cloudy sections

[saiyan7]

What type of metal polish do you recommend, and why is it that you do not like mother's. maybe I'm not getting my desired results because of my metal polish. I also have a product called 200MPH metal polish and the stuff sucks.

[mcaswell]

We recommend Flitz...partly because we sell it, and partly because of comments like the ones above about certain other metal polishes.

We have used Flitz, our customers have used Flitz and have found it to be an excellent product.

See http://www.caswellplating.com/flitz.htm

[crazieabe]

I like alot of polishes out there. They all seem to have certain qualities to them. Overall, I stick with the liquid polishes because of spreadability. Also, for some reason they seem to go farther. I hate mothers for all the reasons above and that it doesn't protect for long, and when the aluminum does dull, mothers makes it look like a **** yellow glow. I just hate that!

[crazieabe]

I guess that knowone really cares

[saiyan7]

once again this is a slow forum

[meed7]

I too have experienced hours, no make that weeks, of frustration over that haze that ruins your shine. I have tried paint thinner, Flitz, Mother\'s, Simichrome, Wenol, chlorinated electronics solvent, toluene, and acetone. I *do not* think I have a buffing compound residue problem. I still have a haze problem.

My current thinking is that this is temperature related. My haze problem was worst on large alloy pieces (Dunlop alloy rims) with a small buffer (1/3 hp) in cool conditions (50-60 deg F)... I don\'t think I am uniformly getting the surface up to a temperature where the compound binder (wax I presume) flows and really does its job. I don\'t believe I am seeing this degree of problem on small parts... the ones that get hot enough to make them uncomfortable to hold.

I also tend to suspect the possiblity offered here, that some alloys just won\'t polish well. Those rims in particular were made in the post-WWII era... who knows what kind of melted-down Lancaster bomber parts mix went into the alloy? Nice thought to hold as the speedo needle swings thru the 100 mark...

[saiyan7]

Crazieabe and I are normally speaking of newly manufactured items such as late model sportbike parts and/or semi truck parts. We can\'t be positive but the alluminum used to make these parts should be the same from model to model, yet the haze remains. just something that experience will solve I suppose.

[marsfrogie]

Alright, I have been working with polishing aluminum for a couple of years now, and I too have had the problem of getting rid of haze on large surfaced area parts, I have been able to obtain a very high gloss shine on small areas with a little work, but have always had the haze on the large areas. By reading most of the cases in this forum I pieced together teh information and have conducted a little experiment.

Hypothesis: The buffing compounds cannot do their job at low temperatures, they have to be liquified to perform their job properly.

I used one solid piece of aluminum as my control. I first wetsanded the piece of metal all the way to 600 grit. I then heated the metal by means of a propane torch and got it to a scalding temp. Then I continued to use the brown compound to polish the metal, no haze, then I worked up to white compound, no haze and a brilliant perfect finish. It appears that you can remove all of the compound when it stays in a liquid form. When I didn\'t heat the item I still had that pesky haze. I hope this helps all of you, try it and tell me what you think.

[saiyan7]

Now those are the kind of replies we are looking for. Thanks

[MetalMan]

I have had the cloudy problem for sometime when we do alot of aluminum parts at the shop. I sort of came to a conclusion that I think it is the type of metal compound that they use when creating these parts. However I have to admit it was good to see everyone brainstorming to com up with a solution. I will keep monitoring this post