It'd be a safe bet; not in a million years would anyone guess Alexa the '64 Ford show car built by the Alexander Brothers and the '27 Ford Track T known as the Hot Rod to Hell would have one thing in common. Linking the two cars are custom hand-formed hoods made by Robert Marianich. As a young employee with the Alexander Brothers in 1964 Marianich fabbed Alexa's hood, and then 50 years later, after a lifelong career as an acclaimed industrial designer, Marianich designed and fabricated the Hot Rod to Hell's one-off aluminum hood.
When I picked the hood up I asked Marianich for his method how to impart a brushed aluminum finish so the process could be shared with STREET RODDER's valued readers.
The first step before working or brushing sheet aluminum is the tension of the alloy must be broken with a Rhynalox 80-grit DA disc (PN 19619).
The second step is to buzz the entire area with a Rhynalox 120-grit DA disc (PN 19616). A particle mask should be worn at all times and in between steps the area should be blown clean.
Step three requires the use of a sanding block loaded with 220-grit sandpaper. Straight line grooming the aluminum is done by moving inline from front to rear.
To access hard-to-reach curved and hidden areas holding the 220-grit sandpaper folded over twice for rigidity worked great.
Step five using a Scotch-Brite durable hand pad (PN 15130) is the final abrasive step to achieving a brushed aluminum finish. If a tighter grained finish is desired, use an ultrafine Scotch-Brite pad.
Use Eastwood PRE (PN 1041) followed with compressed air and a clean rag to remove oil stains and brighten the aluminum into a consistent sheen.
Eastwood Tech Tip:
When changing oil in the daily driver, muscle car, street rod, or lawn tractor, write the mileage or date (for you guys who have "broken" speedometer cables) on the filter to assure regular oil change intervals.
