Polishing Aluminum... How?

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WhiteExpress

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Well, I bought a used BT Catch Can, and it appears to have been installed and neglected in terms of keeping up the beautiful finish.

The aluminum is pitted (not horridly, but not 'lightly').

I have some 3M Metal Polish that worked pretty well with just a quick once over, I think I might have to use something more abrasive to get all the pits out.

I'd like some info on how to bring it back to pretty shiny and also something for how to seal / protect it. If I have to polish it every month, I'll scuff it and paint it black!

Thanks in advance!
 

Designflaw

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If you want to go cheap, get a kit from Harbor Freight. It has a wheel and 3 bars of polish with pretty good instructions. should take you about 10 minutes max to run through the 3 steps. Then seal it. I like Zoopseal but its $$$$$ but you won't have to do it again for 2-3 years. :drunk:

Thought I would add what a kit looks like just to help out. HF's will be half of this but have what you need for 1 or 2 jobs.

http://www.eastwood.com/aluminum-po...=40408681047&gclid=CN2S4tTwxbgCFcZj7Aod7UEAkw
 
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Chewy

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You can use some 1500 then 2000 grit and then polish it up with some metal polish. I prefer Adams metal polish, but most would know that... :) It happens to be on "daily special" today too. It makes aluminum look like Chrome.

I wish they anodized them. I have a can on my G8 that's anodized and looks as good today as it did nearly 5 years ago.

Chris
 

audio1der

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^ I concur on the paper.
I used 320, 1000 and 2000 grit to make the inside of my PTB nearly shine, and only had Meguiars pro paint polish (# 95 then #83) to use,and think it came out pretty spiffy considering the machining marks it started out with which looked like clearly visible ribs.. And you have a MUCH better finish to start with; a sheet of wet sand 1000 and 2,000 and some liquid metal polish should do the trick.
As for keeping up the finish? Not sure whats available near you. I use Nev-R-Dull wadding polish to clean and polish metal, then "Sheila Shine" to protect.
 

AdamsPolishes

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If there is any trace of pitting, then you need to hit it with paper as mentioned above. Dedicated metal polishes aren't aggressive enough to remove enough material to smooth out pitting.

Once you've got it to the point where the pitting is gone (or much less noticeable) then you can hit it with metal polish to bring out the shine!
 
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WhiteExpress

WhiteExpress

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Thanks all! There certainly is some pitting.
I'm just very nervous to ruin the beautiful machining!

I'm going to order up some "Simichrome" polish today, it seems to be a favorite all over the net.
 

Ruiner

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I've heard that stainless steel cleaner works wonders too.
 

audio1der

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Hope it works for ya. If you read enough you'll find people who swear toothpaste can polish anything...
at one time the headlights on my car were minty fresh (but no clearer)
 

johnnysart

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Thanks all! There certainly is some pitting.
I'm just very nervous to ruin the beautiful machining!

I'm going to order up some "Simichrome" polish today, it seems to be a favorite all over the net.

Try SOS pads, before you start polishing it.
 

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