Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Bumper bar polishing - +4 1986

Good day all.

I believe my +4 bumpers are anodised aluminium but would appreciate comments. A magnet test proves they non-ferrous and the surface has a silvery appearance, which is now not as bright as it would have been. It looks like there is a coating of some kind, or maybe it is just the anodising losing its sheen.

I would like to lift the appearance so will try polishing, but does anybody have a suggestion for the type of polish? I have a few metal polishes which I can try.

The other option is to have them re-anodised or coated again.

Please help.

Neil

Neil, I suspect my mid 80`s +8 has similar alloy bumpers to your Mog, though I have never polished them.. I do not mind my Mog acquiring a degree of patina.. (-: I have over the years polished a lot of alloy, even the innards of inlet tracts and much else. in years past usually ending up using a polish called Solvol Autosol which was a slightly abrasive paste, however if as you suggest your bumper has a coating that could cause you to remove the coating and end up with a very highly polished bumper that will dull in jig time.... My polishing days are long gone, and the products I used may no longer be available, Brasso was another, and there was a tin of something similar to cotton wool that was soaked in some sort of polish which was only just abrasive enough to remove insects and provide a shine....Duraglit..? There are very similar kitchen cleaners with varying degree of abrasiveness, that might be worth a try...the very mildest of which may be Sainsbury`s all purpose cloths...

I would use the rear side of the bumper to first try out any polishing materials, to save creating a problem for yourself.

If there is one chap who has great experience in polishing Trad Morgans, it is Mr GoMoG ( Lorne) who despite many thousands of miles covered, every aspect of his Morgan is polished like a new pin, though from memory he has chrome bumpers... naturally... (-:

Thanks Luddite. The coating is only on the outside so polishing the inside would not be representative. It looks to be a plastic type material.

If no one more knowledgeable replies I will have a closer look of my unpolished bumper, might even have a go with T cut on a small area, just to add to the degree of patination...(-: If I really foul up I have a new bumper amongst my spares, which Kevin supplied me with some decades back... apparently made of unobtainium, or at least were thought to be at that time..

Duraglit was the wadding type material for brass and copper cleaning and more really, think its still available. If you polish alloy, Autosol is probably the only one that won't stain it black and does shine to a high polish. If they have an anodised finish then You are probably stuck with that as to remove it would be silly Or it might be a lacquered finish applied to the polished alloy to preserve the shine. If it has a yellowish finish like ageing varnish then that's probably what it is. This means that you could remove it and spend time re-polishing them which you might find hard work! If you chose that route you could then get an alloy wheel laquer from Halfords and respray them to achieve a protected finish again, Autosol also available from same!

If they are alloy then maybe take them to a local chromers ... not to have them plated, but they mirror polish everything before plating and a set of small bumpers like that would be a nothing job to them and the (probably) small charge will be well worth avoiding all the work ... also worth an ask, but I reckon even if they're anodised the chromer's pro polishing kit will deal with the surface etching and give a shiny finish.


K

Ps ..... Sewin ... I remember my Dad and Brother polishing their uniform buttons and brass kit-buckles with Duraglit ... can still smell the wadding as it was pulled out of the tin ... they had a short srip of thin brass with a slot in it ... the slot slipped over the button thread and the brass backed up the button and kept the cloth round it clean while they buffed away 🙂 ... funny how memories get triggered

Good stuff guys... Nice to know that I may not be entirely past my sell by date in that some of these products are still available....(-:

I went out to the garage and found a gallon can of T Cut that must be perhaps 25 years old or more, almost gave myself a heart attack shaking it as no doubt the abrasives will have separated and sunk to the bottom of the can..... gave a corner of the bumper a good rub, no real effect other than to clean it`s surface lightly, nothing obviously removed looking at the surface of the rag, no discolouration....Dug out a tube of Farecla G3 regular grade, and carried out the same process.... same results, though I bought the Farecla in the recent past to blend in the edges of a spray can repair, like wet and dry, it will come in various grades of abrasiveness....

Of course if one is into the maintenance of originality, to my eyes those bumpers appear matte, other than that perhaps satin finish and not polished alloy.

Good luck in your choices now that you have a few available Neil.

Duraglit had a fantastic smell.

Yes it did Dave, takes me back to my Boys Brigade days!



Luddite, I'm sure they were meant to be matt finished, I have never seen alloy bumpers bright mirror shiny. Old ones certainly weren't anodised but probably polished using a grit on the wheel to produce the finish wanted. If you are getting no discolouration on the cloth then I'm beginning to think they probably have a lacquer protective coat. Try a PM to Lorne at gomog as he really has a huge knowledge of classics.

Ha ha, used some today.