Westfalia jalousie window re-condition

[Dveedub]

Hi all,

I am about to tackle my westy louvre Windows before refitting them.
My questions are how best to clean and restore them and I am eager to hear any advise or stories of your own in doing the same job yourselves.

I have seen some in the past that were chromed and I did really like the look but it may be a bit OTT for my bus, but haven't made my mind up yet.
I have also seen pictures of good results from some auto-sol and some good old elbow grease but the question I have to anyone who has done this before is how long does the finish you achieved last? And how do you maintain it? I would have thought it would take no time at all for the lovely polished surface to oxidise and dull again? I was thinking maybe some kind of clear coat over the top of the polished surface but not really sure how that would look?

Any stories, advice or photos you have would be much appreciated,

Cheers, Dave.

 

[Moseley]

It is going to be the same situation for all these diamond cut alloy wheels that are becoming increasingly popular on new cars - they will all oxidise and look cack over time if some sort of protective coating isn't applied.

Personally, I'd just regularly wax them as I think a clear coat would be difficult to get good adhesion to a freshly auto-soled surface. You just want to stop ambient air from being able to contact the aluminium.


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[Webbaldo]

Just done mine but I must admit not to 'show standards', just enough to make them shiny

I haven't coated them, some people lacquer them, but the lacquer will eventually peel off anyway.

Just keep them waxed once the autosol dulls a bit.

I bought a polishing wheel kit with the compounds and tbh unless they are proper pitted, autosol and elbow grease did a better job to be honest. If the rear bits are badly pitted don't be afraid to use a wire wheel, also good for getting years of dust off if its a US import. (I wouldn't use them on the flat front surfaces though) If doing the glass channels this way, mask/duct tape the fronts to protect the surface

The jobs not very hard to be honest, just take your time and be methodical, only tricky bit is re-opening the crimped ends without chewing them up to slide new seals in.

 

[Dveedub]

Thanks for the info folks!

I am still deciding whether to strip them and polish them myself or take the parts to a professional metal polisher or plater. I agree that the clear coat is probably not such a good idea.

Another question I have is that it looks as if some rivets may need to be removed in order to strip the components fully. Is this the case? If so has anyone sourced them or know where to get them from as they don't look to be standard pop rivets.

Also does anyone know which are the best seal kits or have any opinions on kits they have bought? I know that like everything else with these things that you get what you pay for and cheap seals don't last long. The re-fitting of the individual glass panes into the new seals looks to be a bit of a pain.

Thanks again in advance for any input you may have.

Dave.