SH on Aluminum

[jnoden 15]

I would like to not be a problem poster (always looking for help) and just post solutions to other peoples problems but I dont yet have that luxery. So here is another one. Stripped and sealed a deck that turned out great but I must have got SH over spray on an aluminum storm door. A very expensive Pella door. It left marks all over it and surrounding framing. Has anyone ever had any success fixing this problem? I was thinking about lightly buffing it with a compound but I am worried that it may not work. Otherwise it looks like I will be paying god knows how much to replace this door.

[Jonathan Chiplock 14]

Not sure what to tell you if it ate that finish away. You need to be very careful with overspray and prewet and rinse everything that isnt supposed to be stripped. Good luck!

[jnoden 15]

Im going to try and polish it and if it is not satisfactory I will buy him a new one maybe with my insurance. I did pre-wet it but I didnt even think it was aluminum. I guess it is anodized since it is brown and not painted. Anyway, I will say that F18 MAX is some powerfull stuff. Only about 5 min dwell to remove two layers of stain.

[PressurePros 249]

Paint it. Rust-o-Leom(sp) makes a product called Painters Touch for metal. Use a very high quality brush. If you take your time and can do long strokes a couple of coats will make it look very good.

I got overspray on a door one time and in taking it off with Krud Kyuuter a portion of the paint came with it. I was able to use this and it looked almost as good as an anodized coating.

[Jimmy M 14]

I would not use insurance for this.

[Adrian 155]

Don't let the customer claim it on your insurance as they may drop you next year or at the very least your rates will increase. Try the fix and if that doesn't work, buy a new door for them. They will appreciate your efforts at least, and that should divert the thought of a claim against your firm.

[Andrew07 14]

I am not sure what SH is (sorry newer guy) but in situations like these I always find the best answer is to call the chemical manufacturer and get advise from them, if anyone would know it would be them.

[Adrian 155]

SH is Sodium Hydroxide or Sodium Hypochlorite. Alot of people on this site kind of take it for granted that everyone knows what it means, depending on the type of cleaning they are talking about.

Hydroxide is a stripper and Hypochlorite( chlorine bleach for the layman) is a cleaner ( and mold killer).

Some may even say 12%

Hang around for a while and you'll be spitting out slang like the rest of them.

[Andrew07 14]

Oooops my mistake (I guess you cant call the manufacturer, lol) I knew I was going to put my foot in my mouth on this one :(, it will take a little time to learn all the abr. and slang, Thanks Andy

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

An acid may bring out the pitting and help to alleviate the issue.

SH will eat aluminum but acid will polish it in a sense.

We had this problem with a painted aluminum but we just bought a can of paint to match, masked the area and re-painted the frames.

Cost: about $15.00

Rod!~

[John Orr 206]

Is it possible the the "spots" are actually clean areas? Could you try wiping some more on the door (what could it hurt?) and see if they will blend-in?

[aquabob 14]

the paint on the door could have been oxidized (chalky) and when the stripper hit it, it took off some of the oxidized paint. since its aluminum most likley the case

especially if the door gets alot of sun. check and see if the paint wipes off with your hand if so wash the door explain the prob...re-paint it, dont buy a new door. its fixable. my 02

[Tracy Handl 108]

When you wash with SH, (by the way, bleach is not a cleaner in and of itself. Do you wash your clothes in bleach alone?) don't you follow it with a brightener? Could the overspray be the brightener? It is true SWH and soft metals like aluminum don't get along well, but if the door was painted with a latex paint, it is unlikely the the SH would do much to if if you washed and rinsed the area. It can , but usually doesn't effect it the baddly if rinsed off during your washing. Wood britener, on the other hand can spot some paints pretty quickly. If left to dryt on the surface will most likley result in damage. If the metal door was bare and you got SH on it, then I would expect damage faitly fast; painted would be spotty, but not pitted in the metal. I like the suggestion on seeing about cleaning the whole door. Maybe it can be blended. I'm not trying to diminish the tread here, just wanted to expand the thinking to the whole process. Sure hope this works out for you!