Bumper Anodization

[Guest Ranger]

It's spring, really. Time to paint the Reatta. Does anyone know if there is a vendor who can refinish the bright pieces on the tops of the front and rear bumpers? I know this has been addressed before, don't know if we found anyone.

Thanks,

Jim

BCA 14806

ROA 2

Reatta 766

RPD 362

AZ 85208

MN 55063

[Roadster90]

I need to do something with mine as well...only part of my coupe that looks dated. If they are buffed or the coating or whatever is removed does anyone know if they will look OK and for how long? Is this acceptable at a show (I doubt if I will ever get near a show in Va. but want to keep it right)?

[Jim]

Jim,

I don't know of anyone in the Duluth area that can reanodize the bumpers but maybe in the Cities.

I have a bunch of bars that have bad anodizing on them and one of these days when I have nothing to do ( about 2010 ) I am planning on stripping them of the anodizing, buffing them and putting them on eBay. The anodizing can be removed by people who rechrome bumpers and can also be sanded off but it is very tedious. You can then use finer and finer sandpaper and then polish them. Once they are polished you can either clean them with aluminum polish about once every 6 months or spray them with a good urethane clear coat. When stripped and polished the impact bars then look like chrome instead of the slight yellowish color of the anodizing.

In answer to Nic's question, I am of the belief that polished bumpers on Reattas are not correct because they are too shiny and points should be deducted, however, the BCA judging officials say we cannot take off for "over restoration" and at each meet where I have judged and the subject comes up I get overruled and the cars with polished bars do not get points taken off.

[manikmekanik]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> BCA judging officials say we cannot take off for "over restoration" </div></div>

What about over-polished 88-90 wheel center caps? Or mirror housings?

..Or under-polished taillamp lens?

What if one had thier bumper color-anodized to match, or complement thier car's color set? Just a suggestion, I'm sure color change of the aluminum bumper would promote point loss in a non-modified class. Sure would look cool!

[Jim]

At the judging meets we have not been taking off points on those center caps that have been stripped of the clearcoat and then polished.

The mirror housings when they came from the factory were pretty shiny to start with. They were not clearcoated so the black paint does tend to get dull. Hand compounding followed by waxing will restore them to their shiny finish. You do have to be careful though and this is why I recommend hand compounding as opposed to using a machine because the black paint is pretty thin and you can buff through it. I have seen quite a few mirror housings with the grey primer coming through.

Points are deducted for a tail light lens that is not clear. The reason is the lenses came from the factory clear and that is the way they should be just as points are deducted for dull paint or dirty undercarriages.

The judging manuals are now on line and they tell us the cars are to be judged according to the way they came from the factory. You cannot have non original items in your car. eg dash covers, non stock floor mats, any items in the trunk or accessories on the car that did not come from the factory.

We are also told not to "kill" a car. If we judge a car that obviously has many items we can take off for, we are supposed to just note some major ones and let the others slide. Normally this way the owner probably won't get an award but also won't feel too bad if we were to point out all of the defects. The idea is to help the owners no discourage them.

Again, the cars need to be clean inside, outside and upside down. They didn't come from the factory with aftermarket accessories, dirt, rust, corrosion or fading.

[Guest spyhunter2k]

If points are taken off for mods, then my car will SO not be getting any awards at these types of shows.

[padgett]

Some time ago I set up the "Platinum" class for a national (10,000 member) marque club. Three years later my decicion was to never be a judge again, I just got sick of picking apart nice cars.

Every time I tried to point out the absurdity of judging (69 Judge had a close 4 on the shift handle, 70 and 71 had an open 4, GM p/n 9794532. 67 dual gate shifter used a very small black knob, same one found on an AMTRAK coach seat) people clamored for stricter attention. Just not my worldview.

[jonlabree]

I really like the rule about 5 points off for the wrong hose clamps and only 4 points off if your whole transmission is wrong. And how about the valve caps. How many points off for each wrong cap?

[manikmekanik]

Just don't leave the top down!

15 point loss for open convertible tops!!

Easier mistake then installing the wrong, (different), tranny!!

I'm not gonna give up my gray valve stem caps, NO WAY, NO HOW!!!