Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Polishing a previously painted aluminum automobile hood

September 3, 2009

I am looking for some advice. I am currently the owner of a Honda S2000 and found out that the OEM hood is actually painted aluminum for weight savings. Once I found this fact I knew I had to find a spare hood and attempt to polish it to a mirror shine.

I have polished old aluminum wheels in the past with ease, but this hood is giving me trouble.

Currently I am using a 7" variable speed polisher with Meguiar's 8" foam pads. Polish used is Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish, which I went with because it's always worked for me in the past.

I am getting a shine but it is almost a satin or a matte finish from any distance other than a few inches.

A few progress pictures:

this small test area is about as good as the entire hood looks at this point. which is nice but not enough!

a full shot showing how it looks reflective but blurry

I was wondering if anyone had any product advice for me. If I need to wet sand the entire thing, I will. I am really just looking for some expert advice before I spend any more time and money on it.

Nick Brockway
hobbyist - Dallas, Texas

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September 6, 2009

Well, I understand that you are a fan of Mothers, and it usually is good for most polishing. However if you are getting a satin finish it is likely due to two reasons.
1. The material you are sanding is too coarse to start with so you are making the pits on the surface shiny, meaning that you need to wet sand the whole thing down with fine grit, then go in with some other weights of polish.
2. Your polish is too coarse, which I doubt.

Go to your local home improvement store and go look in tools, they should have several different grades of polishing compounds, try the roughest one and see if that brings down the satin finish. If it does, then you need to wet sand start around 200-300 grit and work down to 500-1000. Then go in with the polish.

Marc Banks
Blacksmith - Boone, North Carolina