Fuel Tanks

[Swampy]

Hi guys

1st post hope many more. I have read quite a lot of things about polishing metals, and i must there is quite a lot to it more than just meets the eye. However i have a need for some advice with polishing large aluminium diesel fuel tanks on a Kenworth truck these tanks are large capacity ie 250 gallons some round some square.. I was wondering what type of buff would be best suited to use on this type of surface. I also have a large bullbar on the front which has been sandblasted by constant roadside dirt, again with a large flat section. I see that most of the buffs i have seen here are mostly thin about 1 2" wide but a large dia. i could see that this would take quite a long time if i were to use the edge of the buff. can these be used on a angle grinder so as the larger portion of the buff be flat against the tank sides instead of the edge. I hope i am making myself clear here.. any thoughts

Thanks in advance

Swampy

[Maicojames]

Swampy, I no truck polisher. I did notice an operation in Casa Grande, Az where they polished trucks. They put the wheel on typically a 7/9" angle grinder/polisher/sander-and used the edeg of the wheel.

In the photos section, I see a KW truck wheel polished-the buffs are still in the picture. There are some methods where a special face pad is used, mainly to shine Airstream trailers and Aircraft. These surfaces are typically smoother than those on a truck-there is even an orbital cyclo or something polisher for fine finishing. Looks like carving a tunnel to me, especially the planes-painted a Beech Bonanza yrs ago-that is a lot of sanding-don't wnat to think how much polishing a plane would take..

Looks like you use the same techniques as buffing parts, you just use a portable electric angle grinder instead of a stationary bench buffer motor.

Hope this helps some.

James

[amerdunbar]

I learned a lot of polishing tricks from the guys out at Little Sister's Truckwash in Barstow. If your tanks are sandblasted, and I'll assume they are if it's been over 3 months since they were polished, a best result would be wetsanding them with 200 or 400 grit paper - use fuel instead of water. If you have a vibrating sander, it'll make it a LOT easier.
Or, if you're near a Blue Beacon that still does acid whitening (many have stopped due to EPA regs), it will open up the metal for polishing, provided it's not too rough.

Get a good grinder/polisher. DeWalt seems to hold up well. You want 3000-4000 RPM tops, a lot are 10,000 RPM, and other than destroying your wheel, it'll burn the aluminum. I always only used the yellow wheels with green rouge (from TA truckstops). You can use the white wheel and white compound for a final buff, but if you're driving the truck, it's really not worth it - things dull entirely too quickly.

You'll use the edge, put the rouge to it so that it melts onto the wheel, then start at the bottom, moving up in back and forth strokes. You'll have to keep putting the rouge on as needed. That puts the "cut" into it. Then you'll do the same thing, starting at the top, working your way down.

First time, tanks will take about 2-3 hours to start looking decent. As for the bullbar, I don't know if I'd attempt it. Stuff out front gets sandblasted so bad, that it would take a LOT of sanding and even grinding to get it ready to buff.

[CASBEN]

I know it might might be a late post but i just recently read this.
But if it helps you with the tanks theres no problem

About a year ago i polished the tanks on a 99 kenworth, and they came out pretty good. They were pitted from road debris but the black compound and a hard wheel cleaned it up very nicely. I then moved up to the brown and then the white. I got a very clear shine and had no problem. I didnt sand them at all, so there are still some very small pits in them(the only way you can see them is if you put your face right next to it and look really carefully). The part of the tank under the sleeper that i couldn't get to with the 8'' wheels i did by hand with a microfiber and the compounds. I also have done like 4 different aluminum rims from the same truck (ive posted some pictures). As for the care, I only clean and polish them once a month in the summer, but in the winter youll need to clean frequently to avoid the road salt from sticking to them. I also coat them with a thick coat of wax and have no problems