Spotting on Aluminum Roof Rails - Please help!

[bockius]

I recently purchased an Infiniti FX35 with aluminum roof rails and there are a bunch of water spots. Nothing seems to get these off. Any thoughts on what I should try?



Thanks!

-Chad

[Rolla]

What do you mean by nothing gets them off? It would help if you told us what you have tried so we know what to suggest :).



I would suggest Klasse AIO or some sort of metal polish.

[bockius]

I`ve tried various waxes, all non abrasive, I have not tried any metal polish (I`m a little cautious as I don`t want to use something that is going to damage them). I will try your recommendation. Thanks.

[Rolla]

Well waxes will not do anything really. You will need to try a polish or something like AIO. There are some aluminum safe metal polishes, I think the NXT metal is one of them.



I never really noticed the aluminum rails on the FX. Post a pic if you can. Are they shiny or dull? But I would first try some AIO or polish. Lets see what others say about the metal polish.

[Driven Auto Detail]

What about just a clay bar?

[admac]

those rails are brushed aluminum (i have them on my fx). i think they might be coated with something though because they haven`t suffered normal aluminum corrosion on my car and i live 2 blocks from the beach.

[bockius]

Tried a clay bar - No success



Found a product called Luster Lace (stated it could be used on aluminum) - this got off the water marks but there are still white spots that did not come off. I`m not sure exactly what those spots are but the rails defnitely look better.



I`ll post some pics shortly.



Thanks for the help!

[maximus96]

i have a murano with aluminum roof rails...may be the same type as the FX, i`d be interested to know how to remove these spots.

[bockius]

I now know that Luster Lace works...the problem with this product is it is best used for smaller cylinder shaped items (it is actually like a ribbon and you wrap it around the area you are polishing and just pull back and forth). I just purchased some new aluminum polish that is more of a paste/liquid. My assumption is any aluminum polish is going to do the trick. Still need to figure out the white spots though - haven`t been able to remove these yet.

[bockius]

Here is a pic of the rails after polishing, I only did the part that connects to the roof. You can see the water spots on the rest of the rail to the left. Notice the white spots. I am not sure what these are or how to get them off.



http://autopia.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=18752&cat=500

[Rolla]

Do you have an Klasse AIO or ColorX you can try?

[bockius]

No I don`t - I have all the Zaino products, Scratch X, and few other random polishes/wax.

[3Dog]

You can order Luster Lace in a variety of application types.

http://lusterlace.com/