Polishing Aliminum

[glemon]

I am trying to clean up some carbs a little bit, they clean up some but still look awfully dull and grey, I have tried various metal, chrome and wheel polishes as well as cleaners, I am not looking for it to shine like chrome, but I was hoping for a little better than dull and gray. Any suggestions?

 

[toysrrus]

Hi There glemon,

One of the most "Inexpensive" ways is with "Never-Dull". It`ll take a bit of rubbing (Several times to achieve a nice Polished look) but the outcome typ. is pretty nice. You can buy a can in most any Auto related parts store. It`ll last you a really long time as well.

Have Fun,

Russ

 

[hondo402000]

if you have a compressor you can soda blast them, it will clean all the crud off and not harm the metal or glass bead blast them. I soda blasted my rear trailing arm and it cleaned them nicely, then if you want the tops shiny you can polish them on a polishing wheel with AL buffing compund, most all supplies can be purchased at harbor freight

Hondo

 

[vagt6]

Glenn, I've had great success with this stuff: "<span style="font-weight: bold">3M Mag & Aluminum Polish</span>". It's parts # 051131.

I use it on practically all metals, including the annodized windscreen surround on my Midget. It also rendered my SU carbs looking like new - not all shiny, but very clean and semi-gloss looking.

It takes a bit of rubbing, and the oxidation comes off a black color on the cloth. It results in a very nice, clean surface that actually has a wax-like protective coating afterward. It works on any non-coated metal.

I got mine at K-Mart or AutoZone, I think. 10 oz. can cost about $10, and it goes a long way.

Give it a shot. Good stuff.

 

[dklawson]

One of the problems most people experience when polishing metal is that it either takes too long and they become frustrated or the end result may look shiny but uneven.

Treat polishing metal similar to how you would handle polishing paint. You do not start with the final polish. Start with a moderately coarse media and sand/polish the surfaces until they appear uniform. Wash the part to remove all residual grit and change to a finer abrasive. Repeat the sanding and washing steps a couple of times using finer and finer media until the part is uniformly finished with only very very tiny surface marks. Then switch to a polishing compound. I like Simichrome, others will have their favorites. You can even use paint rubbing compounds and glazing compounds... just don't START with them.

I typically start with something like 320 grit wet/dry paper then work my way to 600 grit and sometimes go to 1000 grit or higher before using compounds. Nylon abrasive wheels from the home center can be used with an electric drill to prep the surface in nooks and crannies. Just be aware that even the nylon brushes are available in different coarseness. Always start a little coarse and work progressively finer before switching to polishing compounds.

 

[martx-5]

I don't know how <span style="font-weight: bold">shiny</span> you want your aluminum, but in the picture below, the carbs and intake manifold were first thoroughly cleaned in mineral spirits and then scrubbed with steel wool that has the soap in it. Rinsed and dried, and that was it.

I like the clean, natural finish of aluminum.

 

[vagt6]

Very nice engine bay, Art, like she just rolled off the assembly line.

 

[martx-5]

Thanks, four years of restoration work has that affect on cars.

 

[glemon]

Thanks for all the responses, I have used a lot of elbow grease and various polishes with limited effect, I have polished other aluminum pieaces starting with fine sandpaper, but there are so many nooks and crannies in the carba I am afraid I won't be able to get into them all with the paper or if I did didn't know if I could get the sanding marks out of the those nooks and crannies.

Steel wool sounds like a good idea.

 

[Vaark01]

I used soft foam sanding pads with different coarseness. They are very flexible and get into the nooks and crannies. You can buy them at any hardware store. After that I used Mothers Billet metal polish. My manifold and carbs look great.

Paul

 

[Rhodyspit75]

Here's a site that explains how to make an almost free soda blaster. https://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/

 

[glemon]

I used steel wool followed by Never Dull, worked great, thanks, the steel wool really cleaned it up and prepared it for polish well.

 

[Brosky]

Guys, how about some pictures??????

 

[hondo402000]

that site to make a soda blaster looks good however I can tell you from experience a box of Arm and Hammer off the store shelf will not clean anything, I tried it just makes a lot of dust, you would need to get Armex its a courser grade of soda, Harbor Freight carries it in 50 pound bags. I actually soda blasted an old oak english pub table, it works great on hard woods and doesnt harm the wood fibers.

Hondo

 

[TR6BobNF]

Hi Glemon:
I polished only the tops of my Strombergs as I did not want to deal with all the nooks and crannies with the carb bodies. I started the same as everybody, experimenting with steel wool, scotch-brite pads and aluminum polish, in this case, Autosol brand. Results were so so at best. Prior to this my buddy glass bead blasted my carbs so they were pretty clean but I did not get the desired effect with the above polishing method. I started experimenting with my Dremel and found that the small. round brass wheel did the bob. I could see the effect immediately. After going over the whole acrb top with the wheel(s) (I used up three doing both carbs) I again used the Autosol and a soft cloth. I was really happy with the results. Note: I tried the Dremel stainless steel wheel and found it too coarse and it scored the body a little and I had to clean up with emery cloth and the brass wheel again. I have a couple of parts carbs and did notice that not all carb tops are real smooth like the first two. There is some scoring and rough texture tat would not come out but they still cleaned up nicely. If this crappy pic with the carbs in the in the background is any help I will try to get a better pic and post it. Good luck.

 

[Brosky]

Nice job on the T/A too Bob!!

 

[TR6BobNF]

Thanks Paul - nice compliment considering the work I've seen on your site.
Here ya go Glemon - a pic of the carbs only.
Cheers,

 

[Brosky]

I probably should have chimed in here early, but I almost forgot about something that I use that works very well on the carbs. Griots make an aerosol spray Metal Cleaner that is good for everything including stainless steel.

When I added the GP triple heat shield, I used some along with a tooth brush and micro fiber towel to clean up and polish my carbs. They came out really nice in all of the nooks and crannies and it leaves a nice protective film on them for the future. the more you buff, the shinier they get until it just becomes time for the Billet polish or a similar product.

I have the new 3" Griot buffer and plenty of their metal polishes and pads, so I may play with the carb tops over the winter if I get some time.

Some pics below:

 

[tdskip]

I have used the metal polish they sell in bars at Home Depot and a round cloth Dremel extension at high speed. Takes awhile but they will polish up as shown.

I'm not personally a fan of soda blasting. In my experience it leaves residue in the nooks and crannies, exactly where you don't want residue. As they say your mileage will vary.