what OTC aluminum polish is good?

friend gave me his power cooler to polish and i got sanding marks off so far and need to get mirror shine back. what can i get in regular store that will work. i used optimum polish before and it worked best out of all others. just used mothers chrome polish and it did ok but not what i want
he was so nice and scuffed it with 400 and 600 grit paper :wall::thud:

before


after


just tried p21s polishing soap on yellow pad on DA and it brought more reflection to it. just wondering how much i can bring back. some parts that were not scuffed with sand paper have more reflection

 

Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish followed by Mothers Billett Polish some of the better OTC metal polishes But if he used 400 then 600 I suggest you continue to wet sand with 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 (3000 is optional) then you can proceed to polish by hand. Because those are some seriously deep scratches that wont come out with metal polish unless your hitting it with a rotary and wool pad made for polishing metal.

http://www.autogeek.net/blackfire-pre-polishing-wool-pad.html

[video=youtube;U7gCfsIt06Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7gCfsIt06Y&feature=player_embedded[/video]

 

i did follow with up to 2500 grit paper which removed scratches he put on thats before pic is after wetsanding by me

 

Oh thats good then you should be ready to go straight to polishing with mag and aluminum polish and then to billet polish, both are far better than the chrome polish your using which is watery these are paste. You can pick them up at virtually any auto parts store or walmart since they are an OTC line.

 

When you are ready for the final process to help get a shine, i would try Simichrome and see if that gets the desired effect.

 

what store can you get simichrome?

what about meguairs stuff?

 

megs nxt metal polish.

 

will i need both aluminum polish and billet polish or just billet polish?

 

I know you are looking for an OTC product, but you look into the original heavy metal polish trio. I have used these polishes with a drill mounted buffing wheel and the PC using various pads. These polishes will bring back the shine. Just remember to shake the bottles well before using each polish, as they contain metal polishing compound. I purchased mine from brilexsoltions in Northampton PA, who no longer sells these polishes. They do however sell a range of polishes from Gliptone, which they developed with Gliptone, whose description sounds very similar to the heavy metal polish. I have not used the Gliptone line-up, but they do sound interesting.

If that is not something you want to try, then try various paint compounds and polishes by machine with various pads.

 

One more point. Be sure to wear disposable gloves, safety glass and other personal safety gear when polishing metal.

 

You need both Misha the first is for heavier defects and the second is for maintaining the shine and bringing out the clarity in metals basically like a medium polish and a finishing polish

 

figures. thanks for the help

 

No problem let us know how it comes out

 

U should get it chromed so u don't have to worry about upkeep.

 

chemguys99 its not mine so im not worring about upkeep. i might coat it with cquartz though

and i picked up mothers mag polish and results came out good but i wana try billet after and see if its gona be better

 

looking good. i love your 50/50!good difference!

 

I was going to recommend Bombs Away Metal polish, but it looks like you got it pretty good with the Mothers MAP.

Bombs Away, Metal Polish and Sealer - One 8 oz. Bottle

BA is one of the best metal polishes I've tried. It never ceases to amaze me at the crap it will take off of metal, and leave it looking like chrome. Heres a before and after of the fenders off of my big trailer.

 

Looks great Misha, it works really well for an OTC metal polish and yes Mothers Billet will shine it up even more

 

This isn't over the counter but it works. Maybe look into this for future polishings. I have all the above and the process works great. Don't forget prep work with aluminum is key. All sanding marks need to be removed with the next higher grit or else you won't get the "mirror" effect.

Caswell Inc. Pick-A-Buff Helper

 

Interesting read on the Bombs Away web site on detailing techniques.