As always when working with machines, use all the necessary safety gear. Safety glasses, gloves, and even a face shield. Big jobs such as this
When you are done you should have a finish that looks like the diamond plate on my Wing,
The most important step in the process is the final cleanup so I will start with that. Others may have their own way of doing this, but this is what works best for me with less effort involved. When you are done, if properly cared for, this shine will last up to a year.
You can do touchup by hand if necessary with this: http://bluemagicusa.com/index.php/blue_ ... cream_jar/
just remember, a little bit of this goes a long way. Wipe on, buff with soft cloth, and wipe off.
The second most important fact is if the finished metal gets wet by washing it or by rain, do not let the water stand on the finish and dry. Like any finish after wet, it will spot and after it is dry it is hard to remove the water spots. Just take a shammy or soft cloth and wipe it down.
The method I use to polish aluminum of any kind will work on stainless, copper and other metals. With the Aluminum, because it is soft, no matter what kind, the key is wiping off the polish and shining it. If you do not have a very soft cloth, non abrasive cloth, you will put fine scratches back into the finish before you are done.
When you are done, there will be remains of wax on the product that will need to be cleaned off.
When I am done polishing with the machine, use paint thinner to wipe the remaining polish off. The thinner dissolves the wax, and smears it everywhere, but no pressure is required to wipe it off. Once all the polish is off, I use a paste wax such as Turtle wax with the applicator that comes with the wax to remove the glaze left by the thinner.
The Turtle wax will only be effective with the final cut with the fine grit rouge. Any other grit and the wax will dull the finish somewhat. The Turtle wax also helps protect the final finish as it does paint.
The next important step is this must be done with a high speed machine. The combination of the speed (which creates heat) and the jewelers rouge is the only way to get this done. This will not work by hand or with a high speed drill.
Ok, you’re bored already….
You will need a high speed hand machine. A variable speed machine will work as long as the high speed is at least 10,000 RPM. Slower machines will work to some degree, but not like the high speed. You will not get the desired finish with a slower machine.
You will need 2 or 3 buffing wheels depending on the amount of steps involved in the process. If the metal is in bad shape, you will need to do at least a 2 step process. It saves time on each cut by doing it in steps.
You will need to change pads on the machine with each process as the pad will hold wax from the previous process and will not be as effective. You may need to cut across the grain at some point, but remember to do final cut with each polish with the grain of the metal. The cutting wheels are available in different grit as well as the polish. They are coded by color. The darkest being the course cut and the white being the fine or final cut.
The cutting wheels are available a various places. Some truck shops, or truck stops carry these supplies but you will pay a higher price for them and look like this: http://www.zephyrpro40.com/s2/Scripts/p ... ategory=78
The same with the Jewelers rouge and look like this: http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PRO ... UP2-4ROUGE. It is also coded by color by cut.
One other thing you need to know is that when cutting with the high speed machine, be prepared to hold on tight. I do not use the handle on mine as the handle gets in the way of freedom of movement. I use a good pair of leather gloves while buffing to save my hands and fingers and to be able to hold onto the machine as it gets rather hot while cutting. You will need to flip, turn, or reverse direction with the machine as you polish.
You may also burn up an older machine during this process. I have burnt the bearings out of 2 or 3 over the years. You may also set the buffing pad on fire during this process.
If you let the wheel get to close to an edge, or angle change of what you are polishing, be prepared to hold on to the machine. It will want to walk or jump the direction the wheel is turning. Sometimes after I am done or during the process my hands want to start cramping up on me from holding the machine. I guess that is because I am old….
Now you are really bored, huh?
Now as far as the actual polishing, along with polishing with the grain, you will push wax with the machine. That is normal. You will need to keep the pad loaded with wax as you polish. You will see the difference in the finish as the polish wears thin and at that point, reload the pad with polish.
Apply the wax by hand with the bar, or place the bar on the ground and put you foot on it and touch the machine to the bar to load the pad. Either way, it will want to throw the bar wax in the direction of the spinning wheel, so hold on to it.
Working in 4 to 6 inch areas, overlapping as necessary, move the machine back and forth slowly, left or right applying pressure or reducing pressure as needed keeping track of how many times you went over an area to produce the desired effect.
Keeping the pad loaded also helps with removal of wax while polishing. If at some point you will need to clean the pad, just use a file, or something coarse such as a brick to clean it. Then reload the pad with clean polish.
All the available grit of rouge is fairly simple to use with the exception of the final cut with the white rouge. The white is the one you will need to keep the pad loaded with clean wax and keep the pad clean of old dirty wax.
This has been edited several times for detail, and I think I have covered the necessary points. Just remember, the cleanup process as being the most important and to use soft, non abrasive cloth for cleanup. In the beginning, pick an area to be free with movement of the machine to get used to how it will handle before you start on smaller areas. Especially smaller areas near any painted surfaces.
If you have any questions, ask, or send me an IM.
