polishing Aluminum

[rugrat]

Anyone with any good tips for polishing Aluminium Sections

[Cannyfixit]

Yeah at last a subject I can contribute too

A decent bench grinder for a start,cheap ones just cant get the ally hot enough for the compound to work,I bought this one from Axminster tools
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod460430/
I removed the wheels and bought a selection of mops and compounds from
http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/
go for the Menzerna range they give a much better finish than the cheaper ones you see on Ebay and the same applies to the mops cheap ones just fall apart
you will also need some pigtails to fit the grinder shaft,I bought the closest I could find and shimmed it out with strips of coke cans
If you want the correct size you will need to measure the shaft and speak to them,I'm sure they will make you some to order
they also have a useful polishing guide,but if you Google the subject lots more can be found
http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/acata ... Guide.html
you will also need some PPE,googles good quality leather gloves and a over suit,
are you married ??? you wont be once you start polishing you will be coming in like you have been down the pit,cover anything that matters the black dust gets everywhere and I mean everywhere
finally practice practice practice it took me three months to get a respectable finish on my motorbike parts

[rugrat]

Thats great Gary I shall look into this more before we start.

[wrinx]

....once you start polishing you will be coming in like you have been down the pit,cover anything that matters the black dust gets everywhere and I mean everywhere

I used to do a lot of polishing when I first started working for a firm, making brass lighting....the comment above is spot on, first day I was literally covered!

My bit of safety advise is to watch out for "grabbing"...when the mop gets inside part of the workpiece (or an edge) and either tries to drag you into the motor or flings the job across the room Although we used machines slightly larger than those described above

Steve