Letter 11151

MOONSHINE ALUMINUM POLISH (VERY STRONG)

1     2 April 15, 2006 I would like to tell every one that wants to clean their aluminum and keep it shining for a while, they can follow some of the recipes below. 1 gallon of mineral spirits. Take a bar of white jewelers rouge and a bar of green jewelers rouge. Get an electric burner you plug into your house. They cost about 8.00 dollars at Walmart. Get an old pot out and pour the mineral spirits and rouge into the pot. If you break the rouge up it will melt quicker. Turn the electric burner on high and stir the formula and it will start to boil. Melting the rouge. You can add canuba car wax or other aluminum polish that works great to the recipe. You can also buy Dupont Teflon Lubricant and put about 8 ounces in the polish. This seals the aluminum and keeps dirt away from it. Watch how the water beads of it. There are many items you can add. Rain X is good also to keep the water beading of it. Some of the polishers at the shop use fuel injector cleaner. Some use lighter fluid. I have heard lighter fluid leaves the tanks with a rainbow color after being washed. Do not use ammonia; it turns the aluminum brown after a while. Remember, use an electric burner. NOT gas. My polisher make polish all the time like this. The homeless that live around the truck stops use camp fires. But they are brave. DVDMAN Jimmie L [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] - san antonio,Texas USA Ed. note: whether electric heater or campfire, boiling a witches' brew that includes flammable solvents like mineral spirits, lighter fluid, or fuel injector cleaner is terribly dangerous. April 27, 2006 -- appended to this existing letter by editor What exactly are mineral spirits? is that mineral water? Tom V [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] Driver - Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA

We appended your inquiry to a letter that answers the question by hotlinking to sources, Tom. But mineral spirits [link is to product info at Rockler] is more like turpentine.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

YOU CAN ALSO USE LIGHTER FLUID , CHARCOAL STARTER, AND A GOOD CARNUBA, OR TEFLON WAX FOR A SEALER PAINT THINNER CAN ALSO BE USED.....

KENNETH W [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- ROME, GA, USA

Hi, I am looking for a recipe for aluminum polish for my uncle Merl who is a truck driver and hear some people on his radio talking about this home made polish that works wonders. He told me it had jewelers rouge, Turtle Wax, Rain X and lighter fluid in it. and this moonshine aluminum polish sounds like he was talking about so if anyone knows the recipe can you please get it to me asap.

Collin S [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
aluminum polish for truckers - Vanderhoof, BC, Canada

Remember do not use anything like lighter fluid, barbecue fluid etc. It will allow the material to absorb dirt much faster than normal. even if you use a wax, because the fluids a corrosive and are a solvent and does not allow the wax or polish to be absorbed to the metal, Also if you run the northern country you will find the salt will turn your wheels and tanks BLACK within DAYS!!!

Daryl K [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Stratford, Ontario, Canada

I was talking with a guy who had a bottle of this homemade green liquid he got from a guy working the truckstop lots in Baltimore. The guy said it had the green rouge mixed with kerosene and some liquid wax (to help reduce water spotting) He was polishing on his tanks and wheels with this stuff....using just an old rag..the tanks were oxidized and with little effort, he got them shinier than my tanks (I had using Magic Mix...with a lotta elbow grease). He hadn't even buffed with the towel and his stuff already raised a super shine.

Is kerosene safe to use as a liquid with the rouge??? I also have a bottle of liquid wax....."Lightening-Shine" is the brand name (bought at a Petro truckstop)

Lee D [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
driver - Bloomington, IL, USA

I was going to suggest just wrapping the brick in a heavy material...like...canvas....and then smashing it down to powder with a hand mallet/sledge.....the canvas will catch all the powder and then you can empty it into a bucket to mix with your other ingredients.

The more I am reading other articles....I am concluding that a very good mix would be..

green jeweler rouge...kerosene or mineral spirits (both are clear and would be residue free)...lemon juice (to eliminate oxidation)....and finally a high quality liquid wax (to promote water beading and prevent water spotting)...I would mix the whole brick...so there is a very high content of "grit" to work with...I think the kerosene would be a better choice over mineral spirits...just for fact it is better at cutting road filth...I like the idea of adding lemon juice....and wouldn't be too stingy with it...as far as the liquid wax....am just going to add the whole bottle....this will give my polish a nice thick consistency (comparable to Magic Mix or Hoosiers)....will use the kerosene or mineral spirits to thin the final mix down to proper consistency.

If anybody wants to elaborate on this.....please feel free...I'm open to any and all suggestions.....I have tried many of the marketable polishes and am not very pleased with any of them. For what they charge....they really don't get the desired results and the quantity you receive is little compensation for the cost.

Lee D [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
driver - Bloomington, IL, USA

Ed. note: All we can do is to continue to warn the readers how dangerous it is to work with such volatile substances as kerosene, and that mixing even household ingredients in ways that weren't intended by the manufacturer can generate other hazards.

I didn't take time to read all the posts, but I am a driver myself and i tried the jewelers rouge in liquid form pre mixed at the truck stops. I started with brushed aluminium tanks, and used the white mixed about 50/50 with the green. this should remove the oxidation. then i would finish off with the white. works pretty good. but now i make my own like one other post says use the bricks of white jewelers rouge, and mix it with mineral spirits. i mix it about 30/70 to 50/50 having more liquid is better. no buffer needed. Just wipe it on and let it dry then just wipe the powder off with a clean terry cloth. you can play around with the mix, but i have found that liquids with ammonia turns the aluminum brown in spots that aren't protected very well. All i do is polish my tanks about every 3-4 months and then use window cleaner or something similar with out ammonia to clean them every week. to polish 2 100 gallon tanks it only takes about 15-30 min depending on how clean they are when i start. the only purpose of the mineral spirits is to for a liquid, and faster drying time. you can also mix zippo lighter fluid to slow down the drying time.

Jason [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Bradford, OH

I have been working on an aluminum polish for a few weeks now. The ingredients that I have been working with are producing a good smooth high gloss finish; however, I am still unable to produce the black residue during the hand polish process with my formulation. This black residue should also help remove scratches during the polish of the metal. Can anyone help me with the name of the ingredient needed to produce this characteristic to the polish.

Richard R [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
chemical blending - Carrollton, Ga, USA

I just stumbled on to this site and enjoyed reading about the polish in its various forms.

To clear up what seems to be some confusion, mineral spirits is paint thinner, sometimes with an additive or refining difference to reduce the odor. In the painting business the two are interchangeable, and should be interchangeable in the polish formulas as well. Any paint supply store or home improvement center will have one or the other, probably both.

Heating either one on an electric stove or any other heat source is begging for a serious fire. It is not as volatile as gasoline, but is not something you want to heat, unless you are addicted to games like Russian Roulette.

The various items listed in the various formulas will all dissolve in the spirits or thinner over night. Do not get in a big hurry and kill yourself either by starting a fire or by breathing the fumes given off by the heat.

Bob P [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Long Beach, CA, USA

This Is A the best site I have found about making metal polish. This is what I found out so for about metal polish.
You can by the brick of buffing compound at all the ( T/A truck stops in my area they have flomax brand for $7 Or $8
the peterbilt deal have zephyr pro 40 brand just a little higher $10 to $13 and smaller brinks Home depot Has Small 4 oz
Tubes of ryobi.) These or the places I get my Stuff from. I mix
5 Oz. of the white flomax
4 Oz. of the white plastic ryobi
2 Oz. maxx red zephyr
1 Oz. of fruit fresh found at wal-mart in canning stuff. all it is powder citric acid.
12 Oz. of mineral spirits
Heat in old pan on elec burner out side just in case of fire
stirring at all times bring to boil its really fast at boiling take off heat let it cool now stir in 2.Oz of stop wax bought at home depot. Split it in three 25 Oz. empty rinsed dish washing liquid bottles. Top off with mineral spirits this makes a mirror shine. Average cost of bottle
$5.00
If heavy oxidation I use the green and white flomax mix then go over it with this mix for mirror shine.

Dave M [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- St.Louis, MO

I got a bottle of "green stuff" and it worked o.k. but, I tried one that's called Britemax that has 2 types for the highly oxidized tanks. Diamond plate comes clean, the product comes with directions for use and its consistent because its professionally made. Cooking flammable mineral spirits on my stove top sounds a little risky.

bob m [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Brooklyn, NY

I have been using a mix I got from a friend and it has turned my wheels brown in color. Is that from the ammonia. I don't know what is in it but it works very well. but in a few weeks it turns my wheels a brass or a brownish color. Any idea why?

How do I get the jewelers rouge too melt or dissolve? I melted the jeweler's rouge on the stove. I tried to let it dissolve but it would not work.

Michael S [name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
hobbyist - WV

I Have Switched to the Blue moon made by flomax brand now it works great finished shine cleans well with a fine steel wool
pad. yes the brown is from the ammonia try my new recipe for your self.

3 oz blue moon
1 oz of Stearic Acid
16 oz mineral spirits
heated in pot on a elec burner out side just in case of fire
put all ingredients in the pot and heat to around 175 F
stir until all is dissolved that's it let it cool works good
makes 20 oz bottle

Dave M
- St.Louis ,MO

I have read a lot about making my own polish. I used to have a polish that you would use a buffer the first time on rims and then when you needed to shine up you just wiped it on and off and it looked just like the buffed job. I would like to make my own because I cant find it anymore need specific recipe or close to try.

Jeff Harley
DRIVER - Wooster Ohio U.S.A

I've been in the truck polishing business for 30 years and have never made my own polish. I let the professionals do that. Some of those mixtures could really harm you PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!

Vic Caliva
truckwash and polishing co. - Montebello, CA, USA

I have made some of the polish myself, you can get a better mixture if you melt down the bars of jewelers rouge. Careful when heating it, can be flammable when using the mineral spirits and add a little alcohol to help it dry quicker.

Michael Glidewell
Glidewell Transportation - Stoutland, MO

i have been making and selling polishes and machine polishing trucks for 20 years now and the base for making your own polishes is 1 bar of rouge(i use white and blue)1 gallon 100% mineral spirits(paint thinner) and 1/4 pint carnuba paste wax break the bar in half and put in a 2 qt microwave-safe bowl add 2 cups mineral spirits microwave on high for 8 mins (1000 watt microwave) or 13 mins (600 watt microwave) i have been doing this for a long time without burning anything (remember a microwave creates heat by vibrating molecules therefore there is no fire or spark to ignite the fumes) stir well put paste wax into hot mix stir well again pour hot mix back into gallon jug of spirits (you will have to remove about 3/4 pint from jug or it will over flow shake well. there you go guys now you know how top make it so get to polishing.

todd coriell
mirrorshine company - chesapeake VA USA

Ed. note: It still strikes us as horribly dangerous, and doing it in a kitchen unthinkable. Maybe if you take your microwave out into the woods and wear a fireman's suit . . . :-)

Just a quick note. paint thinner is 100% mineral spirits

Danny B
- Astoria, Oregon

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