# Cleaning Aluminium chequer-plate on a Defender



## jerseyman (Aug 18, 2006)

I have just bought a 5 year old Land Rover Defender, the thing is the "Tomb Raider" version which is covered in chequer plate, which I am pretty sure has not been touched in 5 years.

As a result the chequer plate, is dull and heavlly oxided. So far I have tried:

Autosolvol, which is a pain to use on chequer plate, produces tons of black sludge and is not moving the oxidising.

Alu-Magic which again is not moving the oxidising (But I think will be a good product to finish off with if I ever get that far).

Grade 000 Wire wool which focussing on 1 square inch took 10 minutes to remove the oxidising (I reckon I have about 40 square feet of the stuff) and is iffy to use near the paintwork.

Pinnacle Gel Wheel Cleaner: No Affect at all

A Defender forum suggests using ally wheel cleaner, if this works then it will probably be the best bet, but I am concerned about the effect this will have on the paintwork.

So does anyone have any suggestions?, ideally a wheel cleaner that will clear the oxidisation without damaging paintwork. But any other suggestions welcome


----------



## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

One of these and some Megs NXT metal polysh worked wonders on our sink:
http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=9176&frostProductName=Flitz Polishing Ball


----------



## Robbieben (Feb 19, 2006)

I used to show trucks at various truckfest shows and we used to keep aluminium clean by using a special acid that does not affect the paintwork.
It's available from Jennychem.co.uk I think, the Item is listed here as Aliclean super.

Applied neat and then scrubbed with a nylon brush,medium stiff(wear rubber gloves and old clothes as the acid rots clothing), leave on for about 10 mins then rinse with clean water then wash with soap and rinse.
This will lift all oxidation and leaves the alloy clean but with a white look, we then used to polish using a product called PEEK available from truckstuff.co.uk.
Apply using a PC or rotary on a cutting pad, then re apply with a polishing pad to finish and wipe off residue, it does not affect paintwork and is easy to use.

Once you get the alloy clean all it needs is a top up with peek on a regular basis, 20 mins a week to keep a truck tip top.:thumb:

Hope this helps


----------



## jerseyman (Aug 18, 2006)

Thanks for this Alex, I have now ordered both products, One problem is that I do not think that I will be able to use the ball at the edge of the plate near the paintwork. But if this works for the bulk of the chequer plate then I will "think of something" for the remainder!


----------



## Mucky (May 25, 2006)

peek is also avaible from autosmart reps


----------



## jerseyman (Aug 18, 2006)

Thanks, Robby (& Mucky)

The link doesn't work but I see you can get Aliclean on ebay. (I had a look at the jennychem site and they seem to have a vast - and confusing range of Ali products). I had never heard of Peek but it does seem to be popular with truckers.


----------



## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

One thing i found with the ball is to use a drill with grunt, i used a plug in one as opposed to a cordless.
But i have a friend who has some pretty tasty Dewalts and it worked great with them:thumb:


----------



## LeeH (Jan 29, 2006)

I'd love to seem some pics of that Defender!!


----------



## RobDom (Oct 26, 2005)

Have you tried P21S polishing soap? I tried it for the first time on my polished intake manifold and am impressed by it, really good stuff! Also the Mothers Powerball and Powermetal polish is a good combo, their demo video shows them cleaning checkerplate on a truck.


----------



## jerseyman (Aug 18, 2006)

At the moment I need something with guts to get through the crud so something like the mothers kit was what I was looking for, I actually could not find a UK source for the mothers powerball, so have picked up on Alex's suggestion of the Uniball.

If the brute force does not work then I will start on chemical warfare as suggested by Robbiebenn!


----------



## jerseyman (Aug 18, 2006)

Hi Lee,

I am happy to post pictures but it is a bog standard Tomb Raider and the pictures will definitely be of the "before" type, let me know and I will post one or I can send you a high res view off-line if you prefer


----------



## LeeH (Jan 29, 2006)

Just post a few on here mate.


----------



## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

jerseyman said:


> At the moment I need something with guts to get through the crud so something like the mothers kit was what I was looking for, I actually could not find a UK source for the mothers powerball, so have picked up on Alex's suggestion of the Uniball.
> 
> If the brute force does not work then I will start on chemical warfare as suggested by Robbiebenn!


Dont even bother buying Mothers stuff over here, it's a chuffing rip off, i got mine for £20 from the states, over here £35


----------



## jerseyman (Aug 18, 2006)

Here you go then


----------



## LeeH (Jan 29, 2006)

Nice! I thought they had a snorkel and a few other bits of trim?


----------



## jerseyman (Aug 18, 2006)

Thanks Lee,

No, no snorkel they come with lots of chequer plate inside and out, light guards, sliders, steering guard, rear step, leather (sort of) seats and the monster roof rack and lights - it is all very subtle!. The only extra it has (I think, I bought it at auction so had no opportunity to talk to the owner) is Aircon v. expensive and v. welcome!.

I had my first go at cleaning it today, all the bits make it even more of a bugger to clean, my hand are badly scraped and bruised, 5 hours work and I did the roof, bonnet and one door!. Oddly enough I think it looks worse shiny, it highlights the wobbly panels, rivet holes and the inevitable Landie panel corrosion caused by electrolysis.

I will put a hold on further cleaning until I can start attacking the chequer plate when the toys arrive.


----------



## LeeH (Jan 29, 2006)

jerseyman said:


> Thanks Lee,
> 
> rivet holes and the inevitable Landie panel corrosion caused by electrolysis.


Yep what's all that about. I've seen a hole in a Disco at 2 years old near the front sill:doublesho


----------



## RobDom (Oct 26, 2005)

Performance Motorcare sell Mothers:

http://www.performancemotorcare.com/acatalog/Mothers.html


----------

