Polishing Diamond Plate tool boxes

[Da Fats]

Okay... I live in redneck land... Every truck has a terrible ugly dull tool box.

I tried to to do a test with the makita and a couple twisted wool pads but a 2x2 ft section ran through 3 7 inch padsa ll caked up with polish and black residue... I feel like I may have been using to much polish I ran through a lot of optimum metal polish ( 1/3 of a 8oz bottle).

what products/pads and technique are you guys using.... what speed? I ran about 1500 - 1800

Also the raised diamond bats tend to hide tarnish aroudn the edges... How are you guys getting that out? Do you require the owners to unmount the boxes?

Thanks in advance


Chris

[JonMiles]

Megs 105 on a wool pad will get rid of most the crap on a nasty toolbox, then follow with a metal polish to clean everything up even more. I get rid of the black residue with megs body solvent and just wipe away, a toothbrush helps around the edges. You can put a sealant on to protect the look afterwards.

[Harleyguy]

Just to throw it out there look into the Flitz products they work great but i haven't used it on any diamond plate.In the past when i was in the Fire Department on Long Island we used to use Never-Dull on our diamond plate.And fire trucks are loaded with diamond plate those were the days when we did everything by hand no machines LOL

[Pockets@PoorboysWorld]

I use Poorboys Pro Polish on the diamond plate on my firetrucks..... works great with a wool pad just have to use a screw driver to spur up the pad every so often than go to work again. I than seal it up with Wheel Sealant to prevent it from oxidizing again two coats of that does the trick. Cant really tell you how long that lasts on there becasue they are parked inside and not exposed to the elements.

[Da Fats]

I use Poorboys Pro Polish on the diamond plate on my firetrucks..... works great with a wool pad just have to use a screw driver to spur up the pad every so often than go to work again. I than seal it up with Wheel Sealant to prevent it from oxidizing again two coats of that does the trick. Cant really tell you how long that lasts on there becasue they are parked inside and not exposed to the elements.


Chris do you keep going with the same pad once it is loaded up with black stuff just by spuring it out?

How do you get into the crease were the raised diamond bars move elevate off the base plate? I have crap in that crease that is not coming off when i run over it with the rotary

[JonMiles]

open the toolbox, it gives you more clearance...for really tight areas you might have to do it by hand

[Da Fats]

Haha after reading what I typed i relize it makes no sence... What I ment is that the texturing on the diamond plate itself traps the tarnish... even tried using a tooth brush and more polish to scrub it off but its not cleaning up

[JonMiles]

Remove it using chemicals, either glass cleaner, soap n water, or body solvent. Just spray whatever you are using on the box and wipe with a microfiber, the tarnish will come up. The edges are only stubborn if the box is dry.

[bige441]

I have used the wolfgang metal compound and the polish with great results. Compound with a twisted wool and the polish with a Purple foamed wool. A little trick to get the black oxidation off is to use a little bit of flour on a micro fiber. And spur the pad after every few passes. Then seal with PB wheel sealant.

[cnfowler]

I recommend you read this:

How to Polish Metal (http://www.autogeek.net/metal-polishing-how-to.html)

I came across this video put together by AG. They are polishing the diamond plate corners on a Jeep Wrangler. They take you step by step, and the end result is awesome.

Colin

[cnfowler]

There's a video of AG polishing out the panels shown on the link. I'm just having trouble finding it. It's been a while since I watched it. I'll keep looking and post a link if I find it.

Colin