body and interior Refinishing Bumpers 1976

[paulram]

I want to refinish the bumpers on my 1976 and read a bunch of posts that say I have to remove the anodizing and then progressively sand to a super fine grit...

 

I really don't want to mess this up but what kind of sander am I using for this.  If I am starting at a 200 grit it is a hand sand, an orbital?  Will the 200 remove the anodizing?  One of the post said they used an angle grinder to get the nicks out but that seems excessive.

 

Also am i dry sanding at the lower grit?  When do i switch to wet sanding.  Any other info or a link to a video or pictures would be great.

 

Thanks.

[esty]

dry sand with 180

dry with 220

wet with 320

wet with 600

wet with 800

wet with 1000

wet up to 2000 at your option

 

all best done by hand...removing the anodizing is the hardest part

[Danz3]

I refinished my front bumper and will do the rear this winter. As stated, dry with rough paper, I used a random orbital to remove the anodize. Be sure to wear proper respirator mask to avoid breathing the aluminum dust. Wet sand by hand and metal polish until satisfied.

[Mike Self]

Or...

(1) take the bumper to a plating shop and have the old anodizing removed chemically, then go through the finer grits of wet sanding and polishing

 

(2) take the still-anodized bumper to a polishing shop (find one that does motorcycle parts) and have 'em buff it out for you.

 

(3) remove the anodizing and paint the bumper either to match the car or a contrasting color--then you can skip the finer sanding grits.

 

Be advised that once the anodizing is removed, you'll need to either clearcoat the bumper or keep it polished on a regular basis to prevent corrosion.

 

cheers

mike