Solvents on anodized siding

[Cal456]

Hi all
Im afraid I may have messed up my anodized aluminum siding. I tried cleaning up excess caulking with mineral spirits and the color\sheen slighty changed. I decided to wipe down the whole trailer with the solvent and it looked better. Did I ruin the finish?
Has anyone else made this mistake?

[DMcCam]

You're OK! It shouldn't cause any problems unless your siding is a different animal than the standard anodized sheets somehow. I use odorless mineral spirits to clean up butyl tape residue and road tar from my anodized aluminum on my teardrop without any noticeable issues. It's one of the mildest solvents out there. I use the OMS with a regular cheep paper towel or a microfiber cloth. You don't want to use blue shop towels! They will scratch your finish!!! After you use the OMS then wash the trailer with a very mild soapy water and immediately rinse then dry with a microfiber towel.

Cheers,

Dave

[aggie79]

I've used both miner spirits and denatured alcohol on my anodized aluminum finish with no bad effects.

One trick I've learned is to give the finish a once a year coat of carnauba wax. It doesn't make it more or less shiny but it makes cleanup of bird droppings, tree sap, and other things much easier. If you do this be sure you use the carnauba wax without any polishing abrasives in it.