- Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:54 am
#62716
PeteF - I included the professional paint polishing products because they work very well an metal too, especially aluminium; Britemax actually specialise in metal polishing products. We used jewellers rouge at work as a slurry on a 5-in disc to polish aluminium plates, it works but as I said before it make the most filthy mess imaginable; lab coat would come away looking like you'd been working in an abattoir or a horror movie. But you do get a mirror finish; and you would spend far more time cleaning it off than polishing the work. Small scale I use it on a piece of hide screwed to a square of plywood, a strop. To polish metal one needs to use progressively finer and finer grit; The Black Max will remove 4000 grit marks; there are other and coarser paint polishes e.g. Menzerna 2500. After polishing up aluminium needs to be sealed to protect it from oxidising, it is a "reactive" metal, it will form an oxide layer almost immediately, Al2O3, alumina (sapphire/emerald), in pure form this is opaque grey. Oil will seal aluminium but it doesn't last long, goes tacky and attracts dirt. Wax works better, that Rim Wax is easy to use, works better than carnauba wax on bright metalwork; there are other makes of wheel waxes but we want a full-on wax here not a cleaner. The best products for tarting up a bike are going to be professional car detailing products, they spend a fortune developing them for this type of job.
I make heel scuff marks on the outer casings, a few seconds with a spot pad on the DA polisher and they're gone.
I make heel scuff marks on the outer casings, a few seconds with a spot pad on the DA polisher and they're gone.