Sharkhide on Aluminum Bumpers - Any Firsthand Experience?

[Stinkbug]

Here is the deal…

I have Savvy sliders, skids and corner armor on my TJ. It has been in there for several years and I am happy with the way it has weathered. However, it is not a daily driver and spends the vast majority of it time in my SoCal garage except when it is hauled out on a sunny day or out to the desert for some wheeling.

I recently purchased a new JL that is my daily driver that will be wheeled regularly on mild trails. It will see rain and occasional snow in my travels. I have a set of aluminum bumpers inbound and I am considering leaving them raw or coating with something clear. I don’t think I want to deal with clear coat that might scratch, peel or yellow.

I like the look of raw aluminum on a red Jeep and am curious about using Sharkhide in this situation. I understand it’s used regularly on pontoon boats and other marine equipment but my Jeep is not a boat. I have read many posts where someone chimes in with “Just hit it with some Sharkhide” or something to that effect with no reference to their actual use of the product or long term satisfaction.

So, if anyone has first hand experience with it, I would appreciate hearing about your preparation process, application, maintenance (if any) and long term results. Any before after pictures would be great as well.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Apparition]

I used it on my my full under armor and gts. I’m not sure what they’d been like had I not used it but I can say they still look like aluminum and are mostly scratched up.

For something less likely to get scratched or more visible, it won’t hurt and would likely resist any corrosion.

 

[JMT]

I don’t think it’s necessary to coat aluminum due to the conditions you described. As I prepped my GR corners I noticed that 220 grit made the corners look identical to the fenders.

So, if you needed to you could just run the orbital sander over the bumpers to get them back to looking new. Anything you paint will likely peel or look worse unless you follow a detailed procedure. I have attached a detailed procedure to this response. Even then, once you scratch the paint all bets are off. Thus my recommendation to stay with raw aluminum.