How to polish aluminum (how to make shineeee shineeeeee)

[efnfast]

Since I've had several people asking me about it, I figured I'd resurrect my old post from the old forum, with some new information.

If you want to polish a panel properly, expect it to take several hours (4-6) in order to do an excellent job.

If you want my opinion, after polishing EVERY single panel, don't. Powdercoat and carpet....you'll love it much more in the long run. If you just have to polish stuff, the only panel I'd recommend doing is the firewall - it's a nice flat surface and it's hidden underneath the shade of the body, so you'll never see micromarring on it because it's very difficult to reflect any light that way with the hood open.

Firewall
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish1.jpg

Keep in mind this is my perspective after polishing EVERY panel.

Underside of trunk
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish3.jpg

interior
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/pi4.jpg
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/pi1.jpg

trunk
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/trunk8.jpg

etc.. etc...

And yet here's how it sits now (the interior)

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/GEDC0866.jpg


Why the powerdercoat and carpet in the end - simple - you can't maintain it. Polished aluminum is very soft and will marr very easily (marring is microscratches that are visible when light reflects on it .... these are "scratches" you can see, but not feel). For example, here's a panel that was fully polished (as detailed below) then gently wiped with a microfiber cloth (high quality $15 purple cobra jr. from autogeek) (nb: the floor panel you're seeing below is the same panel as posted directly above - what I've done is darkened the room, turned on a very high intensity halogeen light onto it, and wiped it once or twice with a microfiber cloth, that's it)

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish4.jpg

You may say, looks fine, it looks shine. Right, but look around the light sources and note the micromarring. That's what you'll panels will look like after you wipe them down once or twice ... even worse if there's dirt/dust on them.

How about Sharkhiding them? It's a great product on milled, billet, brushed surfaces, but I don't like it on polished - it will bring out all the flaws in the aluminum. It's your call, but as a detailing obsessed person I wasn't satisfied with it on a pure polished, unmarred surface.

I wouldn't anodize the polished aluminum - it will fog up.

I also wouldn't clearcoat it - in order to do so you need to thoroughly wipe down the panel and make sure there's not 1 spec of polish left from the cyclo. When you do that, you will marr it, it's inevitable and the marring will be trapped underneath the clear and visible. Alternatively, if you don't wipe it down it will drip and look like absolute **** when they clear it (whether by paint or powder)

With powdercoat, it gets dusty you just wipe it off and it's good as new. With polished aluminum, you wipe it, you see the micromarring, you have to bust out the cyclo to remove it. Just not worth it.

So don't say I didn't warn you =)

[efnfast]

Initial Surface

We've all seen the dull aluminum. Not much to look at really.

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish5.jpg

Polished - this will serve as our reference
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish6.jpg


Initial Tools

Polishing from scratch is VERY dirty. You want to do it outside. I read a few websites that say you'll turn pitch black from it - nah, it's dirty but not that dirty. But try to wear latex gloves ... you don't want to be spreading it around inside.

Also, I'd recommend wearing a mask - the dust you'll create can be canerous/cause Alzheimers.

What you'll need is the following for a basic setup

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish7.jpg

-Portable work bench to place panel on

-1 (or 2 depending on type of panel) clamp

- 1 (or 2 if using 2 clamps) microfiber cloths

- Roll of low-tack masking tape

Essentially the clamps will hold the panel down onto the work bench while you work on it. You bunch the microfiber up, place it down, then place the clamp on it (as seen below) - you use the microfiber so as not to scuff the surface of the panel.

The low-tack tape is used to cover the workbench. No sense getting it dirty =) Plus, since you'll be switching between aggressive and fine polishes, when you move up a grade you'll want to re-mask the work area so your buffer doesn't pick up any of the old aggressive compound

This is the difference between fully polished and milled (I was trying out a bunch of different techniques here) :

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish8.jpg


Initial cut - tripoli & wetsand

The general purpose of the tripoli is to bring out the mirror shine in the panel. What we have is the following:

- Drill

- 6'' stitched cotton wheel

- bar of tripoli (brown stick)

Before beginning, examine the panel for any deep scratches into it. If there are, you can wetsand them out before beginning. I usually use 1000grit, as I fine that tripoli (as well as subsequent steps) are sufficient to remove them. Be careful about going too low, because I've found great difficulty removing all the marks when I start with 240 (going 240, 400, 600, 800, 1000). Usually, unless it is super super deep, 1000grit should be sufficient. Once you've taken care of any scratches, move onto the tripoli.

With the panel clamped down, start up your drill with the cotton wheel attached and 'burn' into the bar of tripoli for a few second. When you've gathered it onto the wheel, proceed to buff the panel. Essentially have the drill going up/down and left/right. I generally work in a 4x4sq. ft area. I do several iterations. You'll know you can move on to the next area when you can see a difference in the shine - essentially the dull surface turns into a mirror shine

I find I can get about 4x4 area before I burn the bar of tripoli to get more onto the cotton wheel.

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish9.jpg


Second step - Nuvite F7 + wool

From this point on, all termonolgy such as wool pads, fleecewraps, cyclo, etc... can be found here - http://www.perfectpolish.com/CycloPolisherforAluminum.htm

These guys supply Kirkham users with everything they need to polish their bodies; so if it's good enough for Kirkham, it's good enough for me =)

Essentially the cyclo is a dual-headed polisher. Works great on vehicles, and even better of aluminum!

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish10.jpg
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish11.jpg

- cyclo

- wool pads

-Nuvite F7


If you look at the panels int he picture, you may be thinking - but they look shiny shiny? Arn't we done? We could be, but under various sources of lighting (not pictured) you will see massive cut marks - the drill only works in one direction and leaves massive cut marks all over the places. Some people stop here because they think cut marks in metal is 'okay', but hey, we're here to do a good job!

Work in 2x2 area on the next steps.

Put a fingerprint of F7 every 1'' on the panel. Use your cyclo to smear it around your 2x2 work area, then start buffing. For this stage you really want to crank down on the cyclo, almost to the point of bogging it (it won't bog though). You want to apply a lot of pressure. The wool pads should do their job and cut the marks left by the drill and tripoli.

You'll know you can move onto the next area when the marks from the drill are gone and the panel seems a bit shinier .

Incase you havn't caught on yet, polishing metal is just like a car - you start with the most aggressive compound you feel you need to remove old 'damage', then use finer and finer compounds/pads until all marks from previous steps are gone.

[efnfast]

Third step - cyclo + fleecewraps + Nuvite F7

After trying many products/devices, I have no found anything that is as good as a cyclo and Nuvite products. However, the real key to removing most marks fomr the metal is to use fleecewraps - they are soft and gentle and do not leave marring behind.

Here we are ready for our next step

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish12.jpg

You'll note that I've wrapped the cyclo in the fleecewrap. Generally, I've found that I can use 1 portion of the fleecewrap for a 4x4 area, then I re-wrap and use another portion. If you use the same portion of the fleecewrap for too long, it will take longer and looooonger and looooooooooooonger to remove the polish, and it won't do as good a job.

Using a 2x2 work area, place a fingerprint of F7 every 3''. Now, smear it in with the fleecewrap.

The trick when applying Nuvite with fleecewraps is after your first spread of the polish, you want it opaque - this means that it is NOT thick and dark. The best way I can describe it is that it has a rainbowish hue to it and is semi-transparent (it'll be dark, but not super thick black). if it's super thick/black, you've applied too much polish. However, if after you spread the polish and you turn on the buffer, if it disappears in 1 pass then you havn't applied enough. it's a really fine science that practice develops.

Here's what I mean by opaque:

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish13.jpg

Do north/south then east/west motions in your working area. Eventually (usually under a minute) the polish will start to break up and disappear. Keep buffing the area even after the polish is gone, to make certain you've got all the residual.

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish14.jpg

The above is after cyclo+fleecewrap+F7. Looks pretty good still, right? Again, under lighting you'll see swirl marks now - not cut marks, but swirl marks from the F7. (no, I'm not going to spend an hour trying to capture the different type of marring under different lighting situations - you'll just have to trust me). However, this is necessary to remove the marks from previous steps. But don't worry, only 1 more step!


Also, the above illustrates the key about polished aluminum - if you can keep it out of direct sunlight (e.g., underneath the body and laying vertically, not horizontally) then it will look good - by having it horizontal in direct light you will see all the marring, etc.. etc... and the surface will not look perfect. The above panel is covered with swirls from the F7 (since it's not a finishing compound), but you don't see them because light is not shining on the panel.

cyclo+fleecewraps+Nuvite S

S grade is the final polish that gives it the 'pop' and removes all the marks from the F7.

Before beginning this step, remove the masking tape from your working table and replace it - we don't want to pick up any residual from the F7.

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish15.jpg

Cyclo wrapped up in a DIFFERENT fleecewrap, ready to go (remember, have 1 specific wrap for F7, and 1 wrap for S, don't use it for the same thing!)

The key here is to put a fingerprint of polish every 4-6'' or so. Again, smear it in with your cyclo, then proceed to buff your 2x2 work area. Once again, you don't want the polish to be thick/black; rather, you want it opaque.

After a minute or so it should all be broken down. Even once I see it's gone I still keep giving it a buff to pick up and black residue I may have missed.

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish16.jpg


The above picture probably doesn't look much different than the one above it, eh? That's because it's not in direct sunlight so you can't tell the different in marring (swirls) vs no marring (swirls) unfortunately. But again, that's the key in detailing - if you can keep it out of sunlight it will look good. Think of black cars you see in the parking lot - if it's overcast the black paint looks great in depth on most cars. However, if it's brightly sunny outside all the cars look like **** because you can see the marring from improper washing/lack of polishing.

Done:

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/polish17.jpg

[efnfast]

Btw, since it's very hard for me to illustrate how proper lighting makes such a huge impact ont he appearance of the steps in the polished aluminum above, let me use clearcoat instead.

here's my cobra back from the bodyshop, day 1. Looks good, right?

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/cbrfin1.jpg

Wrong (it's very very hard to find somebody who can paint like a pro, and detail like one as well - usually you're good at one or the other, but not both)

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/cbrfin2.jpg
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/cbrfin3.jpg
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/cbrfin4.jpg

Notice in the above how the halogeen lights are hazy/foggy (from a poor reflection on the surface) and all the swirls around them (from using a dirty wool pad and not properly prepping/finishing it)

After poor old Alex spends 40hrs on it:

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/cbrfin6.jpg
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/cbrfin5.jpg


See the difference - the reflections are 1000x sharper and no marring.

Same thign with polished aluminum - if you're not up close to it, and it isn't in direct sunlight, the surface will look okay. Reverse the two and you'll see a lack of depth, and more importantly, marring all over the surface.

[FRANKRAT]

Would you give us the details of how you polished/finished your paint job.

[efnfast]

Would you give us the details of how you polished/finished your paint job.

If you're interested in detailing you're best off reading a site like autopia.org - I can answer questions, but to do a walkthrough on how to properly polish a paint job would be at least 1/2 dozen pages and take a while to write, versus reading most of the stuff that's already out there.

But in terms of the above, it was wetsanded with 2000, then corrected with a flex 3401 using a purple foamed wool pad and 1-2 passes with Menzerna SIP, followed by jewling with a white pad and Menzerna 106. On some areas of the car one pass with pfw+sip was enough to remove the marring left behind, but in others the marring was pretty deep (my suspicion a really dirty/contaminated wool pad was used in those areas on a rotary) so I opted to wetsand and polsih instead of just polish it out.