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Q&As since 1989


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General Aluminum Polishing

My name is William and I own a small polishing business and I would like to know a couple of things.

The first being what are the best polishing compounds ( brown tripoli rouge (polishing/buffing compound) [affil links], crocus, etc.) and in what order to use them.

The second thing is I was reading on JM Tools web site about some products from a company called Zephyr and the description of some wheels use the term "coloring" and I was wondering what that was and when I would use it.

The reason I'm asking this is I want to produce the best shine for the amount of money that my customers pay. Not only that but I also have a standard that I want to keep my finished product at and there have been a few things that haven't met that standard. If there is anyone who can help me I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your input and your time.
William Mund
auto and big rig polishing - Willard, Utah, United States
2006

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2006

Hello, William. We have over 40,000 letters on line here and if you patiently apply the search engine you will find a number of them that go into good detail on aluminum polishing. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that the knowledgable polishers who have already responded will take the time to offer a detailed answer to the same questions again, so you would probably need to find what they've already said.

"Coloring" means fine buffing. It's origin apparently has to do with the fact that only after a metallic surface is perfectly smooth can you see it's true color. Before that point (so I read) the uneven reflection of light from the nooks and crannies interferes with seeing the true color of the metal.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey