[kenykirschstein]

I built an aluminum frame from 1.5 inch square .125 tubing. The tubing didn't look that good so I thought I would try polishing. Went down HarborFreight bought a 4" spiral sewn buffing pad and some red compound. I put this on a 12,000 rpm grinder and went to town. Didn't pay attention to cutting or polishing and typically went perpendicular to the tubing. I was amazed at the results, I polished it so bright it looked like deep rich chrome. I then thought how much better if I did a professional job. So I researched and found this web site, looked at all the stuff I needed and then bought $150 worth of stuff. (Lot more expense then my $4 test case). I sanded the frame, 100, 150, 220, 320, 500, scotch brite. Ready to polish. Used a polisher, 3000 rpm with 8" wheel. Used the black compound and sisal wheel, followed by red and spiral wheel. The results wasn't what I expected. The metal polished but there seemed to be areas of cloudiness in the metal, areas of black residue in the metal. I tried more heat from the pad and some of the black disappeared but the metal still looked like it had a cloudy haze down inside the metal. The metal is polishing to a shiny luster, just cloudy. It doesn't look as good as my intial testing case with cheap supplies and no prep. I did not use the white compound with cotton wheel because I didn't think it would do any good and might mess up the wheel with residue. I'm sure it has to be an operator error. Any Advice? I know with the supplies and equipment I have I should get a deep clear shine.... at least I think so.