Any alum. polishers in the house?

[71GMCinTN]

Time to get these valve covers redone... anyone have any advice for a first time polisher? Learning what I can, and seems like alot of messy work, but seems it would be rewarding to learn, and save $ in the future. (or if someone here is set up to do it, and enjoys it... and wants to do these...lol)

[60ratrod]

one way i polish aluminum is by sanding with a fine grit sand paper, like 2000 grit or more. i've had more luck that way. but you can try to get some never-dull and use that. if you are looking to take the pits and imperfections out then first i would do the fine grit sanding then use the never-dull. this process takes time and patience, but will pay off in the end. and you don't have to switch out the sand paper very often. i find that using a piece that has collected a bit of metal dust actually polishes better than a wet sanding job. and after a round or two of the 2000 grit you can go higher and higher until you get it where you want it.

[cdowns]

i'd start those off with brillo soap padds to clean them up then to a quality polish//they should clean up really easily because they aint very bad to start with

[Hottrucks]

not sure if they have been washed yet butt hey don't look to bad..heres what I would do
wash them really well with mag wheel cleaner ( acid)
then depending on how they look ( should be flat not shiney) I would either

put a buff wheel in the drill press and hit it with some rouge ( you can buy a kit at just about anywhere) grap a pair of gloves and get to work..the problem with any of these ideas it sthe deep corners??

if there not to bad I would try one of two products either Flitz or S100

Flitz it available in alot of places I have had really good luck with this stuff and they have some great tips on there website. This stuff works just like any other polish but keep in mind a little of this goes a long way

now the S 100 ( got it at harley dealer) is completly dif....it comes in a round polish bucket with a sponge on top...you use this stuff with water and it cleans and polishs VERY WELL. I found this to be the better of the 2 for stuff with odd surfaces like your covers or wheels

after thought is
if you want to help get them clean use a soft tooth brush and Bonami ( its a scowering cleaner it looks like comet without the harsh grit so be sure to use it by NAME) its in the grocery store


hope this helps

[71GMCinTN]

Good ideas....... Did go by a carwash and sprayed them off yesterday. Was afraid to use the wheel cleaner on them. Used it on the Edelbrock Performer and Torker II intakes. Made the Torker II real chaulky. Was using some Never Dull on them last night, but didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Used to have some Flitz. Have access to a nice bench grinder, so I may buy some buffing wheels. Had also considered powder coating them Dormant Blue & clear coat. Know nothing about powder coating in general.

[71GMCinTN]

Happen to know where a box of Brillo soap pads are, so going to try them real quick...

[Classic Heartbeat]

Most if not all grocery stores sell them.. WES

[HOGDADDY]

Here are some buffs and compounds to use.

http://www.eastwood.com/buffing/meta...13-pc-set.html

[big_al_71]

post some pictures of the finished product!!!

[Notrodder]

That task seems like it would be a real pain and may yeild only mediocre results.

Here's another idea, sandblast them. Then with some 220grit on a small block, sand just the highs and leave the lows blasted. You could go with progressively finer paper 'til you get the polish that you like.

This would certainly be easier and might look real good.

[GRX]

I am a Machinist/Metalsmith and have a fair amount of experience polishing metals - from Chrome to Platinum. Cardinal rule ... clean thoroughly between grits. In other words, remove ALL particles, or you won't get anywhere. This goes for both sandpaper & buffing compound.

[oldblue1968chevy]

wash em, then brillo pad and eagle 1 etching mag wheel cleaner then some find paper and maybe some mothers alum polish is what id do (dont gotta be perfect but just purty good) (I have dd's and they'llg et dirty!

btw, SWEET VAVLE COVERS I LOVE THE RETRO OLD STYLE VALVE COVERS!

[68K30]

I use progressively finer silicon carbide paper starting with 400 grit, lubed with WD-40 [wet sanding] then finish with Mothers polish, small red and white container with screw on lid on a cloth rag. Try it you will be amazed, I polished some parts on a South Bend lathe I was re-doing and you can see yourself in all of the parts and was very easy to do. I forgot to mention the part were 'as cast' when I started.

Bill

[Shane]

you can also use kerosene with your sandpaper ... works miracles on cast aluminum