Polishing Problems

[1105]

I posted this in the Talk Section too, but I also want to hear your opinions on this too... I've seen some engine bays on here that just look awosem so I know ya'll know what your doing.

I have no clue of what the hell I'm doing wrong but everything I do seems to come out with a dull shine. I dont know if its the wheels i'm using, compound, procedure, or something else but I cant seem to get anything to have a nice shine to it. I'm using a die grinder so everytime you put some presure on it, it bogs down a lot so that might be my reason its not working. Heres a picture of my intake cover that I polished up before, looked dull, then wetsanded with 1500 and hit it with tripoli then white rouge but its still not shiny. Someone help me out there! I'mm get a picture of the wheels I use later on.

 

[Killercanary]

I'm not the polishing guru that some are on here, but I can promise you that if you now take a sponge applicator with mother billet aluminum polish it will shine ike no other. White rouge doesn't give it the chrome like shine that the mothers stuff does. It is timie consuming as the shine won't come out right away, but if you just keep working one spot by hand with the mothers your mouth will drop.

 

[984.6gt]

Looks pretty sweet to me.

 

[mytight95]

me too , but if your a perfectionist, i agree with killer

 

[Killercanary]

The mothers billet polish will make what you have already done look "white" compared to a chrome like mirror shine after hitting it with the billet polish.

 

[1105]

I have the Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish... Is that the same thing? I just went over it once with that stuff to remove teh compound left over.

 

[stang22]

I am no perfectionist either, but I just used tripoli and white rouge and it came out looking like chrome. I would have to see some stuff polished with the billet polish and the same piece polished with white rouge to be convienced. I had some pretty good results with tripoli and white rouge...

Tim
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=413652

 

[95StocK50]

I am no perfectionist either, but I just used tripoli and white rouge and it came out looking like chrome. I would have to see some stuff polished with the billet polish and the same piece polished with white rouge to be convienced. I had some pretty good results with tripoli and white rouge...

Tim
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=413652

i'm no where near the polishing stage with my upper trickflow but where do you get this tripoli and white rouge stuff????

thanks
nathan

 

[stang22]

Loads of places sell it. Sears, Lowes, and a few others. I buy all of my polishing stuff from Eastwood Co.

Tim

 

[1105]

i went back over it with my bench grinder (3500rpm) and this is how it came out. Its better but no where near what it should be like. Anymore guesses as to what I could do?

 

[1105]

Heres the wheels I'm using

 

[1105]

I dont get it... I did the same to my back plate as I did to this piece of aluminum and this came out nice! And sanded it with 100, 180, 320 and thats all! Maybe theres something different about the metal in my intake? Both are aluminum as far as I know... Back out to play around some more

 

[OrangeMustangGt]

listen, this is key: i had a atv which i polished alot of aluminum on, here it is: you MUST use the mothers Paste type, which you have in the bottom pic. However, dont stop with one coat, each time you apply the polish really really work it in, till its black, thats the oxydation, aluminum coming off. whipe it clean, and really wipe hard till its clean. Then do it again, each time you will see it will get shinyer. I had a grab bar on my atv, it was that dull aluminum color, after like 8 coats, buffing real fast with a rag, it was like a mirror. try and tell me how it works out

 

[OinkAodeOink]

zach, all those buffing wheels look to be too soft. Those wheels will never actually "cut" the fine sanding scratches out, inturn not creating a chrome line shine.
Try a firmer wheel even with the white rouge. Then as a last step, try one of the wheels you have, with some Mothers polish.
I have a few wheels that would work well with the white rouge. I'l trade ya for one of your softer buffing wheels. Just stop by on Tues, and well test out another wheel, im pretty sure thats your problem.

Remember to let the compound do most of the work, insted of spending hours sanding.. My intake was final sanded with 400, and a light sand with 600. the comound cut the rest. ( tripoli, white rouge, then mothers)

 

[94GTLaserRC]

Zach:

Mike (Oink) sure has a way of making us feel like crap, huh.

In addition to what Mike said, also make sure you are using the highest speeds possible with the drills. An electric drill is much better than cordless. Also, I noticed that when I do small pieces with the Dremel, they come out nicer because of the high speed. Unfortunately, you cant do that with the intake. Keep working that stuff in.

Post some more pics.
RC

 

[Venom351R]

want to touch the hiney

 

[noslow5_0]

i got a mini die grinder from lowes for 20 bucks to do mine with rather then a drill.... you really need a big compressor to support the grinder though. it takes lots an lots of time... my explorer lower took me 2 full days of none stop sanding/polishing to get it done.... But that was with a corded drill spinning at 1200 rpm. With the grinder spinning at 20,000 rpm i tend to go through the cotton pads a little faster (hehehe) but the shine is incredible... just remeber the more you polish the better it will come out.... Good luck!!!

 

[1105]

RC, the drill I have is only 1200rpm so I'm going to be getting a new one and the diegrinder bogs down everytime I put a slight bit of pressure on it so I did thoes with the bench grinder (3500rpm) and they came out better but nothing like how I wanted.

Mike, which wheels(s) do you want? The small ones (going from bottom up) are used for: Mothers Polish, Black, White Brown. Just let me know which ones you want and I'll bring them. I'm sure the ones with mothers on them will work with compounds since they havent been used but once.

 

[OinkAodeOink]

ah thats ok, we have a few extra, if it works better then what you are using, you can have it. Those wheels do look to be too loose for what your doing. They are more for a final, final polish, to remove micro scratches. I have one of those wheels and its so loose, i have trouble getting the white rouge to even stick.

 

[mytight95]

can you guys post a pic of the tripoli, and the white rouge? Are those the brand names or what? I already have a bunch of the mothers, but want to pic up some of the other stuff. And i have heard to use the aircraft paint stripper, where do you get that at?

I believe i am going to polish out my intake, finish the shine on my fludyne, polish the bottom of the dist., and maybe even polish out some of the engine brackets.


help would be great.



jason