Maintaining Polished Aluminum

[tonyvol]

Hey guys, I couldn't find a section to post this question so sorry if this topic is not in the right place. But maybe someone here could help me. Does anyone know how to maintain polished aluminum without putting fine scratches on the surface? I had some aluminum parts polished using a buffer and compound and it came out looking chrome with no fine scratches. I then used White Diamond polish with a microfiber cloth to maintain the shine and it put fine scratches in the aluminum part. White Diamond says it is non abrasive so I don't know what I'm doing wrong. What are you guys using to maintain your polished aluminum parts?

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/white-diamond-multipurpose-metal-polish-and-sealant-01/7590032-P

Thanks,
Tony

[ragz]

On my polished aluminum rims, I got them powder coat clear coated, my wheel guy said that with out it, I would have a nightmare, so I did and they are great.
Also doing same thing with my polished hood hinges,rad and any thing else safe in a powder coat oven.

[mc84_zz4]

I used Mother's Billet Polish on my billet wheels, and have tried it on chrome bumpers, window trim, and it does a fantastic job, even by hand with a micro-fiber cloth.
It leaves absolutely no fine scratches, and takes off haze and waters spots extremely well, something that wheels are a constant PITA.
I smear it one by hand and let it haze a bit, it gives great results by hand with little effort, go in sections about the size of your hand at a time.
My first lesson w billet wheels: never, never wash the car after driving it, the water will dry super-fast leaving spots everywhere.

HTH

Here's a bad phone-picture of 3 minutes of work on 30 yrs old door trim.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/02/image-1.jpg
The camera has a hard time focusing on the wheels, in person they look like mirrors
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/02/1373796_IMGJPG_Thumbnail1-1.jpg

[astroracer]

If you are polishing and leaving scratches there has to be some dust or grit on the wheel or in your polishing cloth to be causing them. You have to make certain the wheel (or whatever you are polishing) and your cloth are clean and dirt free. Without doing so you are only grinding that crap into the finish.
I've used both Mothers' Billet polish and the White Diamond polish. The White Diamond definitly gives a longer lasting shine.
Here is a link to the thread I made when I polished the American Racing rallye wheels I put on my truck last year.
https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/104542-Ordered-new-wheels-and-tires-for-the-truck?highlight=
Using a cone type polishing buff at the end really brought out the shine and the White Diamond was used by hand to clean off the last of the white polishing compound and seal the aluminum.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/04/ry3D400-7.jpg
Mark

[Schwartz Performance]

We absolutely love Wizards metal Renew and sealer products. The Renew gets any water spots off.. Ill send you a bottle for $12 if you want.

-Dale

[tonyvol]

Thanks guys for the replies back. I was using a new microfiber cloth and was wondering if I was rubbing to hard? Dave and Mark, your aluminum looks awesome, so I must be doing something not right.

[TheJDMan]

I have not used this but it is sold by Eastwood so it might be worth a look. Sharkhide Item #11983ZP

http://www.eastwood.com/sharkhide-aluminum-protectant-quart.html?SRCCODE=MN130110

I have also heard a lot of positive comments about Zoopseal metal protector.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ZSP-9551/

[65 drop top]

I've tried a lot of different polishes and like the Mothers Billet the best. But it's tough to maintain all of the polished parts and I have a ton. I had most everything under the hood clear ceramic coated. You will lose a small amount of shine but to me it is worth it to save hours of polishing. Almost every polished part in the pic has been coated.

[Corey R.]

Perhaps the scratches are due to environmental factors, and you just couldn't see them until you cleaned the part again. How much time and dirt did the parts see between the original buffing and the maintenance?

[jlcustomz]

I checked into what was used on 65 drop top's parts by Speedway polishing.
Cerakote mc 160.It looks like a cold cure clear ceramic coating . Listed as stable to 500 degrees, can be used on metals ,paint, fiberglass , etc. Looks like a diy product for someone that can paint. I'll be checking into it more, comparing their hardness & other specs to paint.
http://www.cerakotehightemp.com/finishes/MC-160HQ/high-gloss-ceramic-clear/
http://www.cerakotehightemp.com/resources/files/MC-160%20High%20Gloss%20Ceramic%20Clear%20Product%20D ata.pdf

Anybody else familiar with this stuff.?

[65 drop top]

I checked into what was used on 65 drop top's parts by Speedway polishing.
Cerakote mc 160.It looks like a cold cure clear ceramic coating . Listed as stable to 500 degrees, can be used on metals ,paint, fiberglass , etc. Looks like a diy product for someone that can paint. I'll be checking into it more, comparing their hardness & other specs to paint.
http://www.cerakotehightemp.com/finishes/MC-160HQ/high-gloss-ceramic-clear/
http://www.cerakotehightemp.com/resources/files/MC-160%20High%20Gloss%20Ceramic%20Clear%20Product%20D ata.pdf

Anybody else familiar with this stuff.?
I'm glad you were able to find out some info on the coating. I highly recommend it, it's pretty much invisible, and reduces maintanence by 100%. Just wipe it off with quick detailer and your done. No more polishing parts for me again, ever.

[hifi875]

man i don't miss polishing. Love my brushed everything now!

[tonyvol]

I've tried a lot of different polishes and like the Mothers Billet the best. But it's tough to maintain all of the polished parts and I have a ton. I had most everything under the hood clear ceramic coated. You will lose a small amount of shine but to me it is worth it to save hours of polishing. Almost every polished part in the pic has been coated.

65 drop top, how long have your polished parts been coated? I was wondering if they are any signs of peeling? Can you see that they have a coating on them? Also, were they coated with the cerakote high temp coating mentioned above?

Thanks,
Tony

[jlcustomz]

Tony, I'll answer for 65 drop top. He didn't know what product was used gave me the name of speedway polishing & their description of cold cure ceramic coating. I figured it might be cerakote, as they are getting switched to these days by a lot of powdercoaters. I contacted Speedway & they said it was cerakote. They said they have it on wheels & what not at least 9 years old that look like they were just done. Drop top's parts have been coated at different times, he wouldn't have posted if they were peeling. Speedway polishing has no website, but they did have a bunch of positive remarks pop up in a google search.

Take a look at late model car wheels from the last few years, such as some of chevy's shiny aluminum 5 or 6 star wheels. Very shiny, but not quite as shiny as a raw part done 5 minutes ago, but much better than a raw part that has gotten rained on a couple of times. Has the look of a high gloss clearcoat if you know what you're looking at. Nothing like the old lacquer clearcoatings such as seen on Honda motorcycles I worked on in the 80's.

I haven't had time to research the clear further, since I'd like to do it myself if I can . I'll share info when I find out. Looks like it could have quite a few uses for me.

[65 drop top]

Jlcustomz basically covered it. I've had parts done at different times the longest being probably 4 years or so ago, with no chipping or peeling. The cerakote is basically invisible, only noticeable if you know it's there and then you look for it. If you were to just walk by and look at my car you'd never see it. That being said, it's still a coating on the surface of the part.

I'm also considering doing some of my trim. Originally some of the parts were bright dipped anodized. The parts are so thin that you can't really re-anodize them with out causing pitting or holes. I've already stripped off the anodizing and have the parts polished, so I might either try to spray them myself or just take them to Speedway

Here's a closer shot with my iPhone. The manifold and a/c compressor are coated. The front runner bracket is not coated on the top but the sides and lower part of the bracket is coated. I didn't coat the top because it's easy to get to to polish. I'll try to take some more pictures later.

[jlcustomz]

looked into a little more manufacturer info. Looks like you just do as expected type of prep & spray with a fine tip gun, such as a .8 tip touch up hvlp gun. Appears to be a 1 part mixture. Looks like you'd use the usual auto painting safety precautions. The 1 thing I'm not familiar with is the tert-butyl acetate solvent, which is the recommended cleaning solvent before spraying. Spray gun can be cleaned with either this or acetone.
Cerakote also appears to be popular on the gun forums, so it has to be tough.

So it does appear to be a diy product for those with auto painting skills , tools, & safety equipment.
http://www.cerakotehightemp.com/resources/files/MC-160%20SDS.pdf
http://www.cerakotehightemp.com/resources/files/MC160%20Application%20Guide(2).pdf

[tonyvol]

Thanks guys for the info. on cerakote. I'm going to get some and try it out. 65 Drop Top's polished aluminum looks awesome.

[OneQuickCoupe]

Jlcustomz basically covered it. I've had parts done at different times the longest being probably 4 years or so ago, with no chipping or peeling. The cerakote is basically invisible, only noticeable if you know it's there and then you look for it. If you were to just walk by and look at my car you'd never see it. That being said, it's still a coating on the surface of the part.

I'm also considering doing some of my trim. Originally some of the parts were bright dipped anodized. The parts are so thin that you can't really re-anodize them with out causing pitting or holes. I've already stripped off the anodizing and have the parts polished, so I might either try to spray them myself or just take them to Speedway

Here's a closer shot with my iPhone. The manifold and a/c compressor are coated. The front runner bracket is not coated on the top but the sides and lower part of the bracket is coated. I didn't coat the top because it's easy to get to to polish. I'll try to take some more pictures later.

Nice looking engine to say the least. The top, exposed portion of the front runner bracket is easy to get at but the little nooks and crannies are a pain. I purchased one for my engine and had it chromed. No photos of it yet as my car is still under construction.

As far as aluminum scratch prevention goes, I feel a lot of fine marks come from the cloth used in the process. Some cotton diapers are very good. Zaino micro fiber cloths are the softest I've seen. Auto part store, Wal-Mart type of discount micro fiber cloth don't come close to the Zaino's. As a side note, I saw a large Airstream being polished to a mirror finish on TV. The last step in polishing this large project was to buff the surface with ordinary flour. The tech used the flour and a soft cloth to remove fine scratchs on the surface. I've never tried this process myself but I'll give it try on my next polishing job.

OQC

[jlcustomz]

Interesting on the flour use, it probably acts both as a fine rouge & helps pull the loose aluminum & compounds out of the surface pores. Probably much more useful on sheet aluminum, which requires some different technique than a solid item.