broke00
07-07-2008, 02:05 PM
hi!
I searched the forums and did not see a discussion on polishing knurled aluminum.
I hope this isn`t a repeat that I over looked.
I have oxidized bare aluminum thumb screws I am restoring that are not on a car. They go to a 45+ year old photographic enlarger recently purchased from a retired photographer. An enlarger is the old school machine you put your negative in to project the photo onto real photographic paper. It`s something hardly anyone wants anymore with so many people going digital. But not me.
My objective is not for display but rather to treat and maintain metal parts that were neglected over time.
I hope you can still help.
I believe the collective experience of forum members here might know how to get the job done right and that you are the right group to ask because of your passion for restoration and detailing.
I learned there are two types of knurling to metal:
RAISED
which feels rough to the hands. the pattern looks like sharp pyramids
LOWERED
which feels soft to the hands. the pattern looks like flat squares.
I have aluminum thumbscrews in both types of knurling.
The aluminum is bare. It does not have a clearcoat nor is it anodized.
I have a closeup photo of the thumbscrews but the forum says it takes a few days for administrators to approve it.
I used Brasso metal polish/cleaner on an old tshirt and managed to get good results
on the shaft of the thumbscrew and the flat top part.
Applying a drop of Brasso to the tshirt I rubbed the thumbscrew. The area being cleaned/polished went from a heavy chalky gray that had ocassional yellow stains to beige (brasso) to dark gray to black within a couple dozen wipes by hand. Then I wiped it with a clean portion of the tshirt to reveal a very clean and shiny aluminum color.
But the part I don`t know how to clean is the knurled parts.
I tried Brasso with an old toothbrush. That did nothing to clean. Not even the tips of the pyramid pattern.
#00 steel wool with Brasso. That cleaned the tips but I quickly stopped when I saw it was taking material off.
carbon steel wire brush on a Dremel. That cleaned it very well but that`s because it was taking a lot of material off and rounded off much of some pyramids in a test area. DO NOT USE A WIRE BRUSH ON KNURLED ALUMINUM. It takes a lot of material off and destroys the knurling.
Goo Gone with a toothbrush. No change.
rubbing alcohol. No change.
I went back and tried the brown rubbing compound that comes with a Dremel and used it on a felt pad at about 20,000 rpm. It polished the tips of the raised knurling and rounded it off. At this point I have decided a rotary tool takes too much material off knurling.
***
I have heard and seen video clips of using Easy Off No-Fume Oven Cleaner to remove the oxidized coating on aluminum and even removing colored anodizing on aluminum, but I wanted to ask if it might eat away the knurling especially on the raised knurling that in my attempts to restore seem to be very delicate and problematic to restore the shine to.
Mothers suggest I use their Mag and Aluminum Wheel Polish with a toothbrush. They said "it might work on the knurling."
I also checked out a jar of Loctite`s Aluminum Jelly. But it says it`s not for bare metal (?) even though the instructions and description say it works on aluminum door trim, siding, etc. The instructions say to brush on the thick liquid and rinse. That seems to be friendly to raised knurling. But I want to ask before damaging more thumbscrews.
***
Sorry for the long winded post.
Your advice and guidance is greatly appreciated to learn how to do this detail work.
Thanks.
I searched the forums and did not see a discussion on polishing knurled aluminum.
I hope this isn`t a repeat that I over looked.
I have oxidized bare aluminum thumb screws I am restoring that are not on a car. They go to a 45+ year old photographic enlarger recently purchased from a retired photographer. An enlarger is the old school machine you put your negative in to project the photo onto real photographic paper. It`s something hardly anyone wants anymore with so many people going digital. But not me.
My objective is not for display but rather to treat and maintain metal parts that were neglected over time.
I hope you can still help.
I believe the collective experience of forum members here might know how to get the job done right and that you are the right group to ask because of your passion for restoration and detailing.
I learned there are two types of knurling to metal:
RAISED
which feels rough to the hands. the pattern looks like sharp pyramids
LOWERED
which feels soft to the hands. the pattern looks like flat squares.
I have aluminum thumbscrews in both types of knurling.
The aluminum is bare. It does not have a clearcoat nor is it anodized.
I have a closeup photo of the thumbscrews but the forum says it takes a few days for administrators to approve it.
I used Brasso metal polish/cleaner on an old tshirt and managed to get good results
on the shaft of the thumbscrew and the flat top part.
Applying a drop of Brasso to the tshirt I rubbed the thumbscrew. The area being cleaned/polished went from a heavy chalky gray that had ocassional yellow stains to beige (brasso) to dark gray to black within a couple dozen wipes by hand. Then I wiped it with a clean portion of the tshirt to reveal a very clean and shiny aluminum color.
But the part I don`t know how to clean is the knurled parts.
I tried Brasso with an old toothbrush. That did nothing to clean. Not even the tips of the pyramid pattern.
#00 steel wool with Brasso. That cleaned the tips but I quickly stopped when I saw it was taking material off.
carbon steel wire brush on a Dremel. That cleaned it very well but that`s because it was taking a lot of material off and rounded off much of some pyramids in a test area. DO NOT USE A WIRE BRUSH ON KNURLED ALUMINUM. It takes a lot of material off and destroys the knurling.
Goo Gone with a toothbrush. No change.
rubbing alcohol. No change.
I went back and tried the brown rubbing compound that comes with a Dremel and used it on a felt pad at about 20,000 rpm. It polished the tips of the raised knurling and rounded it off. At this point I have decided a rotary tool takes too much material off knurling.
***
I have heard and seen video clips of using Easy Off No-Fume Oven Cleaner to remove the oxidized coating on aluminum and even removing colored anodizing on aluminum, but I wanted to ask if it might eat away the knurling especially on the raised knurling that in my attempts to restore seem to be very delicate and problematic to restore the shine to.
Mothers suggest I use their Mag and Aluminum Wheel Polish with a toothbrush. They said "it might work on the knurling."
I also checked out a jar of Loctite`s Aluminum Jelly. But it says it`s not for bare metal (?) even though the instructions and description say it works on aluminum door trim, siding, etc. The instructions say to brush on the thick liquid and rinse. That seems to be friendly to raised knurling. But I want to ask before damaging more thumbscrews.
***
Sorry for the long winded post.
Your advice and guidance is greatly appreciated to learn how to do this detail work.
Thanks.