Polishing metal - aluminium, brass copper etc

[chr007]

As above, has anyone had a go at polishing.  Is so, what\'s the best kit?

Thanks...

[m1tch]

I would use Wet and Dry paper to get it to a smooth finish, working from rough to fine paper, then get some Meguirs metal polysh and finish the job off:



Thats just me using a tiny bit lol

[chr007]

This looks good man.  But is there any specific kit that u can buy that includes all the stuff to get it to this kind of finish. Thanks for the reply.

[m1tch]

To be fair the aluminium on that IC was quite smooth already, I have polished an intake manifold on my other car, it takes time and patience. Check out wickes or B and Q for some wet and dry paper, just work from course to fine. Then use some of the meguirs polish to finish it off, the more prep work you do, the better it will be

[chr007]

Thanks man, i\'ll try that.

[Ricco_04]

Not sure how good the kits are but I have seen some on ebay before.

As Mitch says though, wet and dry then polish - Can also get from Halfrauds or Motorworld

[shaunwil]

Plenty of elbow grease too !

There are some quite good threads on the subject if you do a search A lot of people buy electric drill based kits for doing bigger areas !

I ended up giving up half way through smoothing the plenum (after about 3 days of work) and power coating it !

Shaun

[chr007]

Thanks for all the replies guys, i\'m just trying to make the piping and intercooler look a bit better.

I found this kit, is that any good?
http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/acatalog/Standard_Polishing_Kits.html

[lee mills]

Thanks for all the replies guys, i\'m just trying to make the piping and intercooler look a bit better.
 
I found this kit, is that any good?
http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/acatalog/Standard_Polishing_Kits.html

 
yes thats what you need to get started. I cannot emphasis enough that all the hardwork is done in the preperation
 
Thanks
Lee

[Nik da Greek]

I use this very kit from the Polishing Shop, but like Lee says, it\'s all about the prep. You have to spend hours with ever finer grades of wet and dry paper (aluminium oxide papers generally work best) before you can even start to use the polishing mops and compound. There are no short cuts, there really aren\'t! A bench grinder makes the polishing part easier if you have one with a pig-tail arbor, generally easier than trying to hold both the work and the drill and keep them consistent to each other. Good luck, and wear a mask and goggles, or you\'ll be coughing up black sh!t for days and look like you\'re wearing mascara!

[chr007]

Thanks for the tips. I didn\'t know u had to use a mask to do this, cheers for telling me man!
I\'m afraid i have more questions, What sort of wet and dry paper do i need (thickness-wise) and where can i get it from? Thanks...

[lee mills]

you will need various different grades ranging from rough to smooth and you should be able to get it from halfords or any other motor factors
Thanks
Lee

[m1tch]

I know hellfrauds aren\'t very good usually, but they do a \'project pack\' with different grades, check the back of that and it will show what you should use when. Also metal polishing is like paint polishing, scratches made by machine can only be taken out my machine. Personally I do it all by hand, it takes longer, but its worth it cause you can make sure you only take off what you want and not leave gouges in the metal.

[Ricco_04]

Suppose it depends on which branch you use. I picked up 80, 120, 200, 400, 800, 1200 & 1500 grit from mine (there where others but didnt need them )

[Jin Kazama]

Thanks for the tips. I didn\'t know u had to use a mask to do this, cheers for telling me man!

Very good advice, it is a filthy job.