GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I have a month old 05' I noticed the alumin. luggage racks have streaks in them like if they are oxidizing. Perhaps its from the soap at car washes? Anyone else seeing this problem? I am going to get some Alumin. cleaner and see If I can remove the streaks.

Yep, I'm seeing the same thing on my '03. The silver is very, very dull, and if I try to do anything with it, it just ends up streaking. And just touching it makes a mess of it too. Thought about using some aluminum polish but I'm wondering if that's a safe type of finish to polish. I've also got some severe fading going on with the roof rack crossbars as well.

powdercoat them a different color. that will take care of that problem

I Zaino'ed mine along with the rest of the car right after I got it. The water beads just like on the painted surfaces. Don't know if this will fix your problem but it should keep it from getting worse.

Same problem here.I can even see faint lines from my recently removed "genvibe.com" decals.You really have to look for them to see them though...

Aluminum will corode - just like any other metal left out in this god for saken environment we've created. Oh, wait... wrong soap box.Just wax it when you wax your car. You could also wet sand it and clear coat it. Or like SC says - powdercoat it. I think he forked over $10...I really think he ought to have a group buy

I dont know if this would work on this aluminum, but I used steel wool 00 grit on my aluminum Jalousey windows on my VW camper bus, and they came out really nice. It had some oxidation from 30 years worth of weather and they looked like new after taking the steel wool to them. Worth a try maybe in a small inconspicuous area.