Polishing an aluminum boat??????

S

Spike

New member
Need some big help here....how can I get my aluminum boat to a polished shiney finish. It needs a lot of work but my thoughts are using 1200 grit and wet sand it first or is there a chemical process I can use that would remove the dull finish? I have a PC, any suggestions on using it?

Any advice greatly appreciated as I'm stumped.

alumaweld.jpg
 
There was a thread on the Meg's forum..where some one had a boat like that and used NXT metal polysh..and got it to a mirror finish...it really came out nice looking...as said..like a mirror...

look that thread up...

AL
 
to get that job done right your going to need a rotary buffer or at least a orbital...heat is what you are going to need....I like Zephyr Pro40 for aluminium available threw this site....pad choice could be wool or a foam cutting pad to start then onto a more finishing pad
 
jaybs95 said:
Propolish and a wool pad
Click to expand...

Would a LC Orange Cutting pad work do you think??

The key to aluminum is heat... the more heat you can get with a polish the better it'll come out.

-OT- 1 more post 'till 4000 Beemerboy :yay :yay
 
budman3 said:
Would a LC Orange Cutting pad work do you think??

The key to aluminum is heat... the more heat you can get with a polish the better it'll come out.

-OT- 1 more post 'till 4000 Beemerboy :yay :yay
Click to expand...

Wool would be more durable and heat is defintely what you need.
A rotary should be used , a PC would be very slow and not give you nearly the results. Pro Polish as Jay said or Zephyr 40 would both do the job well.
 
AL-53 said:
There was a thread on the Meg's forum..where some one had a boat like that and used NXT metal polysh..and got it to a mirror finish...it really came out nice looking...as said..like a mirror...

look that thread up...

AL
Click to expand...
You beat me to it AL,The guy did a fantastic job , went into full details on his process,lot of pic to see
 
Yeah for beemerboy & 4000

Back OT
I have actually polished many brass things by hand and I used a cotton terry,
And I have seen what Propolish and a wool pad can do with wetsand marks.
I think that combo would bring out the luster and if you wanted you could go further with a finer pad.

Good luck
"J"
 
Spike said:
I have this sander/polisher, where can I get a wool bonnet for it or a new screw in attachment????

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
Click to expand...

Its not a bonnet that your looking for, those have no bite and are only for removing or applying wax.

I forgot what they are called, but you can get them at harbor frieght also. The yellow pads you see in the links i posted above, metal polishing pads is what i'll call them for now.

I'd get a few large ones and a few smaller ones for tight areas since you got alot of area to work on.

Make sure to get rouge and not no liquid polish. you'll get better results.
 
Why do you need heat to polish Aluminum...curious...it is not like paint...

what does the heat do...are the metal polishes heat dependent like paint polishes..do the abrasives diminish like paint polishes...


AL
 
Thanks beemerboy, you da man

I tried Meg's NXT all metal polish and wow does it work well, turned shiny and bright. There has got to be a way to apply it other then a rag and elbow grease though, it's going to take days.
 
AL-53 said:
Why do you need heat to polish Aluminum...curious...it is not like paint...

what does the heat do...are the metal polishes heat dependent like paint polishes..do the abrasives diminish like paint polishes...


AL
Click to expand...

You almost answered your own question...heat breaks down the abraives in the product which is necessary to remove the oxidation on the metal....heat is also the contributing factor to that in order to soften up the metal so that you can work it....polishing aluminium is a messing job that few tackle and really understand how to do it right
 
I did not think heat generated by a rotary would soften the metal...or even polishing metal by hand since you can get a nice finish by hand if you work it.....wouldn't that make the metal fatique..aluminum is used in higher heat situations then what a rotary will produce and they must stay stable at those temps...if they softened they would fail...:confused:

and most abrasives for metal consist of diamond dust...aluminum oxide and silicone carbide...do the break down?

Al
 
Okay, let the games begin. I order from Zypher two green wheels with 2 green rouge bars and two white wheels with 2 white rouge bars and some Pro40 metal polish. Will take some before and after pictures as this is probbly going to turn out very cool.

I think I'll wet sand some of the scratched areas first with 800 then 1200 grit paper...any suggestions on this process as I've never done it before.
 
The Blackfire Metal Polishes are insane! Zephy40 or English Custom? Shrug I'm still looking for some Aggressive polishes that work on all sorts of metals.
 
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