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Polishing aluminium

Started by V-SLR5000-P , Sep 19 2007 01:20 PM

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247 replies to this topic

#201 _iwanacoupe_

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Posted 28 September 2010 - 09:10 PM

yeah fellas, its probably been the most time consuming piece ive done to date! it wont be perfect and alot of grinding,hand sanding,wet rubbing but i wont give up till its done Posted Image

im about half way there at the moment, but it will be worth it when its finished.

Edited by iwanacoupe, 28 September 2010 - 09:21 PM.

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#202 _iwanacoupe_

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Posted 28 September 2010 - 09:19 PM

Wishing i had a high speed bench polisher lately though! think im gona have to buy one, even my mate who was in the metal finishing game for ten years is being negative and saying im gona f$%K it up! ha ha that just makes me more determined! Posted Image

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#203 _iwanacoupe_

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Posted 16 October 2010 - 09:08 PM

Bought a 1 hp bench grider today sure makes life easier yeeha Posted Image

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#204 _iwanacoupe_

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Posted 27 October 2010 - 07:24 PM

well its been a pain in the arse but here it is finally, its not 100% free of imperfections like pinholes and hard to get to places but its dam better than what it was here it is

camera pics manifold 349.JPG 418K 4 downloads

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#205 _iwanacoupe_

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Posted 27 October 2010 - 07:30 PM

camera pics manifold 350.JPG 432.8K 1 downloads

camera pics manifold 351.JPG 370.71K 1 downloads

camera pics manifold 352.JPG 425.97K 1 downloads

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#206 _Viper_

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Posted 27 October 2010 - 08:16 PM

Looks sweet mate, woulda been a tough one

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#207 _iwanacoupe_

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Posted 27 October 2010 - 09:12 PM

thanks man, now it matche

PA270387.JPG 473.62K 3 downloads

PA270385.JPG 428.33K 2 downloads

PA270384.JPG 423.68K 2 downloads

PA270383.JPG 447.27K 1 downloads

PA270382.JPG 491.29K 3 downloadss up with the carbies!

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#208 _Viper_

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 08:19 AM

Hell yea, that's gonna look awesome in the car! What method did you use to get into the tight spots?

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#209 _iwanacoupe_

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 12:00 PM

yeah its a long term project viper need more funds lol,everything else in the engine bay will have the same detail too. i started with a dremel with flap wheel to rid all cast marks,bumps,deep scratches etc, then small stones in tight spots, 400 grit wet dry then 800 then 1200- then finish 2000.
this alloy reacted a little different than others ive polished and i got sick of chasing pin holes so there is still a few. even after using the stone u still got to get in there with wet dry. Trial and error ya learn as u go aye
also polished up the rocker cover, alloy radiator, radiator overflow resy and triple su fuel rail, man im always covered in black dust!

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#210 TerrA LX

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Posted 28 October 2010 - 07:13 PM

Yeah they look great.

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#211 _Herne_

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Posted 19 February 2011 - 12:10 PM

Today I ordered some metal polish (Mirror Finish, which I prefer to Purple) and I came across this website.

http://www.polish-up...-Polishers.html

This business is based in Canberra and from the looks of its excellent web pages they can supply all your polishing needs.

I should add I have nothing to do with this business but am merely passing on the URL as some will find it invaluable. Plenty of "How to" Video clips and a forum as well.

Cheers
Herne

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#212 _judgelj_

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 01:45 PM

ok don't want to revive this thread but with such interesting information, why not?

just purchased a JOSCO polishing kit with two sisal and two calico buffs, grey compound and some white compound. Everywhere i read it says to use grey then white but i have also read that there must be red used in between, how true is this?

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#213 _Viper_

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 02:40 PM

I've been using 400grit on the orbital and then straight to the white rouge and loose leaf wheel,

Comes up good

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#214 _judgelj_

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 05:33 PM

so where does grey come into this equation?

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#215 WhaleOilBeefHooked

Lord Humungus The Ayatolla of Rock N Rolla.

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 05:55 PM

The grey is a general purpose cutting compund & used with the sisal / coarse wheel, Used to remove scratches etc. from surface prior to using the white which is polishing compund & applied to the calico / soft wheel.... There's other colours of the stuff depending on material being polished..... Each different type of compund ussually requires a new wheel as cross contamination will result gumming the whole thing up......

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#216 _Viper_

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 05:59 PM

If you sand the peice to a fine enough grit then the gray compound on a sisal wheel will actually put courser scratches in.

For a nice flat peice that I can get my orbital on 400grit is finer then gray/sisal wheel... For tighter areas it's sometimes easier to not sand as fine and use the grey compound instead.

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#217 _judgelj_

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 06:06 PM

Thanks andrew is the red compound in between?

And also thanks clint that about sums it up for me as i wasnt sure just how coarse it was. Thanks for the comparison. So if something is already semi polished i should stay away from the grey stuff? For example flat alloy sheet or a brushed looking alloy washer bottle?

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#218 WhaleOilBeefHooked

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 07:26 PM

Sooo True Viper, I usually steer away from using the cutting / sisal side of my polisher unless it's steel I'm polishing... If aluminium cutting then I find fine steel wool pads & jiff do a fairly good job of prepping the surface 4 some polishing & or wet-dry sandpapers as suggested...... The Grey compund is a "general puprose as in most hard metals" cutting, I also have a red -- brown compund Tripoli which is for Aluminium polishing only, And if you're polishing alloy rims then this is the sorta stuff I use, After machine polishing then I love the fantastic results from Mirror Finish Metal Polish......

Edited by WHALEOILBEEFHOOKED, 28 June 2012 - 07:28 PM.

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#219 _judgelj_

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Posted 28 June 2012 - 09:47 PM

So Andrew what rotary pad will you use with the red compound? And will you go from red to white or skip white all together and use mirror finish?

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#220 _stretchlc_

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Posted 29 June 2012 - 12:16 PM

I've also been polishing a few things of late................Its absolute pain, but the end results numb the hours of sanding and buff wheel action!

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#221 WhaleOilBeefHooked

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Posted 29 June 2012 - 01:55 PM

So Andrew what rotary pad will you use with the red compound? And will you go from red to white or skip white all together and use mirror finish?

Don't quote me on this, But my understanding and experience is that both the red & white compounds are for polishing, The white is a general purpose whilst the redish stuff is suited to aluminium... None of this stuff should be applied to the same wheel... Or cross contamination can occur and cause you further headache, So go check out the Big B hardware store as they have huge selection, & keep your wheels / compunds seperate, After machine polishing I then use mirror finish on any metal surface this stuff is 1'r the best I've used, requires the smallest amount of liquid polish...... It's bloody hard work and after about a week of standing infront of a machine polisher "You're arms will let ya know what pins, needles & numbness are all about" Better to spread the jobs out over a few weeks....

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#222 _judgelj_

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Posted 29 June 2012 - 06:05 PM

i thought white was the final grade of fine rouge and mirror/purple the finest cream hand polish for finishing the surface. red is maybe somewhere before or in between. I know they are all different grits.

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#223 _judgelj_

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Posted 09 July 2012 - 06:55 PM

ok well i went out and purchased a few things, that polishing kit and some mirror finish metal polish. what do people who have used both prefer?

i also went to have a look at some bench grinders but im not sure which to purchase? i have my eye on a ryobi 250w 150mm disc that i will convert into a one end spindle. there was that or a 250w ozito for the same price however i think i should stay away. how does the spindle attach to the buff and also should i be using white compound or green compound for polishing alloy and stainless?

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#224 _judgelj_

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Posted 09 July 2012 - 10:31 PM

this is my first attempt with just the calico on my makita drill. is it normal for my buff to wear down really quickly then stay where it is?

Posted Image

not bad still need to hit it with the mirror finish.

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#225 _Viper_

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Posted 09 July 2012 - 11:43 PM

I got my bench grinder from Bunnings, ill have to check the brand and power. I think it may be a Ryobi and possibly $300? Pretty sure they also sold the spindle extensions with the tapered ends which the buffing wheels just "thread" onto.