My Thule cargo carrier has been on my truck for several years now. Needless to say, a few years worth of the elements has taken it's toll on it. The aluminum appears faded and dull looking. Does anyone know of a product or a homemade brew that I could use to make this thing look new again? Now's the perfect time since I've got it off to have the roof rails painted. Thanks.

Matt

 

Is it a coated aluminum? If not, you can polish it with aluminum polish. But it will eventually turn dark again.

 

Not sure what you mean by coated aluminum. Where do you pick up aluminum polish?

Matt

 

Is it a clear coated aluminum? The clear coat usually yellows over the years and can corrode and get kind of flaky. You can get metal polish at any car parts place, or wal-mart ect. Just make sure it says safe on aluminum.

 

No, if that's the case then I don't believe that it's coated. It just appears to have faded and lost it's luster. I was curious if there's anyway to restore that luster, or has the sun just bleached it out permanently?

Matt

 

As said by others all you have to do is get some aluminum polish and use a little elbow grease, It'll shine like new.
Only problem is after a while you'll have to do it all over again

 

Flitz it

 

Powder coat it.

 

Go to Wal-Mart and buy "Mothers" Aluminum polish. It's cheap and will make it like new. Just place a small amount of the paste on a rag and rub one section at a time.If it's really bad you may have to do it twice but it will look great! You will find this stuff in the car wax dept. with the rest of the great Mothers products. Mike

 

did mine (black) and have not had any issues

 

I cleaned it today with the Mother's aluminum polish and all I can say is...WOW!!! It looks brand new.

Matt

 

Use chemical stripper, I did that on some chevy truck rims and they look good. I used the gel stripper made by aerostrip I think. Then I polished them and used a cheap spray can clear coat on them and its held up with no problems for about 4 years. Next time I would use a high grade clear on them to protect against corrosion especially on a daily driver. Por-15 makes a clearcoat I think.