Advice on improving sunfish metal trim looks.

[po-man sailor]

I would like to improve the look of my metal trim on my resto project. Its in good shape but has the typical corrosion or dull look in places. I was hoping the experts on here have already spent tons on time, effort and money to find out the best easy peasy solution.
Feel free to share. LOL
I was just going to get out in the morning with my polishing wheel and some flitz metal polish i had on hand from my motorcycle wheels.

 

[L&VW]

Sunfish aluminum trim comes in either gloss or flat finishes.

Where the trim is banged up, you can use a file or small wire brush to smooth it out. (Steel, not copper). Since the trim is fixed in place, and robust like a dagger I'm determined that no piece is coming loose.

I've got one stretch of trim that needs help. I think I'll mask off the whole deck and spray "metallic" finish on all the trim. "Metallic" dries fast, but doesn't last very long, so I'll follow-up with "Crystal" or clear Krylon.

Where I'm sailing now, there are fewer things to run into, so this fix should last.

 

[signal charlie]

One thing to watch out with different polishes is that residue from the aluminum trim and the polish can get on the gelcoat and stain very fast. We'll be interested in the different approaches folks take to renew their trim.

 

[shorefun]

Clean up of metal is the same. You have to sand out the problems with successive finer grit paper then buff them out.

It is hard work and you will need to buy the correct papers. Buy name brand such as Norton or 3M as they paper lasts much longer and is cheaper in the long run.

 

[Breeze Bender]

Yes, I have found Norton and 3M to be the best sandpaper, as well. Ocean State Job Lot has cheap and lousy paper- no savings if it doesn’t get the job done! A real case of ‘‘you get what you pay for”

 

[signal charlie]

In the past we have taken damaged/scratched trim and aggressively sanded it to give it a brushed look, satin vs shiny. Not sure how that trim will fair long term, and hoping a known good product pops up here that has been used for clear coating. All we know of is Rust-Oleum spray.

Our thought on trim is that it IS going to get dinged, so we don't invest the money or time to bring it back to shiny like new condition.

This trim was crusty corroded brown when we got it. We washed the gunk out of the channel and sanded off the gunk with 120 grit on a random orbital sander.