I want to polish aluminum engine parts using my drill, but I don't know the proper pads or aluminum polish to buy. A friend of mine recommended the Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish for engine parts. He said he used it on his engine and it works fine. Your thoughts guys. Excuse the stupid questions. I am new and eager to learn from you guys.
How do you polish aluminum engine parts?
- Thread starter BlueAngel
- Start date
Well, I can answer from my particular point of view. I have a Ford LIghtning with several aluminum "Bling" items under the hood. My problem was water spotting. None of the typical "white" metal polishes would take them off (simichrome; Flitz; Mothers; etc). I could get them off using Eagle One, but every time I wahed the truck, the items spotted again. Drove me nuts and very labor intensive.
Finally tried some Diamond Brite Aluminum Truck Box polish (at Lowes, near truck box section). Used a cotton wheel on a drill and also a buffing wheel on a Dremel. That cleaned them up great! At that point, I clear-coated the items to prevent more water spots and it seems to work fine.
You could also try Meguiars #105
Jim
Finally tried some Diamond Brite Aluminum Truck Box polish (at Lowes, near truck box section). Used a cotton wheel on a drill and also a buffing wheel on a Dremel. That cleaned them up great! At that point, I clear-coated the items to prevent more water spots and it seems to work fine.
You could also try Meguiars #105
Jim
White polishes cannot really take out things like Water Spots. Believe me, I know.
Try Aluma-Brite Truck Box polish (Lowes), Meguiars #105 (Yes, it's for paint, but it works great on SS, Aluminum) or Heavy Metal Polish (Green #2).
Then, once you clean it up, seal it with a rattle can of clear coat.
Jim
Try Aluma-Brite Truck Box polish (Lowes), Meguiars #105 (Yes, it's for paint, but it works great on SS, Aluminum) or Heavy Metal Polish (Green #2).
Then, once you clean it up, seal it with a rattle can of clear coat.
Jim
imported_Luster1
New member
This is the best aluminum polish I've ever used. I discovered it about 10 years ago and nothing can touch it IMO.....
Available at any Harley dealer.
Available at any Harley dealer.
fbirdquik6
New member
BlueAngel said:
try a dremel with a felt pad to help save your hand
fbirdquik6
New member
the dremel is possibly single most useful, and versitile powertool that exists, its a must have for sure. I know sears, and walmart sell them, also harbor freight has a cheap version that i have yet to try, but for ~$15 I may just have to pick one up
Simichrome is awesome for metal that is mostly prepped for a final polis. However, it WILL NOT remove water spots on aluminum billet. Believe me, I tried it several times (well, maybe if you rub for hours, it might).
Try the three I recommended and you'll be good.
Jim
Try the three I recommended and you'll be good.
Jim
Luster said:This is the best aluminum polish I've ever used. I discovered it about 10 years ago and nothing can touch it IMO.....
Available at any Harley dealer.
Simichrome won't remove water spots on aluminum. I know; I tried it many times. Works great as a final polish, though.
Dremels are great! I used a drill and a white cloth wheel to clean up my Al billet engine bling with Heavy Metal grn.
Here's a link on using Megs #105 on an aluminum truck box (with pics):
M105-A-Thon - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online
Jim
Dremels are great! I used a drill and a white cloth wheel to clean up my Al billet engine bling with Heavy Metal grn.
Here's a link on using Megs #105 on an aluminum truck box (with pics):
M105-A-Thon - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online
Jim
imported_Luster1
New member
BlueAngel said:
$5.95 a tube... $19.95 per tub.
For water spots you can try One Grand Special Touch, non-abrasive polish... Right on the label it states that it specializes in removing water spots. I've always had good luck with it for water spots. Bought it on-line a few years ago. Google it.
Accumulator
Well-known member
fbirdquik6 said:
Yeah, there are a scad of different Dremel models these days. Plus, you might find one of the older/discontinued ones very cheap.
I'm a *BIG* fan of using an extended flex-shaft with a drill or a Dremel (or even just an electric motor with the right fitting on it for heavy-duty work). You can hold the shaft like a stylus/pencil and it's *so* user-friendly. Worth the expense IMO.
Heh heh, if I were buying a Dremel I'd probably splurge on one of the new digital-control models, or maybe their biggest rechargeable one.
But you could look into all the different rotary tools out there...even a big bulky one is handy enough with the flex-shaft. I have an old DuMore grinder (like an antique Dremel on steroids) from around WWII that still works great, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy something used if it seems to work OK.
It is "Caswell" that sells all the good polishing stuff? Sorry, can't remember for sure :nixweiss
