brighting up old aluminium

Do you want mechanical methods or chemical?

Cass

Trailer Brightener from a commercial truck supply store. It cleans it real fast when used way stronger than recommended. It's also a lot cheaper than little spray bottles of Mag Wheel cleaner. Follow up with Mother's or similar aluminum polish. I did the bare aluminum on my truck box with it and was very happy.

the door sill on my home is alum. and it it dull and so i used some BRASSO to clean it up.. the can says: do not use on alum.. but i dont listen and it looks like chrome now... well it last a week or so and then goes back to the old tarnished alum. look that it had before i touched it with the Brasso....

Timmy, run along if you can't help.

Cass

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You don't give us much to work with. What type of material, (cast, wrought, elemental or alloy, etc.) What size and shape?

If it was anodized, you can't polish it until the anodized layer is worn through. The only way I know to really put a polish on very dull aluminum is with jeweler's rouge. This comes in a stick, and is a mixture of wax and fine abrasive. You apply the rouge to a buffing wheel, and then press the wheel to a large part, or apply a small part to the buffing wheel mounted on a bench grinder. I've worked on polishing an 18' radar dish to make a solar concentrator this way. It really works!

The wax in the rouge is left as a protective coating on the aluminum, preventing it from dulling for quite a while.

Jon

Both forms are considered correct, "-um" in the U.S.A., "-ium" in all other English-speaking countries.

Tim

-- In the immortal words of Ned Flanders: "No foot longs!" Website @

Timmy,

EXACTLY and so is both forms of 'dice'.

Cass

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Miller,

Too bad you passed it by. The quality would have been just your style although a bit expensive for one such as yourself.

Cass

If it's heavily corroded an acid based cleaner like the Trailer Brightener as a pre-treatment will greatly accelerate the process.

18 feet ? Is it solid or did you put aluminum on it? If its solid it must be very rare . I would love to have one to play with . Do you have any pictures of it?

It is lye and DO NOT get it in your eyes.

Cass

Just found a bottle of the condenser cleaner today that was stored in the garage. Put in on some old mag wheels and it gave a nicely lightened color. I think it would be a must to then go to a polish to finish it off. Ed

That depends on whether or not it was bright to begin with. It if was, then a number of polishes and tarnish removers work well: Mother's, Flitz, Simichrome, etc.

If it wasn't, then it must be buffed with a fine abrasive, either by hand (OK for small work) or with a buffing wheel(s) and tripoli followed by red rouge.