Im trying to clean up the aluminium bonnet and side panels ive made for the car, and tbh im having a nightmare. Ive wet and dry sanded with very fine to get out some small scratches, and now im trying to polish it shiny with autosol.

I just can seem to get a consistent finish. It seems to go dark after buffing off autosol, and ive tried some other stuff, and now i almost wish i hadnt started trying.

Any ideas how to get it nice.

Thanks

One tip that came from this site...

Polish away until the surface is nice and shiny. Get a clean cloth, dip it into some flour (plain or self-raising!) and rub that over the top.

You'll find that all the old polish is lifted off and the surface is left nice and shiny.

Well - it works for me, anyway!

Autosol recommend their finer polish for a high degree of finish on aluminium, not the 'normal' Autosol.
I just found that out after using ordinary Autosol for forty odd years.

Oh - nearly forgot - Meguiars Metal Polysh is very effective, and much easier to clean off. Quite expensive, but my little tub has lasted a couple of years and nowhere near empty yet. Odd smell though!

You can get it in Halfords.

[Edited on 24/2/08 by David Jenkins]

On the polished cases on my 72 suzuki, I use some stuff called belgom alu, not only polishes but leaves a protective residue behind.

Rgds.
Pete.

here you go, a pic of the results....
Rescued attachment DSCN0573small.jpg

http://i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Metal_Polish_Sealant.html
try this stuff i was told about it on detailing world
atb

[Edited on 24/2/08 by eccsmk]

this works on most thing but never tried a bonnet?

using 2000 grit wet and dry with autosol,using the autosol as the lube.
works wonders on alloy caseing and rocker boxes.

otherwise i used t-cut on my alloy side panels nearly a mirror finish?

the tip that dave gave is a good one,but the proper stuff is called hydrogenated lime a very fine powder that removes polish after polishing(does that make sense)ready for (buffing) after polishing

wayno!!

Is anyones using Brasso?
What do you think of it?

After trying loads of different types of polish I now use Meguires , easier to use and gives a good shine. Tried the flour trick , works OK

Get some Belgom Ulu. About £7.00 from Ebay. Brilliant stuff, easy to use, flows easily, gives an excellent shine.
You'll like it!
Cheers John

Hi, I have used alumagic hard work gives good results and leaves a protective coating on the ali and I have also used a polish called mothers which is excellent for giving instant shine not so good for taking out scratches, as the alumagic is. I have also found if you try and polish a local area it will never look an even finish so you will have to go over the whole panel.
ATB and happy polishing Trev