Austarion

What is the absolute easiest way to get gunk/dirt/crap off aluminium and polish it up? It must be quick, NOT labour intensive and it must be inexpensive. I'd go so far as to say, I want to already have the tools and chemicals required at home so I don't have to go anywhere to get them. Did I also say it must be really easy as I get bored quickly.

Thanks

Can you hurry with the answer to please. HURRY!!!!

Ive got a die grinder and some cheap polishing wheels.
Its quick, very easy and works really well. I can see myself in parts of my intake :D :D

Jason

The easiest way is to pay some other poor shmuck to do it. This doesn't help with the 'inexpensive' part though.

I just go into my shed and use my various buffing mops and compounds......thats the cheapest and easiest.

There is no easy way...

I got a set of aluminium Cheviot rims that had all the lacquer starting to peel off.

The rims are a simple design, easy to work on.

I used wet and dry to take the rest of lacquer off. They then looked worse! I thought crap, what have I done. The wheel had a machined surface ie very light ridges. So I kept sanding them with wet and dry, until it was completely smooth and dull grey in colour.

Next was the Autosol metal polish. (White paste in a tube).
Put a bit on a rag and polish it up.

Result is a mirror finish. Looks awesome. (I can't find the before and after pics)

The down side, I did it all by hand and it took 2 days solid to do two rims!!!
I'll use a dremel next time.

TOMSUN's description there is the way to go, save polishing by hand. Get the item nice and flat with some wet and dry, start with some p800 and work your way up to p2000. Then get a machine and compound on there. There is a kit you can get from bunnings, josal metal polishing kit I think its called, will make life alot easier.

But if we dont wanna run out and buy anything, autosol or some of that matting in the yellow tin work wonders with a shitload of elbow grease :D

Catch 22, that elbow grease is expensive too... :P

chunkhead

I agree, but if we were worried about money and time, we would have sold our Starions a long time ago... rofl

I have a Starion!??
I thought I bought that car from Back To The Future! No wonder my doors don't open up...