Daniel
I need to copy this so I can just paste it for the next time someone asks.
It's a common question.
The general procedure for polishing metals in general goes like this:
1. If there are imperfections larger than a 320 grit sanding mark and you
wish to remove them, sand them out. The grit to start with depends on how
bad the imperfection is. The larger the imperfection, the coarser the grit.
Just be sure you wind uo with about a 400 grit mark overall.
2. Compound the sanded surface with Tripoli, usually a brown material
made for the softer metals. You can find it in a variety of forms including
bars, pastes and liquid. I prefer a bar. You will also find various
degrees of greasiness. Generally the greasier the softer and the more
aggressive to some extent. Again I prefer a bar of medium greasiness.
Tripoli will remove all sanding marks and leave a smooth, even finish.
However, it is still unprotected and the ultimate brilliance has not yet
been achieved.
3. Rouge will take care of that. Rouges are non-abrasive (except for
Jewelers). It is meant to flow into the pores of te metal and form a
lasting barrier to moisture. It tends to flow and continue leveing giving
the highest shine. This is what we call the "Coloring" step. I prefer
White rouge for aluminum. Green will also work well.
After this last step it'll be time for a cold one and many admiring looks.
Just try not to bug the family and neighbors too much to come stare at you
handywork
Select polishing tools to fit the part. Generally the edge of a cotton disk
is used for the wide part of the rim. Variuos shaped tools allow you to get
into the hard-to-reach ares. They include tapers (cone-shaped), goblets
(upside down goblet), facers (flower-shaped for direct aproaces like te
spider of a wheel) and various shaped bobs (just larger hard felt dremel
tools with 1/4" shaft for use in drills of hand griners)
Equipement can be a power buffer, drill, hand grinder, bench grinder, flex
cable on an electric motor, etc, (ie Whatever works).
I have all these materials available and some of the group can testify to
how well they work.
Wayne "Sam" Loomis
----- Original Message -----
From: Daniel Neuman <dneuman@quark.sfsu.edu>
To: <datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2001 2:22 PM
Subject: Polishing Al
> Hello All,
> I want to polish up some Al to a nice mirror shine. Some of it is in
> a rough as cast state other is smoothed but not shiney (valve cover).
> I would appreciate any pointers tips advice on this subject.
>
> Thanks,
> Daniel
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