Polishing a Bumper

[ShinyChick]

I have been asked to polish a new customers bumper, it is one of those HUGE aftermarket ones with the attached cow catcher. Not sure if it is polished aluminum or brushed aluminum, I just know it is not chrome. What would be a good product to use? It`s been so long since I`ve had this issue, and I don`t want to scratch it. TIA for any suggestions

[CrazyCool]

Aluminum bumpers? You`d think it would be steel for sure. Get a magnet and see if it sticks.

[GearHead_1]

Like to see a pic if you have the means.

[ShinyChick]

Lol...it is indeed steel (at the time I posted was racking my brain trying to think of what would work best, been 10 years since I have had to do a cow catcher with a finish other than chrome)...

Doing an image search it appears to be polished steel, I won`t be able to get a pic until Monday.

[ShaneB]

Is it possibly stainless steel? that would be my guess. Only unfinished steel that wouldnt otherwise rust

[4u2nvinmtl]

Had a hard time picturing a cow catcher on a car but this picture helped. Is this the car?

[ShinyChick]

LMBO!!!! Wouldn`t that be interesting to see on the road!

[XxBoostinxX]

It is more than likely steel and powdercoated. Can you post a picture of it?

[ShinyChick]

I will be able to get a pic of it on monday, my best guess is that it is raw steel or maybe galvanized steel....I`ve tried a search for a picture of something similar with no luck, so a picture Monday is going to be the best bet of getting a suggestion for what to use

[ShinyChick]

I was able to get a picture of the bumper in question, but I only have my phone and when I click to add a photo, all I get is a gray screen.
I asked the owner of the pickup, and he said that it is aluminum, a scaled down version of what could be seen on a semi truck. He came across a page on FB (Evan`s Detailing & Polishing) and apparently they can take a brushed aluminum anything and polish it to the point that it looks like chrome. He is expecting me to be able to do the same. What type of equipment and product would I need for that? Is it quite a bit of work to do?
Thank You

[Anthony O.]

Take a metal polish to it, if it turns black it`s naked aluminum. If it just comes away clear, cept for some dirt, then it is chrome or cleared aluminum.

A good metal polish is either Mother`s Chrome/Mag/Aluminum Polish or Optimum`s Metal Polish. If aluminum use a bit of cornstarch as you polish to help keep the oxidation from building up. Clean up an area with a alcohol wipe down and admire your work.

A machine polisher can help great also. Prepare for lots of dirty towels, and I prefer to use cotton terry towels for the clean up stage as they are cheap and plentiful. Microfiber works well also but I never re-use metal polishing towels, I toss them overboard.

Anthony

[XxBoostinxX]

I was able to get a picture of the bumper in question, but I only have my phone and when I click to add a photo, all I get is a gray screen.
I asked the owner of the pickup, and he said that it is aluminum, a scaled down version of what could be seen on a semi truck. He came across a page on FB (Evan`s Detailing & Polishing) and apparently they can take a brushed aluminum anything and polish it to the point that it looks like chrome. He is expecting me to be able to do the same. What type of equipment and product would I need for that? Is it quite a bit of work to do?
Thank You

It mainly depends on how the surface looks to begin with. I have wet sanded and polished aluminum to get a mirror like finish on some car parts that started with a rough looking finish and I even polished a steel rifle bolt for a co-worker. I highly recommend doing as much as you can by machine. I would even use wool pads and a rotary to do a good bit of the work. Here is a how-to from AG using a rotary on wheels: How To Clean and Polish Aluminum Wheels, aluminum wheel cleaner, aluminum polish.