the problem with the spun aluminum is it has its own natural patina as soon as u take abrasive action it changes the look thats why the orange peal acro was a short termed production, it scarred real easy and then they got painted to hide it, if u wheel the drum u can achieve uniformity if its the smooth finish, if not your pretty much what it is it is try a professional polishing it will shine

Perfect! You need to bead-blast the old grey coating and have it clear powdercoated.

JR -- a light glass bead blast? I don't have access to any kind of powder coating... at least not yet.

Ideas?

Or, I could bead blast it and have it polished.... Not exactly the 'correct' vintage look, but I suppose it could always be blasted again...

Eastwood home powdercoating kits? My problem was that you needed a "dedicated" oven for it...

I just found an earlier thread referring to cleaning with vinegar and water.

??

vinegar may clean but abrasions just dont go away

It all depends on what era Acrolite shell we are talking about here.....if its from the mid-70's to very early 80's, its painted grey and paint stripper would remove the paint with no harm to the shell. After that I personally would use a buffing wheel and mild compound to polish it up then apply a couple of coats of clear satin lacquer. Same deal if its a mid 60's to very early 70's shell.....those are clear coated from the factory, so again, paint stripper would work fine, then the buffing wheel method. If its a mid-80's onward shell, those are powder coated and the finish is VERY hard to remove. You could always have it re-powdercoated if you have one of those shells......

It's from 1968.

That's really interesting -- for whatever reason, I though those shells were totally unfinished -- just finished metal with no coating. I don't have a large enough buffing wheel, but I know a nearby pro who can turn into a mirror. But the stock appearance is not shiny.

I also though of wet sanding to a uniform finish, leaving it with a matte surface.

When you apply the satin lacquer - which sounds like a great idea - how do you keep the rims 'clean'? I once painted an Acro - looked fine, but my method for keeping he edges clear didn't work well, so the heads didn't seat right.

many think the keystone acro shells are raw bt they are not. they are either cleared or anodized,which i think they are.

mike