What is the best way to polish diamond plate?

[gtcuda]

I am looking for any tips/suggestions on polishing a large amount of diamond plate on a fire engine. Using regular metal polish by hand would take way too long. I have heard of using a wool pad on a pc or buffer. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

[forrest@mothers]

I`d suggest a terry cloth bonnet on a cheapie random orbital buffer.



Smear the polish on my hand, then place the buffer on the surface and turn it on.



After buffing for a while, replace the bonnet with a clean one and buff the surface clean.

[Anthony O.]

forrest puts across some great advice but I use a rotary and wool pads.



So it just depends on what tools you have handy.



Anthony

[imported_zenhog]

Depends on how bad it is. Do a search from a thread in the last day or so - some guys were talking about using glass cleaner on chrome and it doing a great job. You may get away with that.

[imported_zenhog]

Found it. Look at what Markmando has to say about Stoners Invisible Glass.



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28110&highlight=chrome

[forrest@mothers]

Glass cleaners will remove the dirt from polished aluminum, but they won`t polish the oxidation away. You need a mechanical polish for that.



I like the terry cloth bonnets because they`re cheap - you can throw them away afterwards. The sharp edges on the diamond plate will likely cut and shred the bonnet - which is why I go for cheap ol` terry cloth.

[Accumulator]

The Cyclo RO has been used for this for years (decades).LINK (http://www.cyclomfg.com/) Not the cheapest, but, *IMO*, so user-friendly that it`s a true pleasure to use. As I recall, some people polish diamond plate (and aluminum) by putting a towel between the pads and the surface being worked, repositioning the towel as it becomes soiled/worn.

[chaotik]

As Forrest said.....you will need a mechanical buffer.



I have a truck with ALOT of polished aluminum.....all 6 outer wheels, diamond plate battery boxes,, tool boxes (2), and a 32 sq. ft. cat walk.



I usually polish mine bu hand ( I know Im crazy...or just a fanatic!!) but sometimes use a varietyof buffing wheels and rouge to get the mirror shine back on them. Just remember to polish in the two directions of the "diamonds"...this will keep you from getting dull spots behind the diamonds, where the polish missed as it ran over the top of the diamond.

[LDPaul]

My trailer has a lot of diamond plate and I use only metalwax.com. I brought a cheap turtle wax hand buffer. It is a three step process. Apply the cleaner and use a piece of cheap carpet to rub it in, then apply polish and use the buffer, and then the wax with buffer and watch out - the shine will blind you! I have tried different metal polishers and they work OK, but the stuff from metalwax.com blows the others away.

[gtcuda]

thanks for the replies...Todd