metal polishing

[never2fast727]

Anybody who has polished metal knows how much of a PITA this is. Only special clients can get me to polish metal cause its expensive/nasty work.
First stage...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/never2fast/P8060302.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/never2fast/P8060298.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/never2fast/P8060300.jpg

[nismomatt96]

Thats one hell of a difference. What cleaner did you use? The cleaner I use gets results like that. I use California Customs Deoxidizer then a polish by the same company. I use it on our fire truck and it's one of the cleanest and shiniest in Polk County.:cool:

[never2fast727]

high speed buffer and rubbing compound. Im sure i could get it way better with some more time and maybe trying the other compound i have, but hey it looks great the way it is. It was only a $30 box

[nismomatt96]

Hell yeah looks great. I think my bedrails on my dodge may get that treatment. That seems like it would work a little better for large surface areas. Thanks for the info. I'll give it a try.

[SpottedMango]

Looking good man, polishing is very time consuming.

[gottattooz]

Here's a shot of my wife's 5-slot mags before and after I polished them

-Josh

[never2fast727]

yep and the cool thing about it, is that people junk aluminum when it looks bad and all it needs is a little polish

[DareDevil]

Awesome. I need to do this to my wheels.

I have some rubbing compound and some mothers metal polish. which should i use?

[rewsnaeht]

Awesome. I need to do this to my wheels.

I have some rubbing compound and some mothers metal polish. which should i use?

compound it 1st then pollow with the polish. I would suggest a compound designed specifically for aluminum.

I also would suggest doing it with a buffer, but if you dont have one, Wolfgang makes a wool ball (same wool as thier metal polishing pads) that attatches to a drill like a powerball, but yields much great results as the wool is a better medium than the foam is IMO.

But what do I know:lol:

[DareDevil]

Awesome. Thanks for the help.

[rewsnaeht]

No problem

[gottattooz]

Never2fast727, I recently got to polish an aluminum diamond plate tool box just like you did, and I couldn't agree more as to how much of a pain in the ass it is. I only did the middle section between the doors, and it took like 40 minutes. It's my box, and I honestly have no desire to finish the rest of it. I've included before, during and after pics.

-Josh

[hombredelassrtas]

yupgottattooz has my valve cover and intake manifold. hopefully if i can get it monday i'll get some pics up

[SLOWBOOST]

pick up some purple polish, it works like no other polish out there.

[never2fast727]

i forgot about this thread, but the key is to used a high speed buffer. it makes quick work but it also makes a heck of a mess. that center section would be a 10 min deal to compound polish and remove the residue by rag. I have found that it doesnt matter what kind of compound you use, the grit polishes out the discoloration and imperfections. but make sure you use a good protectant on the metal when its all said and done. you wont notice the metal getting bad on diamond plate untill it gets to the point of needing a buffing again. but wheels are a pain. my old truck has polished aluminum wheels and they would be in perfect shape, but right after hitting a mud hole they would have a slight discoloration. so i highly recommend a good protectant or even sealer on wheels when you get them to the shine you like.

[never2fast727]

try this same method for yellowed headlights too. but you need a nigh speed buffer or you will hate yourself

[never2fast727]

as you can see i never rubbed the residue off of my box, just because i didnt really care. after a couple car washes it was all gone

[CBURKE]

Here is a peace I did
Before:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s148/RBURKE23/000_0263.jpg

After:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s148/RBURKE23/000_0278.jpg

[gottattooz]

i forgot about this thread, but the key is to used a high speed buffer. it makes quick work but it also makes a heck of a mess. that center section would be a 10 min deal to compound polish and remove the residue by rag. I have found that it doesnt matter what kind of compound you use, the grit polishes out the discoloration and imperfections. but make sure you use a good protectant on the metal when its all said and done. you wont notice the metal getting bad on diamond plate untill it gets to the point of needing a buffing again. but wheels are a pain. my old truck has polished aluminum wheels and they would be in perfect shape, but right after hitting a mud hole they would have a slight discoloration. so i highly recommend a good protectant or even sealer on wheels when you get them to the shine you like.

The 40 minutes it took me to do the center section of the diamond plate was with a high speed polisher and three stages of polishing rouge. The first stage takes the longest, because I have to cut through all the crud and corrosion, and the other stages are to get the shine like I want it. Where do you get your protectant from?? I've heard numerous people talk about something like that, but no references as where to get the stuff.

-Josh