Begineer's Guide on How to Polish Aluminum

In this video I will be going over two different methods on how to polish aluminum. There are different ways to polish aluminum, depending on what type of surface you’re working with or what materials you have on hand. How much time you devote to polishing will also show the results. #polishing #aluminium #detailing
First I am polishing a switch panel, I am wanting to achieve a mere finish year. The part is washed to remove any contaminants. I have a bucket of water and I will be using wet-dry compatible sandpaper. The sandpaper is pre-soaked before we start. Only use wet dry compatible sandpaper as it will be able to withstand water exposure and not fall apart. A backing pad is also required on flat surfaces so you don’t create any deformities. Depending on the surface damage and the current finish, this will affect what type of great you start with.
This is new raw aluminum flat bar so there’s no need to remove any previous coatings, the surface is fairly clean and free of any damage. Therefore I will be starting with 800 grit. Water is applied to the service to provide lubrication. This also keeps down the dust and that is important with aluminum as it can be a health hazard.
If you do have an uneven surface, there is a previous coating, or there is surface damage, then I would recommend starting with either 400 or 600 grit sandpaper. The smaller the number of grit, the coarser of sandpaper. This also means that there is more work removing those cords or sanding marks and you will need to gradually move up in the grid ratings.
The 800 grit should remove a majority of the surface imperfections, this will be the longest sanding grit.
Moving on to 1000 grit sandpaper. Again the sandpaper was also pre-soaked, and water was also applied to the surface of the material, using the backing pad to work evenly across the surface. The direction of your sanding marks doesn’t matter. Make sure you go evenly across the part and rinse the sandpaper and part as needed.
As you sand, you will notice some material being removed and this is perfectly normal.
Now moving on to 1500 grit. Each of these stages should only take a few minutes. water was applied to the part and the sandpaper was also pre-soaked.
If you are working with curved parts, you can use a foam backer instead.
2000 grit is the next step. Always keep that part well lubricated with the water, rinse as needed. Make sure no contaminants come in contact with the sanding process as this can put deep scratches in the surface. If deep scratches are put on the surface, we will need to start over.
How much time you devote to this will affect the quality of the polished surface after. Light to medium pressure is only needed when wet sanding.
Finally is 3000 grit sandpaper. This is optional, you can stop at 2000 grit, however this will involve more polishing them.
The part is washed and now for polishing the aluminum, there are various products available on the market. Apply it to a soft cloth and work it into the surface. Work in multiple directions, eventually the polish will turn black which is normal.
Moving onto an alternative method to using sandpaper. This is a fender on a trailer. There are some marks from rocks towards the front of the fender and that can only be removed when using sandpaper. Instead of sandpaper, here I am using a stuffing pad, these are made by Scotch Brite.
The fender was washed to remove any contaminants and then I’ll be starting with the maroon pad which is rated at 400 grit. Again this is pre-soaked and water is applied to the fender to keep the dust down and provide a smoother sanded surface.
Using a scuffing pad will work better on an uneven surface, however it won’t make a clear mirror image at the end. This does not take the surface down evenly. Rinse the part and scuffing pad as needed.
The fender has water applied again and next we move onto the green scuffing pad which is rated at 600 grit.
Same process as previously, work evenly across the surface and rinse as needed. As mentioned a moment ago, these scuffing pads will not remove any irregular surface damage but rather work around it.
After I’m done with the 600 grit scuffing pad, here you can see the surface finish.
Finally is the white stuffing pad which is rated at 1000 grit.
The fender is finally rinsed off and dried before moving onto a polishing compound. This time around I’ll be using a machine polisher with a wall pad.
Apply more polish as needed and then finally wipe off using a clean cloth. A final polish can be done by hand if you wish.
Welcome to my channel, Matt's Metalworking. Please don't forget to hit that LIKE button and SUBSCRIBE for future videos. My name is Matt and I produce metalworking relating videos which can include fabrication, machining, milling, turning, welding, tool tutorials, etc.

[@slicktires2011]

Very good tutorial!

[@vin605]

Looks good 👍

[@Derpherppington]

I thought those are stainless steels