MAKE SURE TO CLEAN AND DRY YOUR WHEELS PRIOR TO COMMENCING. IN PREPARATION, AN ACID WASH IS SOMETIMES RECOMMENDED. ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS USES A PRODUCT SIMILAR TO A LOW ODOR PAINT THINNER WITH AN SOS PAD TO PREP THE WHEELS, REMOVING ANY TAR AND HEAVY GRIME.  

1. PRIMARY CUTTING (BROWN ROUGE)

AFTER YOUR INITIAL PREPARATION, CHOOSE THE BUFFING WHEEL MOST APPROPIATE TO THE CONDITION OF YOUR ALUMINUM. FOR HEAVIER CUTTING, USE THE ORANGE OR BLUE BUFFING WHEEL. FOR LESS HEAVY CUTTING, CHOOSE THE YELLOW MILL TREAT; OR FOR SOMETHING IN BETWEEN, YOU MAY WANT TO USE THE ZEPHYR #4 YELLOW FAST CUT BUFFING WHEEL. THIS PARTICUALR WHEEL IS VERY POPULAR WITH PROFESSIONALS. THESE PROFESSIONALS ALMOST ALWAYS BEGIN WITH ONE OF THE YELLOW WHEELS. AT THIS BEGINNING POINT IN THE POLISHING PROCESS THE BROWN ROUGE BAR IS USED. IF YOUR ALUMINUM IS IN REASONABLY GOOD CONDITION, YOU MAY WANT TO BEGIN AT THE NEXT (SECONDARY) STEP. IF USING A WHEEL THAT HAS BEEN USED BEFORE, MAKE SURE IT IS CLEAN AND FREE FROM ABRASIVE PARTICLES.

IT IS UNNECESSARY, AND IN FACT SHOULD BE AVOIDED WHEN APPLYING ROUGE TO THE BUFFING WHEEL, THAT PRESSURE IS APPLIED. SIMPLY "TOUCH" THE ROUGE BAR WITH THE OUTSIDE EDGE OF THE BUFFING WHEEL UNTIL THE ROUGE ADHERES TO THE WHEEL. THE ROUGE BAR SHOULD BE PLACED ON A CLEAN SURFACE TO AVOID COLLECTING DEBRIS. THE POLISHING WORK ITSELF IS DONE BY LETTING THE ROUGE COMPOUND DO THE CUTTING AND POLISHING. AVOID THE TENDENCY OF APPLYING EXCESSIVE PRESSURE TO THE BUFFING WHEEL. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO AVOID EXCESSIVELY HIGH RPMS AS THE HEAT GENERATED ON THE WORK SURFACE WILL INTERFERE WITH THE ROUGE WORKING PROPERLY. THE RECOMMENDED RPMS FOR POLISHING ALUMINUM IS BETWEEN 1500 AND 3000. ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS, A LONG TIME PROFESSIONAL POLISHER, CONSISTENTLY POLISHES AROUND 2200 RPMS. MOST OF MY POLISHING CUSTOMERS DON'T POLISH BELOW THIS. THERE ARE POLISHERS WHO PREFER TO POLISH AT MUCH HIGHER RPMS. THESE POLISHERS HAVE BEEN DOING THIS WORK FOR A LONG TIME AND HAVE DEVELOPED A TECHNIQUE THAT WORKS WELL FOR THEM. THEY FEEL THAT THEIR RESULTS ARE SUPERIOR TO POLISHING AT LOWER RPMS. I MENTION IT, BUT CANNOT RECOMMEND IT, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE BUFFING WHEEL MANUFACTURERS PLACE LOWER RPM RECOMMENDED LIMITS ON THEIR WHEELS. 

IN GENERAL TERMS, YOU WILL WANT TO START AT THE TOP OR BOTTOM OF THE ITEM BEING POLISHED (FUEL TANK FOR EXAMPLE) AND POLISH BY SECTIONS. USE A SMOOTH LEFT TO RIGHT, RIGHT TO LEFT POLISHING MOTION. MAKE SEVERAL PASSES USING AN OVERLAPPING MOTION, AS YOU WORK ACROSS, TOP TO BOTTOM OR BOTTOM TO TOP. DON'T MOVE TOO QUICKLY, AND CLEAN YOUR BUFFING WHEELS PERIODICALLY DURING USE. APPLYING YOUR WHEEL TO THE POLISHING RAKE SHOULD BE A MATTER OF ONLY SECONDS. (DO THIS EVERY FEW INCHES OF WORK, OR AS YOU NOTICE A SILVERY-GRAY BUILD-UP BEGINNING TO OCCUR ON THE BUFFING WHEEL.)  WHEN OVERLAPPING, AS YOU MOVE UP OR DOWN THE TANK, MOVE ONLY A HALF INCH TO AN INCH AT A TIME. WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED WITH A BUFFING WHEEL, BE SURE TO CLEAN IT WITH A POLISHING RAKE. STORE THE BUFFING WHEELS IN A PLASTIC BAG TO KEEP THEM FROM PICKING UP ABRASIVE MATERIAL.

(NOTE: IF PITS AND DEEP SCRATCHES ARE PRESENT, OR TO OBTAIN THE ULTIMATE BRILLIANCE AND CLARITY, SANDING WILL BE NECESSARY PRIOR TO THE BUFFING PROCESS. YOU CAN START WITH ABOUT 280 - 320 GRIT AND WORK UP TO AROUND 1000 GRIT. DENIS, WITH DC SUPER SHINE, PREFERS DRY SANDING, AND GENERALLY STARTS AT 320 GRIT. HE THEN DOES A SECOND STEP AT 400 GRIT, FOLLOWED BY A THIRE STEP AT 600 GRIT. HE THEN BEGINS THE POLISHING PROCESS. ANOTHER VERY HELPFUL TIP FROM ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS IS THIS: BEFORE YOU USE YOUR NEW YELLOW BUFFING WHEEL ON THE TANK, BREAK IT IN BY DOING THE WHEELS FIRST. THIS SOFTENS THE BUFFING WHEEL AND SPREADS IT OUT THEREBY MINMIMIZING THE DEVELOPMENT OF LINES WHEN DOING THE TANKS.)

2. SECONDARY CUTTING (GREEN ROUGE)

FOR SECONDARY CUTTING, USE THE ZEPHYR PURPLE -LEA OR ZEPHYR HALL GREEN BUFFING WHEEL. IF YOU ARE BEGINNING YOUR TASK AT THIS STAGE, YOU MAY WANT TO USE THE ZEPHYR (OR KEYSTONE) YELLOW MILL TREAT AND THEN PROCEED TO THE THIRD (FINAL SHINE) STEP. AT THIS SECOND STEP, THE GREEN ROUGE BAR IS USED. 

USE THE SAME MOTION AND DIRECTION AS IN THE PRECEDING STEP. IF YOU NOTICE THAT THE ROUGE COMPOUND IS "CAKING' ON THE EDGE, USE A BUFFING WHEEL "POLISHING RAKE" TO CLEAN THE EXCESS COMPOUND FROM THE WHEEL. YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE A BUILD-UP OF ROUGE AND CRUD ON THE BUFFING WHEEL, OR THE ALUMINUM SURFACE. A COMMON MISTAKE IS TO USE TOO MUCH ROUGE. THIS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO REMOVE FROM THE ALUMINUM. IF YOU SHOULD GET A BUILD-UP OF ROUGE ON THE ALUMINUM, BACK OFF THE ROUGE, AND GO OVER THE AREA WITHOUT ADDITIONAL ROUGE. 

3. FINAL FINISH (WHITE ROUGE)

FOR THE FINAL STEP IN THE MACHINE POLISHING PROCESS, CHOOSE THE ZEPHYR WHITE UNTREATED BUFFING WHEEL, OR THE KEYSTONE WHITE TREATED WHEEL; OR YOU MAY OPT TO USE ONE OF THE COTTON MUSLIN BUFFS WHICH COME IN 30, 40, 50 OR 60 PLY. THE 30 PLY HAS THE LEAST WIDTH AND THE 60 PLY IS THE WIDEST. MOST POLISHERS, HOWEVER, PREFER THE WHITE UNTREATED OR THE WHITE TREATED WHEELS. USE THE SAME PROCEDURE AS IN THE PREVIOUS STEPS. (AFTER THIS THIRD STEP, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE ULTIMATE SHINE, YOU MAY WISH TO FOLLOW WITH THE BLUE MOON ROUGE AND A SOFT COTTON WHEEL LIKE THE ZEPHYR WHITE DOMET FLANNEL 40 PLY. THE BLUE ROUGE  IS NOT A CUTTING ROUGE, BUT A COLORING ROUGE, MEANING THAT IT IS USED TO ENHANCE THE BRILLIANCE OF THE ALUMINUM.)

4. FINAL WIPE DOWN

AFTER FINISHING THE ABOVE PROCESS, THIS LAST STEP (OPTIONAL)WILL TAKE CARE OF ANY DUST AND CAKED RESIDUE IN THE PORES OF THE ALUMINUM. APPLY THE LIQUID PRO 40 METAL POLISH, OR ANOTHER FAVORITE (SEE "CHOOSING A METAL POLISH") TO A MICROFIBER TOWEL. RUB THE SURFACE, GOING WITH THE GRAIN OF THE ALUMINUM, OR THE ROTATIONAL DIRECTION OF THE BUFFING WHEEL, UNTIL IT BECOMES BLACK. GOING WITH THE GRAIN OR THE ROTATIONAL DIRECTION OF THE BUFFING WHEEL ON A TANK FOR EXAMPLE, MEANS RUBBING UP AND DOWN AND NOT ACROSS OR SIDE TO SIDE . IF YOU GO ACROSS OR SIDE TO SIDE, YOU WILL CREATE A HAZY LOOK BY MAKING SMALL MINOR SCRATCHES. WHEN THE ALUMINUM TURNS BLACK, LET THE POLISH DRY TO A HAZE, AND THEN RUB OFF WITH A CLEAN, DRY MICROFIBER TOWEL. IT MUST BE MENTIONED THAT NOT ALL POLISHERS DO A FINAL WIPE DOWN WITH A METAL POLISH. ANOTHER OPTION IS TO PUT SOME FLOUR ON A MICROFIBER TOWEL AND WIPE THE ALUMINUM DOWN, THUS REMOVING ANY RESIDUE. SOME POLISHERS FEEL THAT THE RESULTS ACHIEVED BY THEIR POLISHING METHOD MAKES THIS ENTIRE STEP UNNECESSARY. IN ANY EVENT, GOOD WORK; ENJOY YOUR RESULTS!

5. CONCLUSION

FOR FURTHER HELP ON MACHINE POLISHING, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE "HOW TO POLISH ALUMINUM VIDEOS" OF D C SUPER SHINE ON YOUTUBE.