Blackfire Metal Polish vs. Aluminum

zoomzoom mazda5 said:
Great work on the tank Todd, looks sweet:wizard:
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Thanks Angelo!

David Fermani said:
That's regoddamdonkulous.
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Huh? Did you mean Swayze?

CH.Detailing said:
Good lord! That's quite the system!
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I really did a great job on the 'cheap' casting.

bufferbarry said:
Todd awesome work man. May I ask the time spent on this?
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Thanks buff. The polishing part (even given all the small areas) didn't take too long, about an 90 minutes to get all of the little areas by hand then polish with the machine. The problem was sanding because of the DEEP casting scratches that ran up and down on each site, I probably had 10 hours into the sanding :(


Junebug said:
Amazing! Looks like it come go on a fancy dinner table.
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Thanks Jimmy Jay James.... That's what I said as well but my wife gave me a dirty look. In fact I was so in awe of the piece that I was going to seal the vacuum tubes and drink Crystal from it.

Brian_Brice said:
Very cool process. I really don't see how it could get any Swayzier than that.
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It really couldn't!

Pats300zx said:
Bling Bling....:biggrin:
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Thanks Pat!!

TimG said:
Jaw dropping results on the tank, Todd.

Been eyeing them Blackfire metal compounds and polishes :devil:
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Honestly great products but you have to use them with a machine polisher, like old school compounds. Don't be afraid to really lean on it and work the polish in. The longer I worked the compound the better and better the shine became.

Thank you for the compliments!

RaskyR1 said:
Great work Todd! That must have taken a few minutes to do! :D
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Too many, but you know how that goes :( Thanks for the compliments Chad!
 
I figured that would be a while. Aluminum is very soft and scratches easily. That was quite the task. Could you imagine do that to entire engine area? That was quite impressive. Good work again.
 
glfahlc said:
HOLY MOLEY!!!!!! you made that tank look like you got it chromed... shweeeeeet!!!!
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Thanks! It was a lot of work but great products and patience paid off!

CEE DOG said:
Great write up and impressive results!
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Thanks Cee!

bufferbarry said:
I figured that would be a while. Aluminum is very soft and scratches easily. That was quite the task. Could you imagine do that to entire engine area? That was quite impressive. Good work again.
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You know it Barry. It was a pain to finish out correctly because it would want marr just from wiping it down. Think Jet Black BMW X 3000!
 
I used the BF metal polish system on my diamond plated tool box. It did not enhance the look as I expected. I was looking for a mirror look or at least the same condition when bought new. I imagine smother surfaces are more suited for this product as demonstrated.
 
juliom2 said:
how refine should the part be finished
in order to achieve maximum surface reflecivity?
:blacksmith:
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Think of aluminum (and most surfaces for that matter) like paint. The smoother they are (up to and at the microscopic level) the more light they will reflect. While I cannot provide grit numbers (I have no idea) the final step, the Wet Diamond Aluminum Show Polish refines the surface extremely well and leaves behind a glossy finish.

SoonerFan said:
I used the BF metal polish system on my diamond plated tool box. It did not enhance the look as I expected. I was looking for a mirror look or at least the same condition when bought new. I imagine smother surfaces are more suited for this product as demonstrated.
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Hmmmm... I have used the system on a tool box and was very impressed with the finish I recieved. The trick, I found, is to spend a lot of time on the middle step, making sure that all of the compounding marks have been removed.

Auto Concierge said:
How did I miss this thread................what effort displayed!!!!, "Tightness certified". Whatever you charged this guy it was too cheap.
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Thanks Bob! I did charge way too little but amortized the amount as a learning experience. Its all part of paying the dues ;)
 
Perhaps the middle step needed more work as there was still hazing, which remained after using the light cut aluminum polish. My wool pads were shredded trying to get the hazing to clear. Sure go through a lot of wool pads making the process expensive and very time consuming when working on diamond plated aluminum surfaces.
 
I was just wondering if going at the piece with wet 6000 and 8000 grit
will actually help on the final result.

Again Maestro Todd.........Brilliant!!!!!
:wizard:
 
juliom2 said:
I was just wondering if going at the piece with wet 6000 and 8000 grit
will actually help on the final result.

Again Maestro Todd.........Brilliant!!!!!
:wizard:
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I don't think it would me amigo, as the Compound had not problem leveling the deeper 2000 grit scratches with ease.

The trick to getting the maximum effect is to work the polishes long and allow them to break down (and polish out their own scratches).

 
SoonerFan said:
Perhaps the middle step needed more work as there was still hazing, which remained after using the light cut aluminum polish. My wool pads were shredded trying to get the hazing to clear. Sure go through a lot of wool pads making the process expensive and very time consuming when working on diamond plated aluminum surfaces.
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There is a fairly larger gap between the compound, the polish, and the final polish. Each step needed to be worked through to completion in order to refine the finish to it's maximum degree (per step).

I didn't have a problem with the wool coming apart on the piece I polished, although I can see with certain (more pronounced/sharper) patterns this could become a problem. Perhaps a lower speed (1000 rpm) and increased pressure would offer some relief?

Of course all wool pads shed like crazy (the aluminum polish wool pads are no exception) during break in, but once broken in, they seem (at least IME) to hold up well. I'm sorry you didn't get the results you aimed for right off the pad but I'm sure with a little more practice you get what you desire.

Todd
 
I am going to give the system another shot and refine my steps. A little added practice can only help to achieve a desirable mirror finish. Definitely will work the compound/polish steps to improved completion.

th0001 said:
There is a fairly larger gap between the compound, the polish, and the final polish. Each step needed to be worked through to completion in order to refine the finish to it's maximum degree (per step).

I didn't have a problem with the wool coming apart on the piece I polished, although I can see with certain (more pronounced/sharper) patterns this could become a problem. Perhaps a lower speed (1000 rpm) and increased pressure would offer some relief?

Of course all wool pads shed like crazy (the aluminum polish wool pads are no exception) during break in, but once broken in, they seem (at least IME) to hold up well. I'm sorry you didn't get the results you aimed for right off the pad but I'm sure with a little more practice you get what you desire.

Todd
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