Aluminum Finishing

[trkfixer]

polishing it out isnt as easy as it looks but if you want it like crome the secret is sanding it first like a car fender ready for paint ,any poris places on the surface will just fill up with compound and turn dark ,Them use jewelers rouge and buff till your hearts desire. When I polished out the front end on my harley I found everything i needed from a ebay store called Jestco products they have anything and everything to polish anything .

[UnfinishedProjects]

I would go for the brushed aluminum look. Take a scotch-brite pad and some WD-40 and work the aluminum in one direction. It really comes out nice and is easy to maintain. I have a set of wheels on my truck that had a polished lip. I could never keep up with polishing the lip since it is my daily driver, so I brushed the wheels. Have to touch it up once every two months or so, which is better than every weekend.

[Nick]

I think that stuff is called zoop, but it's pricey.

It's definitely not on the low end of sealants for most. It's a multistage deal that seals aluminum/steel/etc that is pretty well received by the high end wheel guys. Supposedly does a pretty good job keeping polished surfaces from oxidizing. Saw a tutorial using a ton of elbow grease in cleaning/prep work to bring older polished wheels back to 100% before application. Having polished small items by hand, I'll pass on doing a set of 4 well detailed 18-20" wheels....

~$100 for a sealing kit seems like a drop in the bucket when you're looking at a $7,000+ set of HRE's though.

As for the Mother's polish - Mag and Aluminum polish. Does decent work on exhausts/light work with a shop towel. Does very well polishing yellowed head lights. (Just elbow grease without a buffing wheel)

Polished would be a chore to keep shiny. I'd go brushed, painted, or call up a local powdercoater / anodizer.

[WookieWelding]

you could sand blast a logo on to it
i used alum round stock for my file handles and sand blasted them for grip.. they hold dirt and grit in the sand blasted area not big deal cause they are file handles..But might be a problem is you dont spray a clear on top of it

[Nick]

Come to a decision on the finish?

[180guy]

I would go for the brushed aluminum look. Take a scotch-brite pad and some WD-40 and work the aluminum in one direction. It really comes out nice and is easy to maintain. I have a set of wheels on my truck that had a polished lip. I could never keep up with polishing the lip since it is my daily driver, so I brushed the wheels. Have to touch it up once every two months or so, which is better than every weekend.

Brushed always looks nice. Easier to keep looking nice.

[d4ve]

I also think brushed would be a good choice. Looks classy and doesn't seem like it would require as much time as the engine turned option.