Best Aluminum Polish???

[Bauer]

Does anybody recommend any special brands of aluminum polish for the valve covers and such? Id really like to polish them up. I need to replace the valve cover gasket so it would be a good time to do it.

Thanks

[webbcraft2150]

Simichrome polish paste and a cotton wheel on a drill. best stuff ever made. Be ready for sticker shock, small tube, big price but lasts along long time. The cotton "wadding" from mothers seems to work good also, still a fan of Simichrome first.

[JWSanders]

I hadn't heard of Simichrome. Been looking for a better polish than Mothers. It appears to get rave reviews online.

There's someone selling it on Amazon for $4.88 a tube. Think I'll order one and give it a try.

amazon link

Thanks for the tip!

[mro]

Think I'll order one and give it a try.

Let us know how it turns out.



mro

[84xj1100]

I don't know if it's available south of the boarder, nor do I claim to be an expert in such matters, but I personally use something called "autosol".

It's a metal polish that comes in paste form from a tube. A little dab will do ya. With a little elbow grease and patience, I've made brushed aluminium look like chrome.

[xssiveone]

I second Autosol, great stuff. Of course, so is Mothers in my opionion.... I use Mothers now, cheaper here then Autosol.

If you REALLY want to get carried away with your polishing, use some paint stripper or similar to remove the clearcoat from the parts. Then get a couple of cotton wheels and some jewelers rouge and tripoli. You'll also need a moto tool (Dremel) with some small cup brushes and felt bobs to get into the tight spots. Buff with the tripoli and rouge, followed with a good aluminum polish. You can get them shiny enough so it is painful on a sunny day.

[scalded dog]

Like semi-chrome, any bike shop has it, but I found some stuff called Flix, made in germany, at a rally one time, it's better than anything else I've tried. Later 'Dog

[UncleSpot]

I still use metal polishes I used when I worked for Philips Optics on electron microscopes: Pol ($9.77) and Wenol ($12.44)
They were used on platinum and gold plated parts, so they had to work well, fast, and not leave a 'film' on the surfaces.
You can buy them from SPI ( http://www.2spi.com/catalog/supp/supp3a.shtml ) out of W.Chester, PA
and if you go to their website they have a n 800 number also

My 80 SG "sparkles" because of these metal polishes

[dbyers]

autosol

I found autosol on E-Bay. It looks like you have to buy it from Canada or from across pond. Thinking about giving it a try....

[AKMac]

www.eastwood.com has Autosol, Simichrome, and Flitz.

[JWSanders]

Just got my Simichrome today, and don't have anything here to test it on. Damn the luck.

I'll have a report on it by this weekend, I hope. Film at 11.

[xs650mike]

Simichrome

The time honored stuff to make your aluminum look like chrome. Hand polishing worked great on Brit bike aluminum which is soft. Japanese alloy takes power tools to polish unless you've got the time and energy. I've been using Nev-R-Dull a lot but it's only good for keeping it bright after it's polished. Works great for taking fine scratches off windshields and faceshields, good on jewelry and pots and pans too.

[Artic_rider]

I use Autosol at work all the time...well okay, more like when the muskeg thaws, and we have to polish the trucks up. I swear by the stuff...another brand I have used, and liked is called purple...found it at the kenworth dealer...works great on chrome and stuff

[Cykotic]

i agree simichrome is one of the best, but I have also found that mothers billet aluminum polish is pretty good to, and most of the polishes that are out there for semi trucks are really good too.

[Geezer]

Over the years I have found that nothing beats Mother's on aluminum. I used to use Blue Magic polish on all other metals but I don't know if it's still on the market.

Back when I had my shop I picked up some Blue Magic samples at a trade show. One day out of boredom I used it to polish the change in my pocket and the results were amazing. However it was near worthless on engine cases. Another guy I knew back then used simichrome on his rare coins then I showed him my polished pennies... Like I said, I haven't used the stuff in years and I don't know if it's still around.

Geezer