hey, aren't they all polish?