Polishing and Sanding Aluminum

cwcad

cwcad

New Normal
I washed the Black truck the other day with Optimum No Rinse and noticed that the canopy was looking rather bad

OpitimumONR11-6-07020.jpg


Anyway, since I had the truck all cleaned up and the aluminum on my canopy was looking horrible on top of the shiny black truck I took out some Poorboy's PP using a PC with an assortment of pads.

OpitimumONR11-6-07019.jpg



PP was doing it's job but I was not satisfied so I used 300, 1000, and 1500 grit sand paper with my PC and went over it six times using two pads of each grade of sand paper.

OpitimumONR11-6-07033.jpg


Then I hit it with PP polish again. Still not perfect but I think you can see the difference.

OpitimumONR11-6-07035.jpg


the thing that makes me laugh is the fact that the work was only about an hour but I spent six hours sitting and standing looking at my work. Wife was gone and the LD was in school. So left to my own means I did what I know is fun. Boy it was fun to be outside for a whole day working on the truck.

This is how it looked the next morning.
OpitimumONR11-6-07040.jpg


I am back to detailing and it feels good!!
 
hey Kirk the truck looks good :bigups but you probably need a rotary to really heat up the aluminum if you want a mirror ;)
 
Thanks Guys!!

Steve, I tried with the rotary for about three minutes. I am just not strong enough to control a rotary .....YET!! As time passes this will remain a work in progress. I was actually surprised at the change. I am going to get some dedicated polish for it sometime in the future.
 
Truck looks great and talk about some chrome highlights....that's got to be some work keeping up
 
cwcad said:
Thanks Guys!!

Steve, I tried with the rotary for about three minutes. I am just not strong enough to control a rotary .....YET!! As time passes this will remain a work in progress. I was actually surprised at the change. I am going to get some dedicated polish for it sometime in the future.
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I understand ;) you can also try some SSR2.5 for the first pass and then the PP both with the PC :)
 
As it happens I am working on the opposite side this morning. I am off to the store to get some dedicated metal polish to try.

Would SSR3 work as well Steve? I have both was just wondering....?
 
cwcad said:
As it happens I am working on the opposite side this morning. I am off to the store to get some dedicated metal polish to try.

Would SSR3 work as well Steve? I have both was just wondering....?
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SSR3 would be a bit too abrasive for that kind of aluminum :)
 
CW

Loong time no see, hope all is well with all.

Be very carful using a "Rotary" on Aluminum, here heat is your enemy, your working with a thin temperamental metal that "could" distort from heat.

In the past I have used a rotary on Aluminum oxygen bottles and Aluminum Diamond plate I have found the product i was using dried or worked past its limit extremely fast with in seconds at low speeds I did not have very good results, sling was a huge issue also.all in all I found nothing works better than your hand. I have in the past used with a DA with a slightly better than good results.
This is a trade secret for ours, a 5 year run with First place. SHHHHHHHH Image of check - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
"Heavy Metal®"
RED: Coarse Abrasive Polish,
GREEN: Medium Abrasive Polish,
BLUE: Ultra Fine Abrasive Polish
in everything I have come a crossed I NEVER have used red.... I call it liquid steel wool.
if you'd like to review this produce here is a link. Impressive Reflections - Heavy Metal Polish
take a some time to view the "See the Results" and "Hints and Tips"
looking at what you have at best you will need only blue, green as a back up for hard to polish spots... we have backed up this regime with Poorboys pro-p with some nice results on chrome, Aluminum showed a slight hue... (I did not use the Pro-p on aluminum a fellow member did i can not speak for his process)

Good Luck My Friend
Post B4's and After's
 
Thanks for the information BC. It has been a long time. Glad you posted with the info and the link. Steve advised to use SSR2.5 and I went out and did it. Will post pictures tomorrow.

Will look into this metal polish link as well for I know that I will be back at it again all to soon.
 
cwcad said:
. . . I am back to detailing and it feels good!!
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Unlike Beercan, Steve & BlueZero, I don't have any good advice to share, but I just have to tell you that it made my heart smile to read the above! :)

And if you haven't done so yet, you really should check out the trucks that Beercan has done . . . they are really first class!! :bigups
 
norahcrv said:
And if you haven't done so yet, you really should check out the trucks that Beercan has done . . . they are really first class!! :bigups
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Yes Norah, I did check out the link of shiny trucks. They were beautiful.

I am glad to be back detailing. I do not know which feeling made me want to get better. the feeling of being hungry to eat something or the guilt that I felt each day for nine months that I had not done any detailing that day. Doing anything is better than doing nothing. I am back to doing something everyday.

Thanks Norah!!!!!
 
I had a chance to get to the other side using some suggestions from the folks on the forum.
I used a 320 grit,1000grit, and 1500 grit sand paper with PC. Then I used the rotary and Poorboy’s SSR2.5 and finished off with ProPolish from Poorboy’s. It certainly is not perfect but a heck of a lot better. I have ordered other things and will post the results at a later date.

OpitimumONR11-8-07004.jpg


OpitimumONR11-8-07013.jpg


OpitimumONR11-8-07021.jpg


I think it looks better..... Do YOU?
 
Just have it painted black and save yourself all that work. It clashes with all the chrome you have anyways. IMO.:redface:

Polishing Aluminum is among my least favorite parts of detailing. Everything you use turns black (including me) and the big flat panels like that are very hard to make look right.
 
Troy@DetailCity said:
Just have it painted black and save yourself all that work. It clashes with all the chrome you have anyways. IMO.:redface:

Polishing Aluminum is among my least favorite parts of detailing. Everything you use turns black (including me) and the big flat panels like that are very hard to make look right.
Click to expand...

I guess it to each his own, but I agree with you on the painting of the panels, from two stand points...

1 easier to maintain

2 would even out the look of the trucks appearance....

also I would have to wonder about blinding the crap out of someone passing you...heck for that matter you could roast a small chicken in the reflection:D
 
I have time to work. Unfortunately I do not have money for a paint job. Just trying to make it look better. The aluminum canopy was a necessary evil. I did not have it made to make the truck look better just more serviceable for my needs. As long as I have it on I must make do.
 
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