Letter 800

Aluminum polishing 

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If I understand this right and after reading all this. If I try and polish my frame under the tank, the smooth stuff, this should work correct? Use oven off and let sit for 20 min with everything else taped off. Then use 600 grit wet sand/dish soap going in the same direction then india ink straight with a shammy. What will it look like as the ink is applied? A big inky mess everywhere? Then just dilute the ink with water in half using a shammy every time?

James Keenan
- Rogers, Arkansas, USA

Hi,

I was wondering if you could give me some ideas as to how I can polish aluminum rims to a chrome like finish. The rims are just a plane American racing Baja wheel with no clear coat or anything. I kept the rims on one winter so they are a little corroded and have some scratches in them. I tried buffing them with a buffing wheel but it didn't seem to make a difference, or I'm using the wrong technique. I tried using buffing and polishing compounds with not luck. I also tried Mother's Aluminum Polish [link is to product info at Amazon].

Jason Baumann
Hobbyist - Northlake, Illinois, United States

I'm trying to buff and polish a aluminium chassis of a snowmobile. What is better Scotchbrite pads, fine grit sand paper and wet sanding, if I use a power sander do I use low or high speed. what type of compounds should I use for finishing. Any help will help.

Steve Nayback
hobbyist - Rudyard, MI, USA

Wow thanks for such awesome posts. I have an old 1977 Yamaha 650 that needs more than a little polishing. I am starting on her tonight. By the way, new bikes are nice and crotch rockets are fast, my Yamaha is smooth, with enough power for me to earn a $500 Neg II ticket for doing a wheely through town. After days of polishing, I'll try to post a pic, thanks again.

Justin Rondeau
- Forks, WA

I have purchased a kenworth truck, it has alcoa aluminum wheels. they all need to be re-polished, can you give me a step by step process,such as what grit sand papers to start and finish,what kind of buffers i need to use.i have called some polish shops and they want almost what it would cost to buy new, hope you can help me thanks jeff

jeff williamson
jsw contracting - glendale, arizona, us

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Ed. note: Additional interesting letters on polishing of aluminum frames and rims include letter no. 1831 and 10917.

Hey all. Absolutely fantastic responses/hints/tips in this thread - it's been a great read.

I am actually polishing an aluminium (evercool) rear exhaust computer case-fan and have just gone through the process of sanding with 600, 800, 1200 Wet/Dry super fine grit, and using Dishwashing detergent in the water that I continously add whilst sanding. Then I began buffing it with a red-ferrous oxide block that I got at my local hardware which also included a buffing drill attachment in the box. And then cleaned it over with Silvo silver polish [link is to product info at Amazon] for metal polish.

There is now a moderate shine/reflection forming (I could probably have buffed it more, but the results so far look fairly good). I'm now about to use some Indian Ink (Brand: Windsor & Newtons) which I got from a craft-shop. I also brought a cheap $2.50(aud) chamois tho' it's not a leather-type one, as it appears to be very fine cotton. I am hoping this should do the job. Please correct me if i'm wrong in regard to using this kind of chamois versus a more expensive one?

Vahagn
- Melbourne, Australia

Aluminum Wheel/Coated or not? I have A Harley Solid Aluminum wheel. It needs to be polished and none of the cleaners Ive tried even made a dent(I.E. Mothers, Wenol, and Never Dull. How can I tell if my wheel is coated and what I can use whith a Mini- Buffer to shine it up whithout damaging it?

Gary Kershner II
Harley Rider - Manassas, Virginia, U.S.A.

I'm sorry, but anybody who recommends Mothers mag and aluminum polish or Wenol knows nothing about what they are using.
Sorry to put the cat amongst the pigeons, so called professional polishing shops or otherwise.
Do some research folks.
These products contain anhydrous chemicals, they attack aluminum, mag and zinc.
These chemicals and polishes are banned from use in all federally funded establishments, banned by the Royal Navy and anyone else that knows what they are applying.
They cause oxidation.

Steve Clark
custom polishing - Belfast, Maine, U.S.A.

Thanks to all for your respective inputs. I am frame-up restoring a 1995 ninja zx9r and found this strain while doing some preemptive research to my own frame and wheel polishing attempts. I'll be bookmarking this page to refer back to often, I'm sure; and I'll post my results for those others who are considering irreversibly scarring their precious belongings while trying to make them pretty.
I think we all know mothers brands arent the long term best for finish polishing our metals, but it seems that all the brands readily available are essentially the same. I have polished aluminum wheels on my car and I tried a different brand on each wheel for comparison.. . . they all looked the same after application of the different brands, and they all look the same 5 weeks later.

Dave Warner
student - Tempe, AZ, USA

Hey everyone,
Just another addition. I have worked in a machine shop for a few years and polished a lot of different metals. Aluminum does hold a shine well but a mirror polished shine, even when done with buffing compounds, can oxidize simply from the oil in your fingers when you touch it. Plus, aluminum is fairly soft and easy to scratch when its polished. On occasion when I have had to polish parts that will be handled by people, we have sent them to be clear anodized and found that the shine is very minimally diminished, if at all. The anodizing done by a good aftermarket shop is also VERY difficult to scratch and can be cleaned very easily without repolishing to bring it back to its original shine. In addition, if you have a polished part, you can have it anodized in any number of colors and the part will retain the mirror finish in gold or blue or whatever color you choose. Let me just say that people notice a mirrored blue metal finish MUCH more than a standard "chrome" looking finish. It will cost a little bit to do anodizing, but its worth the extra money when you consider the time involved in maintaining a polished surface. Just my two cents, though.

John Schmidt
- La Habra, CA, USA

Again, GREAT tips for the do-it-yourself-er! Question though... Could I use scotchbrite pads and a air drill as if I would use sandpaper on the aluminum? the reason I ask is that if your familiar with the TL1000R, the mid secton of the frame is QUITE rough, and the upper part is anodized. I havent come to a decision on what to use to get the anodized coating off yet (Easy-off or Low Grit sand paper) I do with to spare my fingerprints though. anyone deal with scotchbrite here? thanks ahead of time.

Cabe Feller
USAF - Burlington, VT, USA

I LIKE THIS SITE I CAME ON TO POSSABLY POLISH MY BIKE [1999 GSXR 750 SRAD] AND I HAVE ALREADY FINISHED THE FRAME. IT IS AWSOME. I DO LOVE IT AND IT WASNT THAT HARD I JUST PICKED A METHOD I SAW ON THIS SITE AND DID IT AND IT REALLY WORKED. IT TAKES TIME AND MORE TIME. IT IS TRULY ONE OF THOSE THINGS YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN TO IT.BUT IN THE END YOU WILL LOVE IT.I STILL HAVE TO DO THE SWINGARM AND THEN COMES THE NEW PAINT. A LITTLE CHROME AND SOME PAINT AND I LIKE MY BIKE AS MUCH AS THE NEW ONES.

Dante Petrarca
VIP BARBERSHOP - North Providence, RHODE ISLAND, USA

I've read alot about polishing aluminium now so I started on my own bike(frame and swingarm).
Is ther any technique for polishing on the frame swelding. It seems that if you sand on the welding it gets "thinner"
does that have any impact on the strenght of the weld in the future?
How do you get the weldings to look super shiny? Do you use a Dremel to get in between the welds?

Any one out ther knowing what I'm talking about?
Please give me some advice

Cheers
Erik

Erik Jansson
- Sydney, Australia

How to mirror polish a top mounted intercooler for a car? Hi, i wanted to polish a aluminum intercooler for my mazdaspeed 3. Can i just use the technique that people use to polish their motorcycle frames or is there a different way for this application. Also could i clear coat the intercooler to keep it from andozing? and if so what kind of clear coat should I use since the engine will be getting hot. Thank you for any help. im new to polishing and would like to get started.

Steven Au
hobbyist - Rosemead, CA, USA

I HAVE AN ALUMINUM RIM ON A SEMI THAT ONLY SHINES A LITTLE. I WANT IT TO HAVE A MIRROR FINISH WHAT DO I DO ? I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT USING JEWELERS ROUGE AND A HIGH SPEED BUFFER.

JEFF WILSON
HOBBYIST - INDPLS., IN, USA

I am a fourth generation aluminium polisher by trade. I read these articals out of curiousity. Most of these technics,though very labor intensive and somewhat overkill,will work.

my advise for BEST results is of course to find a professional. But for the do-it-yourselfer I will offer some professional advise (without giving away to many tricks of the trade. Hey I've got to make a living too).

First stay away from mothers,it's for amateurs,sorry guys. All you will succeed in doing is tiring yourself out and causing your pieces to oxidize faster.

No matter what your method of sanding finish with a buffing wheel and buffing compounds. There are many different sizes and types of wheels. You will have to pick one that suits your needs. As for compounds brown tripoli was the best.I say was because real 'tripoli' used crystalline sylica as an abrasive. The EPA has banned the use of this crystalline sylica do to it's health risks. I tried some tripoli knock offs my supplier sent,frankly they sucked. Just because it's brown doesn't mean it's tripoli. I have found,however,that stainless steal green and yellow both work almost as well. The green finishes brighter,but tends to inbed particles causing drag marks. I prefer the yellow.

After removing all sanding marks with the buffing wheel and compound of your choice finish with a white coloring rouge and a different wheel. If you try to color with the same wheel you used to buff it will not color as bright.

In both the buffing and coloring take your time and let the wheel do the work(don't push too hard it won't make it go any faster).

Thats all for now good luck

K. John Scofield
- Cold Brook N.Y. USA

Ok so I have to start off saying if it wasn't for some of the postings here I would have probably either failed in my attempts, wasted a lot of unnecessary time, or been repolishing my wheels in a few months. I have a set of 20" Boss 301 wheels for my truck. They were originally Superfinished wheels. I left them on the truck 2 winters ago and have been very upset with myself ever since. Now I have a garage so I decided to do a little research and repolish them. The first place I went was S10forum, where I have found useful information in the past. (I own a 2000 Chevy blazer s10) There was a post about aluminum polishing but he recommended Mother's Billet polish and a powerball for heavily oxidized rims. With pictures showing what he was doing. So I had purchased a powerball sometime ago, so I thought that should be easy bought some mothers billet stuff and poof NOTHING. I don't know how he was getting any shine. So I have polished some aluminum in the past so i was thinking I would just sand out the oxidation, from about 180 grit up to 1500 grit, then polish with some tripoli and white rouge I purchased after the failed mother attempt. Well then my rims looked pretty flat and smooth but they were all cloudy. I followed another post here after I finally found this site!!! That said only to sand up to 400 grit maybe 600, then use tripoli then the white rouge, only this time the tripoli made my wheels cloudy. By the way I am using spiral sewn and loose cotton buffing wheels. This last method removed all the scratches from sanding only it was very cloudy. I was using my drill 2500rpm as the polisher. So I decide at this point what do I have to lose. I throw one of the buffing wheels on my angle grinder, and using not the buffing end of the wheel but using it as if I was buffing a car, and there is the mirror shine. So i know step back and think about this. Back to the hardware store. Bought some 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Used this to sand the entire rim. I then skipped the tripoli, and went straight to the white rouge (bar not liquid). The white compound took out all the 220 scratches and brought back a decent shine. I used a spiral sewn wheel to remove the scratches. I then had purchase a 5" hook and loop backing pad for my drill along with a thin polishing pad. Put some of the white compound on and i finally am getting close!! When I burnt through that polishing pad after about 1/4 of the first rim i took some old cotton rags I had laying in a basket, from socks, wrapped them around the hook and loop pad, using the white compound bar, and I reached my perfect mirror shine. The color is great, my center caps for the rims are chrome plated and there is no difference in color or shine. However I do still have fine scratches in the wheel from the white compound. What would be the best method to remove these. I would like something i can apply by hand or using a buffing tool. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Please do not suggest Mother's been there no gonna happen. Hopefully my success can aide some of you who are going through the same problems i had.

Marc Molella
Hobbyist - Naperville, IL, U.S.A.

Billet aluminum what a pain in the BUTT! I have A R&R 127cu.in. Billet t-6061 motor in my $52000.00 chopper. it took me weeks to figure out how to pollish that motor to a mirror finish, And I MEAN a mirror finish not a scratch one. Until you touch it with your finger or a baby butt smooth diaper,or any thing on this planet u think is so soft that it would'nt put a mark on anything, Lady's and Gentleman I'm here to tell you forget it!!! unless you plan on not doing anthing too it like touch it ride it or even somtimes loook to hard at it.maybe as soon as your finished polishing if your luckey,but after that it is impossible to keep the mirror finish for any length of time,because breathing on it can scratch it.Do your best ,be happy ,life is to short,as long as it shines your doing good. That is of course I might just be crazy, and some one can tell me an easyer way!!! but I think not....

Kenneth Berghaus
I'm polishing something all the time - Vista, CA, U.S.

I have just purchased a 2003 Big Dog motorcycle. Just want it to look good and stay that way. This bike is 95% polished aluminum, and the aluminum is not in bad shape (some very minor scratches & swirl marks).I'm not sure if I'm looking for a mirror finish, but would like to clean it up & keep it that way.I started using MOTHERS but stopped after reading some of your postings.Could someone please tell me what products are the best & how to apply them.

John Ivers
Hobbyist - Laurel Springs, NJ

Restoring old motorcycle with anodized aluminum parts to polish up. Thought I'd take some of the parts off the bike - carbs, valve covers etc.. and using a benchgrinder (which I put a firm cloth wheel on) with some polishing putty, I thought I could bring back the original shine theses parts. Didn't work as it seems there is a coating over the aluminum. Should I sand the parts with sandpaper, then use cutting compound and gradually polish to a shine with a rouge polish or car wax even? then after polishing back to a mirror finish, could I spray on a clear acrylic or polyurethane coating to keep the shine?

Bob Brown
hobbyist - Portland, OR USA

I want 2 polish a gxsr 750 and dont know were to start

Jon R.
student - Key West, Florida, USA

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