Jalousie shine
The best way to make part of your vehicle look dilapidated is to restore another part. Like, paint. Now, everything else looks ragged by comparison.
Our aluminum jalousie frames stick out like corroded sore thumbs. So, I pulled them out and started with the handiwork. This is not a small job, but I’ve figured out a fairly efficient way to clean them up.
First, put a steel wire brush on a drill and go to town. It won’t hurt the glass and will take off all the oxidation. The finish will look like… brushed aluminum. Later, you can polish to a shiny smooth luster with steel wool. The photo below shows what 30 minutes with a drill will get you. Still, this is just scratching (polishing?) the surface. To do it right, you need to completely disassemble the frame. Since I’ve got all new rubber seals, this is on the agenda anyway.
Hey Jason;
I did this as part of the restore project too. Very time consuming but well worth it.
there is a great youtube vid on the entire process…and it’s broken up into short vid clips, so you can find the parts you are working on for some great tips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be5UOF6UvPk
When I reassembled the window the windows wouldn’t close completely tight, because the gears were pretty worn out. After some cruising around the interwebs, I found a parts supplier for the interior metal parts for the window…cranks, barsm brackets, knobs etc. The original supplier to VW still makes the same parts!!
http://parkin-acc.com/page3.html
good luck.
btw…if you see the bulli poster for sale let me know, I’d like to pick one up.
Jim-
thanks for the link – i need some of these parts!
Also, that poster is carried by these guys 😉