Diamondplate help

C

CleanMachine

New member
Did A Tractor trailer cab the other day. Every thing was sweet except I was disapointed with the diamond plate and the gas tanks. Whats the best products and tricks, on the diamondplate especialy. I tried some differnt pruducts but nothing looked new again. Is the some kind of buffer or something that helps???



Thanks, Dave
 
I'd suggest a good aluminum polish, and inexpensive random orbital, and some cotton bonnets.



Smear the polish on the diamondplate, then go to town with the RO.



Change to a clear bonnet to buff, then finish with a clean dry towel. Wear gloves to prevent cutting your fingertips
 
Hmm.. I used a PC with 4" wool pad to polish my mufflers, I think the wool coupled with the metal polish produced shine faster but I'm not sure if wool is safe for diamondplate. If not, as Forrest says, cotton bonnets, but might take you a little longer. I followed my polishing with a sealant.
 
I've never tried it but I believe CMA recommends using the wool pad with a metal polish for diamond plate.
 
My intent with cotton bonnets is to save money - they're just a few dollars, versus wool.



You'll need to trash a wool bonnet after use, but wool is certainly a better choice if cost is no object.
 
I think my 4" wool pads cost about $3 each or so. I didn't throw away the one one I used for the mufflers but I reserve it ONLY for them now
 
I just did a severly oxidized truck....i used the billet aluminum polish ,,,and the regular mothers polish in a red can...i apllied them with a terry bonnet and polished with a terry bonnet....the billet polish worked the best ....i used a craftsman random orbital with big handels you get from sears....................I also own a new makita forced rotation d.a................i had a porter cable d.a pad on there i was using for my smooth gas tanks and i decided to give it a whirl on some of the plate ...it held up pretty well ...but whenever i hit a bolt it would tear the pad.....................any way i ordered a makita rotary and my next plan of attack includes it and a dedicated wool pad ...............................................here are some helpfull links........: http://www.finishing.com/111/51.html :next time I will be using this as well :http://www.topoftheline.com/tolae/rolprep.html :
 
I use my Mikita 9227 with a sisel wheel and a rouge bar(Green). Just attach the sisel wheel and load it up with the rouge and go to work. You will catch on quick. Buff on and buff off. Doesn't get any easier. This method has worked the best for me and I have tried just about every idea around. This will take some time but much quicker than by hand. You will get pretty dirty with the sisel wheel and would suggest wearing a simple breathing mask and a pair of latex gloves so you don't have to dig the black stuff out from under your nails for days to come. I only clean my own DP on my detail trailer and thats all I would ever want to do. :xyxthumbs
 
I speak from experience. My small truck box ripped to shreds 2 cotton bonnets just on the lid. The loops in the cotton will catch on the ends of the diamonds. A cut pile wool would work much better.



blazer95
 
I use cotton bonnets on my DeWalt Orbital for diamond plate and they do tear the bonnets up. I can usually only use them 2 or 3 times before they are gone.
 
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