AS AN INTRODUCTION, I WOULD RECOMMEND CHECKING OUT THE VIDEOS ON POLISHING ALUMINUM BY ONE OF ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS ON YOUTUBE, D C SUPER SHINE. MANY HAVE EXPRESSED THAT THESE VIDEOS ARE THE MOST HELPFUL VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE FOR POLISHING ALUMINUM. THE OWNER OF D C SUPERSHINE HAS ASKED ME TO PUT TOGETHER A KIT THAT HE HAS DESIGNED FOR POLISHING ALUMINUM. WE HAVE DONE SO, AND IT IS CALLED THE D C SUPER SHINE KIT. IT IS AVAILABLE ON THIS WEBSITE UNDER THIS NAME. WE HAVE KEPT THE KIT PRICE JUST UNDER A HUNDRED DOLLARS AND THE SHIPPING COST FOR THE KIT IS ONLY $6.95! YOU WILL FIND THAT WE ADDED A SECOND KIT WHICH OFFERS MENZERNA ROUGE BARS, WHICH DENIS OF D C SUPER SHINE DESCRIBES AS "AWESOME." WE ALSO INCLUDE ZEPHYR #4 FAST CUT BUFFING WHEELS, A POLISHER FAVORITE. THIS KIT IS A TAD MORE EXPENSIVE, THUS WE OFFER BOTH KITS.

MACHINE POLISHING ALUMINUM WITH ZEPHYR BUFFING PRODUCTS, OR KEYSTONE POLISHING SUPPLIES, WILL INVOLVE THE FOLLOWING SUPPLIES AND STEPS:

1. ROUGE BARS  

THE GREY ROUGE BAR IS USED FOR VERY HEAVY CUTTING.
THE BROWN ROUGE BAR IS FOR PRIMARY (HEAVY) CUTTING. THIS IS THE BAR NORMALLY USED IN THE BEGINNING OF THE POLISHING PROCESS.
THE GREEN BAR IS FOR SECONDARY (MEDIUM) CUTTING OR SEMI-FINISH.
THE WHITE BAR IS FOR FINAL (FINE) FINISHING, HIGH LUSTRE FINISH.
THE PLATINUM SERIES ROUGE BARS ARE FOR FINAL-FINISH, SHOW QUALITY WORK. THE MOST POPULAR PLATINUM BAR AMONG MY CUSTOMERS IS THE BLUE BAR. THIS BAR IS CALLED A "COLORING" BAR, SIMPLY MEANING THAT IT IS NOT FOR CUTTING, BUT FOR ENHANCING THE BRILLIANCE.

2. POLISHING WHEELS

THE POLISHING WHEELS ARE AVAILABLE IN TWO DIAMETERS, EIGHT INCH AND TEN INCH. THE EIGHT INCH WHEELS ARE MOST FREQUENTLY USED BY THOSE INDIVIDUALS DOING THEIR OWN WORK. THE TEN INCH WHEELS, BECAUSE OF FASTER RESULTS, ARE OFTEN USED BY EXPERIENCED AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS. IN EITHER CASE, POLISHING ALUMINUM CAN INVOLVE AS MANY AS THREE STAGES, THE PRIMARY CUT, SECONDARY CUTTING, AND LASTLY THE FINAL FINISH. MOST POLISHERS, HOWEVER,  PREFER TO DO THEIR WORK IN TWO STAGES.

FOR PRIMARY CUTTING, USE THE AIRWAY ORANGE, BLUE, YELLOW FAST CUT, OR YELLOW MILL TREAT WHEELS. THE YELLOW WHEELS ARE A BIT LESS AGGRESSIVE THAN THE ORANGE AND BLUE WHEELS. BASE YOUR SELECTION ON THE EXTENT OF OXIDATION. ORANGE AND BLUE WOULD BE BETTER CHOICES THAN YELLOW FAST CUT OR YELLOW MILL TREAT IF VERY HEAVY-CUTTING IS REQUIRED. MANY POLISHERS CHOOSE TO START WITH THE YELLOW MILL TREAT WHEEL OR THE YELLOW FAST CUT WHEEL FOR THE MAJORITY OF THEIR WORK. THE YELLOW FAST CUT WHEEL IS A ZEPHYR WHEEL AND IS IN BETWEEN THE ORANGE (OR BLUE) ZEPHYR AIRWAY, AND THE YELLOW MILL TREAT IN AGGRESSIVENESS. IT IS A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE POLISHING WHEEL. AT THIS PRIMARY STAGE THE BROWN ROUGE BAR (HEAVY-CUTTING) IS USED WITH ANY OF THESE WHEELS.

FOR SECONDARY CUTTING (STAGE TWO) YOU CAN ALSO START WITH A YELLOW MILL TREAT WHEEL. THIS PARTICULAR WHEEL WORKS RATHER WELL AT EITHER STAGE. KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU CAN BEGIN YOUR WORK AT THIS SECOND STAGE IF HEAVY OXIDATION IS NOT PRESENT, USING THE GREEN ROUGE BAR RATHER THAN THE BROWN BAR. PLEASE NOTE THAT MANY POLISHERS ACTUALLY SKIP THIS STEP, USING ONLY TWO STEPS TO THEIR POLISHING WORK. THESE POLISHERS WILL BEGIN WITH ONE OF THE YELLOW WHEEL SELECTIONS (YELLOW FAST CUT OR YELLOW MILL TREAT), AND A BROWN BAR. THEY THEN MOVE ON TO THE FINAL FINISH STAGE MENTIONED BELOW.  IN ANY EVENT, IF YOU ARE BEGINNING YOUR WORK AT THIS SECONDARY STAGE, OR IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO YOUR WORK IN ALL THREE STEPS, OTHER BUFFING WHEEL CHOICES FOR THE SECONDARY CUT WOULD BE THE ZEPHYR PURPLE-LEA, OR ZEPHYR HALL GREEN BUFFING WHEELS.  PURPLE LEA AND HALL GREEN ARE MEDIUM TO LIGHT CUTTING POLISHING WHEELS. THESE WHEELS ARE LESS AGGRESSIVE THAN THE YELLOW WHEEL SELECTIONS. NOTE AGAIN THAT AT THIS SECONDARY STAGE THE GREEN ROUGE BAR IS USED.

THE FINAL FINISH STAGE (STAGE THREE) OF POLISHING ALUMINUM IS TO BRING OUT THE "MIRROR SHINE." FOR THIS LAST STAGE, USE THE ZEPHYR AIRWAY WHITE UNTREATED WHEEL, THE KEYSTONE WHITE TREATED WHEEL, OR ANY OF THE COTTON MUSLIN BUFFS IN 30, 40, 50 OR 60 PLY. THE MAJORITY OF MY CUSTOMERS PREFER TO USE THE WHITE UNTREATED WHEEL, OR THE KEYSTONE WHITE TREATED WHEEL. KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS STAGE OF MACHINE POLISHING CAN ALSO BE USED APART FROM THE PREVIOUS STEPS IN MAINTAINING YOUR ALUMINUM'S MIRROR SHINE. AT THIS STAGE OF POLISHING THE WHITE ROUGE BAR IS USED. (FOR ADDED BRILLIANCE, THE BLUE COLORING ROUGE IS SOMETIMES USED AS A FOLLOW-UP, AN EXTRA STEP, USING THE SOFT COTTON WHEELS.)

3. SAFETY FLANGE KIT

ALWAYS USE SAFETY FLANGES WITH ANY BUFFING WHEEL THAT HAS THE METAL CENTER PLATE. THE SAFETY FLANGE COVERS THE METAL CENTER PLATE TO PROVIDE PROTECTION IN THE EVENT A BUFFING WHEEL SHOULD COME APART. (ALSO USE A RESPIRATOR AND FACE SHIELD OR GOGGLES).

4. VARIABLE SPEED SANDER/GRINDER MACHINE (0 - 6000 RPMS)

A POPULAR POLISHING UNIT IS THE DEWALT 849 POLISHER, SOLD ON THIS WEBSITE UNDER "BUFFING SUPPLIES." THE RECOMMENDED RPMS FOR POLISHING ALUMINUM IS BETWEEN 1500 AND 2500. SOME PROFESSIONAL POLISHER, HOWEVER, PREFER TO POLISH AT HIGHER RPMS. POLISHING STAINLESS STEEL REQUIRES HIGHER RPMS. THE MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED RPMS FOR THE ZEPHYR AIRWAY BUFFING WHEELS IS 3400 RPMS.

5. ZEPHYR PRO 40 METAL POLISH ALONG WITH SOME MICROFIBER TOWELS.

POLISHERS WILL DO A FINAL WIPE DOWN OF THEIR ALUMINUM TO REMOVE ANY REMAINING ROUGE RESIDUE. THIS IS DONE WITH A METAL POLISH AND  MICROFIBER TOWELS. MAKE SURE YOUR MICROFIBER TOWELS ARE KEPT IN A BAG OR IN SUCH A WAY AS TO KEEP THEM FREE OF DIRT. MICROFIBER IS GREAT MATERIAL, BUT IT IS A MAGNET FOR DIRT AND MUST BE KEPT CLEAN SO AS TO AVOID COLLECTING ABRASIVE MATERIAL.