TUTORIAL: How to polish aluminum LOTS OF PICS!! (and beer)
11-30-2009, 02:31 PM
#1
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TUTORIAL: How to polish aluminum LOTS OF PICS!! (and beer)
First of all... you will need PATIENCE... and beer. 
This is a 10-12 hour project for each valve cover, unless you have industrial machinery.
Start with this
Clean any qrease and dirt off...
Using a bit like this available from Home Depot in the Dremel bit section
Grind off the hard casting ridges that appear espeicially on the flange... Don't grind unless needed. It takes work to sand off the grind marks. Go all the way around the flange
Stop and drink a beer, you will need it.
Get some 400 grit paper and hook it to a handheld sander.
Drink another beer.
The goal is to remove the rough casts (this example highlighted from 10 seconds of sanding) until the surface is smooth.
With more sanding it comes clean
Keep feeding more sandpaper. Here you can see my third one falling apart.
More beer.
With about 2 hours' work you should have this pile of sandpaper.... and nothing shiny to show for it.
Time to expose the flaws of your sanding. Using a "Sisal" wheel on a buffing motor ($100) mounted on last year's Christmas Tree stand it's time to get to work
Another beer. You'll need it.
Touch some rouge to the spinning wheel and begin to buff in a close zig zag pattern kinda like mowing the grass
FLAWS EXPOSED
see the matte haze? the little ripples of crap?
This will all need to be sanded until glass smooth.
Time to stop for the day, but to keep my spirits high, did a 2nd stage buff on a spot to see the promise.
Starting again with a slightly shiny pile of crap... get ready to sand.... have a beer.
If the machines can't reach the spots then you're giving this wretched metal a hand job. Not fun.
I got LAZY, thought I'd stop at 400 grit and see if the machine would buff out the rest...
1/2 hour later
Sisal wheel is complete, with darkness and freezing temperature biting, you move onto the 2nd stage using a ventilated wheel available from Eastwood.com with brown "tripoli" rouge that has minor cutting action and minor coloring... best of both worlds.
Cold outside... moving inside using a "Drill arbor" available from Eastwood that you can hook to a drill
Keep drinking beer, it helps.
Wiping off the burnt on polish it still looks like crap
Better but not really the level I recommend seeing at this point.
Simichrome available at Eastwood and Amazon.com is the final paste polish. A million times better than Mothers (which I refuse to use), this is what I strongly recommend
Is that a light at the end of the tunnel or a train???
The finished result is utter bullcrap.
Hazy JUNK
Drown your sorrows
This is a 10-12 hour project for each valve cover, unless you have industrial machinery.Start with this
Clean any qrease and dirt off...
Using a bit like this available from Home Depot in the Dremel bit section
Grind off the hard casting ridges that appear espeicially on the flange... Don't grind unless needed. It takes work to sand off the grind marks. Go all the way around the flange
Stop and drink a beer, you will need it.
Get some 400 grit paper and hook it to a handheld sander.
Drink another beer.
The goal is to remove the rough casts (this example highlighted from 10 seconds of sanding) until the surface is smooth.
With more sanding it comes clean
Keep feeding more sandpaper. Here you can see my third one falling apart.
More beer.
With about 2 hours' work you should have this pile of sandpaper.... and nothing shiny to show for it.
Time to expose the flaws of your sanding. Using a "Sisal" wheel on a buffing motor ($100) mounted on last year's Christmas Tree stand it's time to get to work
Another beer. You'll need it.
Touch some rouge to the spinning wheel and begin to buff in a close zig zag pattern kinda like mowing the grass
FLAWS EXPOSED
see the matte haze? the little ripples of crap?
This will all need to be sanded until glass smooth.
Time to stop for the day, but to keep my spirits high, did a 2nd stage buff on a spot to see the promise.
Starting again with a slightly shiny pile of crap... get ready to sand.... have a beer.
If the machines can't reach the spots then you're giving this wretched metal a hand job. Not fun.
I got LAZY, thought I'd stop at 400 grit and see if the machine would buff out the rest...
1/2 hour later
Sisal wheel is complete, with darkness and freezing temperature biting, you move onto the 2nd stage using a ventilated wheel available from Eastwood.com with brown "tripoli" rouge that has minor cutting action and minor coloring... best of both worlds.
Cold outside... moving inside using a "Drill arbor" available from Eastwood that you can hook to a drill
Keep drinking beer, it helps.
Wiping off the burnt on polish it still looks like crap
Better but not really the level I recommend seeing at this point.
Simichrome available at Eastwood and Amazon.com is the final paste polish. A million times better than Mothers (which I refuse to use), this is what I strongly recommend
Is that a light at the end of the tunnel or a train???
The finished result is utter bullcrap.
Hazy JUNK
Drown your sorrows
Last edited by ~Josh; 03-05-2021 at 08:50 AM.
11-30-2009, 02:31 PM
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Lets try again using 600 grit, pop open a beer..
8 hours into the project you are still wetsanding....
Sisal again, one hour... beer helps
You find yourself chased indoors by the darkness and cold yet again...
Indoors get your trusty drill and ventilated buff... and beer
Looking better than the last time, get the Simichrome out and smear it on with the drill on very low (barely moving) and work the speed upwards.
Seeing promise!!!! MORE SIMICHROME (and another 10-15 minutes of buffing)
Things are really looking good. You can start to read labels... good sign.
A little more buffing and then some work with a micro fiber towel.... and you're DONE!!
Pop open a beer... you deserve it.....
Now onto the REST OF THE ENTIRE ENGINE!!
8 hours into the project you are still wetsanding....
Sisal again, one hour... beer helps
You find yourself chased indoors by the darkness and cold yet again...
Indoors get your trusty drill and ventilated buff... and beer
Looking better than the last time, get the Simichrome out and smear it on with the drill on very low (barely moving) and work the speed upwards.
Seeing promise!!!! MORE SIMICHROME (and another 10-15 minutes of buffing)
Things are really looking good. You can start to read labels... good sign.
A little more buffing and then some work with a micro fiber towel.... and you're DONE!!
Pop open a beer... you deserve it.....
Now onto the REST OF THE ENTIRE ENGINE!!
Last edited by ~Josh; 11-30-2009 at 09:15 PM.
11-30-2009, 02:45 PM
#3
Drifting
Member Since: Feb 2008
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WOw! That looks great! Great instructions, thats a lot of beer! LOL! If i start that project following the beer instructions I'll be passed out in my driveway. Hey, I'm drinking a beer reading this! Long lost brother?
Last edited by homewrecker; 11-30-2009 at 02:47 PM.
11-30-2009, 02:45 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
Lots of manual labor there. Looks good, but worth it? Lots of cold Bud helps I guess. I assume no more fuel rail covers? How about the coils?
11-30-2009, 02:51 PM
#6
Former Vendor
awesome Joshua! I remember back in the day asking you for tips on polishing.... not for me, haha. You are the polishing king, can't wait to see the Z's engine done as I'm sure it will in somehow trump the amazing work of art you had in the hawk!
11-30-2009, 02:51 PM
#7
if you have a dremel, go to home depot and look at the dremel section., they have these little purple sanding buffs. they dont last a long time but they will save you alot of time trying to get in the small spots.
what color rouges do you use?
what color rouges do you use?
Last edited by hatewhatownsyou; 11-30-2009 at 02:58 PM.
11-30-2009, 02:58 PM
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Thanks everyone!! Hope this helps a few out there looking for a project!
^ There are some small attchments on a mini arbor for the drill with yellow pads. Much better than a dremel kit (dremels are Mikey Mouse toys)
For rouge I used black (emory) for the sisal wheel. It has great cutting action, but is too rough for finishing. Then I use brown (tripoli) which has both cutting and color qualities. It's a good middle ground, follow up with final paste. I don't use white rouge. It has no cut, only color, and I find that Simichrome paste adds good color... why use white rouge if it's not needed?
No fuel rail covers will be on this engine..... coil packs relocated... all the wiring will be completely minimized so you will hardly see the fuel injector wires ( Guess I'll make another tutorial someday.
Minimized wiring... the engine looks almost naked:
For rouge I used black (emory) for the sisal wheel. It has great cutting action, but is too rough for finishing. Then I use brown (tripoli) which has both cutting and color qualities. It's a good middle ground, follow up with final paste. I don't use white rouge. It has no cut, only color, and I find that Simichrome paste adds good color... why use white rouge if it's not needed?
No fuel rail covers will be on this engine..... coil packs relocated... all the wiring will be completely minimized so you will hardly see the fuel injector wires ( Guess I'll make another tutorial someday.
Minimized wiring... the engine looks almost naked:
Last edited by ~Josh; 11-30-2009 at 03:44 PM.
11-30-2009, 03:10 PM
#12
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C6 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
Nice how to! And you drink the right beer too!
11-30-2009, 03:35 PM
#14
Pro
"You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!"
I'd given up after the first Bud. One of the best 'how to' postings I've ever seen on here. Nice job, great documentary on a project I'll never take on. Good work!!!!
Padrino
I'd given up after the first Bud. One of the best 'how to' postings I've ever seen on here. Nice job, great documentary on a project I'll never take on. Good work!!!!
Padrino
11-30-2009, 04:06 PM
#15
Racer
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ive polished a couple things on a 240sx i had years ago. valvecover took like 12 hours. i started at 400 and kept sanding in stages until i finished at 1200 grit
it looked good, but did need touch up work every couple months
nice job
it looked good, but did need touch up work every couple months
nice job
11-30-2009, 06:28 PM
#17
Le Mans Master
That is some impressive work!
I know that with me, the beer would win before long & I wouldn't give a crap about the shine.
Thanks for the pics & write up...I enjoyed.
I know that with me, the beer would win before long & I wouldn't give a crap about the shine.
Thanks for the pics & write up...I enjoyed.
