Hi Bob,

I used a wrinkle finish paint from a spray can - VHT makes it (available at Advance Auto Parts here in Denver), & Illinois Bronze also makes some. It's relatively easy to get a good, uniform finish. I prepare the aluminum first (Scotchbrite & thorough cleaning), then use a good primer - I like zinc chromate, Vari-prime (Dupont), or epoxy. You have to practice first with how thick a layer of the wrinkle paint to apply - thicker = bigger wrinkles. I prefer a finer wrinkle, so I do what I consider a medium coat - try to be nice & even. If you put it on too light the results will be unsatisfactory. I then immediately use a heat lamp or a heat gun to apply heat starting at an edge & working across the surface as it starts to wrinkle. If you start at an edge it will be nice & uniform. Starting in the middle or in several places at once can cause some undesirable lines as various wrinkling sections or "waves" meet each other. I've found that if you give it a nice long time to cure well that it will be very durable. I've had it on my T-18 panel for over 25 years (the Illinois Bronze product) & haven't had to do a thing with it. In experimenting and chipping it on a test piece, I found that a black Marks-A-Lot touches it up nicely - due to the surface texture, you can't see it. I like the look, it doesn't show finger prints & is relatively non-reflective.