Tiny scratches revisited

[gopedhead]

and it's 3600 rpm

[marsfrogie]

What is the wheel diameter?

[gopedhead]

6 inch.. do you have AIM? or aol that i can talk to you on instant message? thanks.. btw.. the metal is like cast metal

[gopedhead]

my screen name is radiocontrolhead.. i would like to talk to you about this.. i'm determined to get this high shine.. thanks

[marsfrogie]

Just click on my AIM icon at the bottom of my posts. If that doesn't work, I'm marsfrogie on AIM. Your wheel and buffer combination puts you at 5400 SFPM.

[whistule]

I've had this exact problem with scratches and this is the only absolute way of sorting it i've found>>

Use soap and water on branded (e.g. 3M) wet n' dry 120 >> 1200 using 120 to remove any major scratches in surface. Each grit of paper is worked in 2 directions - up and down tube first then round the tube and and the part is clean with a cloth between each grit. Then a spiral sewn wheel with tripoli compound. Then white compound on a loose cotton wheel cleaning with acetone between each stage. 6 in wheels at 3600rpm left too much compound residue so I now use 8 in wheels at 3200 and it works great. The loose wheel is used first to polish round the tube and then in the direction of the length of the tube.

This is bomb proof but I would appreciate any time-saving tips. I've tried cutting out some of the finer papers but the results and nowhere near as good.

[whistule]

I have since found if you use the tripoli wheel in 2 directions also then you cut out the need for any papering above 600 grit. The soap seems to be crucial.... and you can save time by running each grit of paper in one direction only as long as it is perpendicular to the way you used the courser paper before it.

[whistule]

Recognising my inexperience I have spent much time looking around on the web for info about aluminium polishing. I thought I would post the method that all the professionals seam to be using in case anyone is interested. Perhaps more experienced finishers on this forum could comment?

Here it is>> (link to full thread http://www.finishing.com/0800-0999/800.html)

Okay, there was a lot of good information posted but I just want to help all of you out. The tips given above are mainly maintenance procedures rather than professional. I would like to give you some insight of professional aluminum polishing. Firstly, get the compounds and use them. Use tripoli first with a spiral weave buffing wheel and then go to the white rouge compound using a loose section buffing wheel. Use a dremel and do not push, let compound work it self. All that it needs is buffing, not grinding. Before using the dremel and compounds you must sand. Use 120 grit for any blemishes in the aluminum you are polishing. If there are none, then skip right ahead to 320 grit wet sand and then 400.
A lot of people have said to go as high as 2000 grit. That is ridiculous and I will tell you why. First, you need to understand that in order to get a glass like surface shine, you need to make the surface smooth as glass. I hear a lot of people complain about clouding. . . this generally occurs for one of two reasons. First, they didn't stop at 400 grit paper. At the most you want to go up to 600 grit but only briefly. The high grit sandpaper creates too many tiny pores making your "mirror surface" an invisibly porous one which means that you can polish until your dremel burns up, you are not going to have a cloudless shine. Reason being. . . the pores are too small to get all of the ****, that you spent hours getting off, out of the pores. ahhh, the clouds are rolling in. Solution. . . stop at 400 grit. Let the polishing compounds do the rest. If you still want to go higher then a 40 after hearing that, then at most use a super fine #0000 steel wool but briefly. The scratches left behind from the 400 grit will be SMOOTHED out by the compounds instead of Scratched out with the sandpaper. Does that make sense? Okay, second form of clouding occurs from the all so wonderful "Mothers Mag and aluminum polish" I will not disagree with those of you saying that it is great stuff and that it improves the look at least 50%. In fact I could not agree with you more. It is great for maintenance of foot pegs, cans, etc. Not for truly polished pieces though. reason being coincidentally enough. . . black and white. Polish is white put it on and it turns what? Black. Yes, exactly what I want, black dirty greasy black polish on my more shiny than chrome rims. I will pass. Once that black stuff is all spread around on the surface you then take a clean rag and wipe it off. But are you wiping it off or wiping it in. Well, you are doing both but even if you are rubbing in just a little of the black, it is going to get stuck in the pores. Looks great at first. You are all ready to ride. check out those rims in a couple of weeks. You did polish them right because now it looks like you just stripped the paint. Enjoy polishing with mothers before riding as long as you enjoy re-professional polishing in the winter.
Bottom line, use compound not polish and stop at 400. Sure it is tedious but oh how rewarding. One last tip. Please please do not use clear over your polish job. You reduce the luster and then guess what. You just put the **** back on that you spent twenty hours taking off. I hope that my advice will save you all some time and aspirin. Let me know how things work out for you polishers.
Enjoy the ride!!!