How do you polish aluminum engine parts?

Polish is not required to remove imperfections in aluminum parts - just a coarser pad. Once you have removed the imperfections then you would switch to a polishing pad and polish.
 
GTFlyer said:
Polish is not required to remove imperfections in aluminum parts - just a coarser pad. Once you have removed the imperfections then you would switch to a polishing pad and polish.
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What's a coarser pad? :work:
 
GTFlyer said:
Polish is not required to remove imperfections in aluminum parts - just a coarser pad. Once you have removed the imperfections then you would switch to a polishing pad and polish.
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I disagree totally. Sure, if you use #40 grit sandpaper, it will remove all the imperfections, but scratch your mirror finish bling all to $hit.



The roughest stuff I use on my polished AL is the wadding the Eagle One cleaner.



Jim
 
I'm being lazy here, but I did a guide on how to polish form rough aluminum to show finish.



it's on here as well, but here's the link to a cobra forum I frequent (since I have it open right now)



How to polish aluminum (how to make shiny shiny) - FFCobra.com - Factory Five Racing Discussion Forum



See - shiney shiney



trunk7.jpg




more here:

All your shineys are belong to me - FFCobra.com - Factory Five Racing Discussion Forum
 
Wow! That's beautiful work!



I did more research on polishing and it is not as easy as I thought especially for very pitted parts like the one I have.
 
BlueAngel said:
Wow! That's beautiful work!



I did more research on polishing and it is not as easy as I thought especially for very pitted parts like the one I have.
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It's not that bad IF (And this is a big IF) you don't mind seeing the cut marks int he aluminum.



If you don't, you can usually wetsand the pits out, then use a drill/tripoli (brown bar) to get a shine, then use some polish (e.g., Nuvite) by hand. However, you will see every cut mark in it.



To me that's unacceptable; that's why I then bust out the cyclo and Nuvite F7 and S and go to town.
 
BlueAngel said:
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.
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This may be a silly question......but are you sure the parts are aluminum? Could they be coated?



If they are aluminum then avoid chrome polish if possible. The Eagle One wadding works well (as noted already) as does the Custom English polishes. They key to polishing aluminum is patience and having plenty of clean towels.....and to help remove the oxidation sprinkle on some corn starch as you begin buffing the metals. This aides in reducing the mess and helping to dry out oils and also polish the metal.



I used to add corn starch to my paint polishes.



If the metal parts are coated then any paint polish will work. If they are chrome and pitted you'll need a product with a bit more cleaning power first then work your way down, just like paint polishing.



Machine polishing though is ideal when working with metal and as noted a Dremel tool works great as does the Cyclo and rotary with proper pads.



Anthony
 
Try the Eastwood Company, has all sorts of buffing supplies. They have specific aluminum and stainless kits. Usually have good instructions included and you can call them with any questions (they know a lot about metal polishing). Good luck.
 
Dan O- Yeah, Eastwood has all sorts of good stuff :xyxthumbs



Anthony Orosco said:
..as noted a Dremel tool works great as does the Cyclo and rotary with proper pads...
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Yeah, they were using Cyclos on AirStream trailers and airplanes before anybody thought to use 'em on cars.



I used to add corn starch to my paint polishes....Along with using RainDance to wax my Six Million Dollar Man METAL lunch box..
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Yeah...cornstarch mixed with Meg's #7...



Heh heh, I was gonna say something about "welcome to the old-timer's club" until you mentioned that newfangled RainDance and that oh-so-modern TV series :chuckle:
 
What exactly was the purpose of putting cornstarch on polished metal?



I remember the guy who taught me how to polish used that trick, but when I tried it I never saw any reason to continue to do so?
 
Anthony Orosco said:
....and to help remove the oxidation sprinkle on some corn starch as you begin buffing the metals. This aides in reducing the mess and helping to dry out oils and also polish the metal.
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efnfast said:
What exactly was the purpose of putting cornstarch on polished metal?
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:grinno::hifive:
 
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