Use aluminum polish correctly
Aluminum polish is not as easy to use as some other polishes. Here you can find out what you have to pay attention to when polishing aluminum and what steps are absolutely necessary. These steps are also particularly important for aluminum rims for your car, but also apply to other aluminum surfaces in the home and garden.
Preparation before using aluminum polish
Warning: These instructions are only necessary if you really have the first one scratch show on your aluminum surfaces. Regular cleaning with a microfiber cloth and some car shampoo (also works well in the household) and finally a little mild polish is sufficient beforehand. Complete. If you already have scratches on your aluminum surfaces and the aluminum is very matt, continue as described:
- First things first: polishing aluminum is not for the inexperienced in craftsmanship. In this case, it is recommended that you contact a skilled craftsman so as not to spoil your aluminum surfaces.
- Pay attention to the correct protective equipment: mouth and eye protection are absolutely mandatory in any case, since grinding usually precedes polishing. Drills with which you can regulate the speed and corresponding polishing attachments are suitable for grinding. In addition, there are flexible shafts in order to be able to reach hard-to-reach places (for example with aluminum rims).
- In the case of very rough scratches and if your aluminum is no longer smooth, you should start with pre-grinding. For this you need sandpaper with 200 and 300 grit. Together with the (dry) sandpaper you should use medium coarse sanding paste. This is marked in yellow, but if in doubt, the car accessories dealer can also help you.
- ALWAYS make sure you are grinding in the same direction. You must never change direction or grind criss-cross in different places start, otherwise you will mainly produce even more work to restore the irregularities iron out. You always have to sand with the same pressure and rather use a little too much than too little polishing paste.
- After pre-grinding, start pre-polishing. For this you need 3 different grain sizes (600, 700 and 800), which you apply one after the other. The brown pre-grinding paste is used for this.
A scratch on rims is extremely annoying. But you can easily scratch small scratches ...
This is how you proceed with the aluminum polish
With the beginning done, it's time to start the actual polishing. If your aluminum is just a little dull, all you need to do is start with the pre-polishing (last point in the previous section).
- After prepolishing your aluminum surfaces, use cotton attachments. When choosing, make sure that these must not lint. Together with the brown pre-grinding paste, you can now remove the last traces of sanding before it comes to the high-gloss polishing.
- With so-called high-gloss attachments (usually made of flannel) and the blue clearing paste, you can now give your aluminum the final touch and bring it to a high gloss.
- In the case of aluminum car parts in particular, such as wheel rims, we recommend that you also apply a finishing wax after polishing.
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