Any advice on cleaning / polishing aluminium ?

[Widget]

Hi Guys,

I have Aluminium sidesteps for my SUV that I want to clean up. I removed the plastic parts (see pics), pressure washed it, used some CT14 degreaser, scrubbed, hosed off. A good amount of dirt came off and much of it looks good, but, there's parts where dirt seems to have 'stained' the aluminium and hard to get off.

I was looking to get some 'Aluminium cleaner', but generally that could haze the (lightly)polished surface... though it could probably be polished again, I dont think I have the tools available to polish metal.

Chemtech: Other Products - Blitz (http://www.chemtech.net.au/cr_op_blitz.html) ( think this stuff says not to use on polished aluminium)



http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af101/Widget1983/Detailing/Exterior/Side%20Steps/20170520_154928_zps54brgtew.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af101/Widget1983/Detailing/Exterior/Side%20Steps/20170521_153001_zpsdfjc3yf9.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af101/Widget1983/Detailing/Exterior/Side%20Steps/20170521_152956_zpsvnpbqmhs.jpg


Any ideas on how to give it a good clean, while maintaining the shine ?

[connor]

You don't really need special tools to polish metal, I just have a little jar of mothers mag/aluminum polish and some microfibers. I don't know if Autogeek sells a product like it but nevr-dull works great on most metals. It's like a giant cotton ball with polish. Just rip a little piece off, rub down the boards, and buff the residue off.

[Tasmania]

Widget Get the Autosol........................................... ...................!

[RSW]

For that, I'd find a metal polish in a quart bottle, Wizard's would be my first choice. I'd wash with soap and water, rinse, dry but not well then apply the polish liberally with a sponge. Rubbing back and forth the direction of the groves or use an cotton terry cloth with the same movement. Then, I'd just wash the residue with soap and water. Assuming of course you can safely and legally wash that kind of residue onto the ground. Otherwise, go ahead and buff off the residue and throw the cloth away.

In my experience, any towel of any kind used for metal polishing should be thrown away. Even washed, they're still useless at best and really bad at worst for anything other than metal polishing and keeping them separate never seemed to work out for me. They'd get washed with the others or something and contaminate and ruin the bunch.

RSW

[RSW]

Widget Get the Autosol........................................... ...................!


That's great stuff. I'd use it after I got the majority polished with something cheaper. Have you tried it using a webril wipe?

RSW

[Eldorado2k]

For that, I'd find a metal polish in a quart bottle, Wizard's would be my first choice. I'd wash with soap and water, rinse, dry but not well then apply the polish liberally with a sponge. Rubbing back and forth the direction of the groves or use an cotton terry cloth with the same movement. Then, I'd just wash the residue with soap and water. Assuming of course you can safely and legally wash that kind of residue onto the ground. Otherwise, go ahead and buff off the residue and throw the cloth away.

In my experience, any towel of any kind used for metal polishing should be thrown away. Even washed, they're still useless at best and really bad at worst for anything other than metal polishing and keeping them separate never seemed to work out for me. They'd get washed with the others or something and contaminate and ruin the bunch.

RSW

A quart? There's no way...

[Tasmania]

No, but my next door neighbors bull bar went all milky after a automatic wash bay wash,

I hit it with Autosol paste and man does it look good, all by hand took me 4 hours =(

[RSW]

A quart? There's no way...

Wizard's comes in smaller sizes, I just wanted to emphasize - cheap, lol. For the first pass at least.

RSW

[RSW]

No, but my next door neighbors bull bar went all milky after a automatic wash bay wash,

I hit it with Autosol paste and man does it look good, all by hand took me 4 hours =(

I'm sure it looks great. Using something down and dirty for the first pass then going over it with the Autosol might have been faster.

RSW

[C5Longhorn]

Instead of using microfiber towels that would be good only for a single use, I use Webril cotton wipes to polish my uncoated aluminum rims. They work really well and aren't as expensive as buying MF.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Tasmania]

I'm sure it looks great. Using something down and dirty for the first pass then going over it with the Autosol might have been faster.

RSW

No to far gone, plus i love the pain =) lol

[PursuitDT]

Mag/Aluminum Polish & Foam Pads.

I use left over buffing pads (cutting and polishing). Cut them up in various sizes from thumb size to palm size. Use mostly cutting pads on aluminum wheels.

Did these yesterday for a client.
Not too extensive.

574255742657427

[vufindr]

My wheels are painted in the recessed areas and plain aluminum in the area that stands out the most. I want to polish the aluminum to look like chrome. I noticed the wheels have a "grain" almost like they were made on a lathe. Should I sand polish etc. the same direction as the grain pattern?

[C5Longhorn]

Are you sure the plain aluminum is not clear coated? If the recesses are painted, I imagine the aluminum is cleared.

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[Red Lehr]

My wheels are painted in the recessed areas and plain aluminum in the area that stands out the most. I want to polish the aluminum to look like chrome. I noticed the wheels have a "grain" almost like they were made on a lathe. Should I sand polish etc. the same direction as the grain pattern?

You won't get anywhere polishing the aluminum if it is clear coated or anodized. To get the mirror shine from aluminum, you have to get to bare metal, then you do the sanding if needed stopping at no less than 1500 grit,( I sand up to 3000 grit) then the buffing starts with multiple compounds. Then the final polish....no not with Mothers Mag polish, if you're really looking for the best aluminum polish ,PM me ..
Getting the mirror finish with no hair line marring or cloudiness is tough. Keeping the shine on the bare aluminum is really tough. I just applied Wolfgang Metal Sealant to one of my headlight bezels. Looks good so far, we'll see how it does over time. I have yet to find a permanent sealer that does not make the polished aluminum look cloudy. Here is a pic of my Galaxie,headlight bezels and grille are aluminum, trim is stainless....57587