Exactly what I wanted to know. I'm just polishing up an old aluminum shifter for my car and needed some reference. You did it concisely and to the point (didn't take 20 minutes just to talk about what you were going to do in the video lol). Idk if this is weird, but you also have a comforting voice lol. Thanks.
EXCELLENT video! I use a mirror for welding the top of exhaust tubing and I get 1 or 2 uses out of a glass mirror at the most. So I thought I might have better luck with aluminum but didn't know if I could get it to a mirror shine or not. This confirms it! Thanks for the demonstration. Now I'm gonna go make my mirror which will be a lot easier to refurbish back to a mirror shine after it gets hit with slag than a piece of mirror glass that just ends up pitted and useless.
Thanks so much. Method 2 beats the dog out of your first video. I guess that's because of the aluminicut? Seems like it is half the work. I am going to look at an aluminum flatbed for my one ton Monday and from the pics I think it is the aluminum that has not been shined at all (kinda like old galvanized tin ). It isn't bad like it is but I had picked out a diamond plate one that I was trying to wipe my brain around the $4500 and the 800 mile haul and the other essentials for mounting. The bed I have found is 850 cash and 260 mls pickup and haul. It is an 8 foot 8 by 8 foot bed. Your video has got me primed and stoked. I just hope that it is still there . You never know about craigslist. Anyway. Thanks for the great work. Reggie
Working on a 34 rolls ,all aluminum. And I am having a tuff time , getting reed of the buffer scratches that are every where. You make it look easy, I'll start over again.
@ if you want to get rid of deep scratches u need a low grit. I wasn’t too bothered with scratches. The smooth bits of the bike turned out as a mirror polish and look great
Any thoughts on what speed you'd want with a variable speed random orbital polisher? Too fast leaves burns up the alumicut and causes it to goo up, so slow and not enough cutting power? Great video!
I dunno if I'm either doing something wrong or if you're just ridiculously good at this, but using smaller 2" discs ranging from 240 to 5000, I wasn't able to get nearly the same finish as your videos. My workpieces definitely look nice and polished with no scratches or smudges but you must be some kinda wizard to get that sorta reflectivity (and doing it with just 4 even passes of the drill)!! I guess I need much more practice but thanks for the instruction so far!
@@SkillsandTrade Thank you for the response. I do think I was going too fast and I'm gonna try and redo everything from scratch with new discs. Also maybe with an angle grinder and arbor instead of my 18 volt drill
What attachment us needed for the hook it and interface pad in order to attach it & use it with the drill? Lumber yard said I needed a special drill & I don't think that's correct.
We are working on restoring a '49 Feather Craft boat. It is 15ft, all aluminum, definitely not horizontal or flat, and has lots of dings, etc. Any advice for doing all the steps in your V 2.0 video that would help reduce the look of inconsistency from doing a section at a time? Thanks for any thoughts and replies. If anyone has already done this, please respond!
Hiya, are you using a specific type of sand paper for aluminum? Am I correct in thinking that you wouldn't switch between sand paper that had been used on any other metals? Thanks so much and well done!
Never use paper that has been used on a dissimilar material. Always have dedicated wheels/discs/brushes etc for each material. Not doing so can ruin the finish (carbon steel on stainless will cause the stainless to rust) and similar to ally.
I have a big sheet aluminum under my outdoor bar that is 3’ x 6‘ I take the scratches out or how can I do some kind a durable finish. Maybe a decorative finish?
Do you have any idea why this happened - I have an old handheld 12 volt spotlight with a parabolic reflector. While I had the light disassembled, I took some polish in a bottle to the reflector. I only wiped it on with my index finger but it totally stripped that mirror finish off. I tried to polish it back but it just won't. The surface is glossy smooth but is dull. I'm at a loss. What kind of coating was on this reflector giving it that mirror finish that a simple polish in a bottle was able to remove? I'm confused what happened exactly.
You suggested using alumicut as a lubricant for sanding. Will wet sanding with water give me just as good as a finish? Also would any aluminum cutting fluid/lubricant work?
Hellooo thank you for your video, it's been truly helpful. Just wondering, would I be able to attach the Meguiars finishing disc onto a orbital sander? If not, would you please suggest an alternative? Thank you very much. One ❤️
I have a piece of aluminum I wanted a mirror finish on but used 0000 steel wool on it instead. While parts of the surface have become more mirror like, the center seems to have gotten worse. I was using a circular motion to polish with. Did I put scratches where there weren't any before? Would some kind of polishing powder or paste work too?
Can I just polish the aluminum to get rid of small marks? Amzing videos. You could do videos for beginners (it's probably as easy as it can be 🙁) . I have problems finding good videos in Swedish, your video helped me to understand a bit more, but I'm still newbie 😊
can you please try with aluminum and copper to create a sun death ray and see its capabilities of melting steel or cooking or melting rocks . . thank you
Great video. I’m doing/using something wrong though. It seems that to get these results you have to use aluminum oxide sand paper only not the wet/dry kind right ? I’m also trying to polish 1” x 1/4 “ strips, much less surface than what you are doing, does that make a significant difference? I got to 800 aluminum oxide ( your regular sand paper more or less) and if I pass to 1200 for example, but wet/dry it gets opaque, reverses the process. Any suggestions?
Hi. Thanks for the video. 1. Do you know if you were using a specific type of aluminum sheet? Are there different types? 2. Will this oxidize if left outside?
Holy crap I didn't know it was possible to get aluminum that polished. It's more reflective than a mirror. Great job. How long does the protective coating you applied last? Is it more of a wax that needs to be reapplied and is there something you would recommend that might last longer. For example clear coating it with clear spray paint or something like that?
Loved the video 👍 I'm restoring a old aluminum pancake pan. But I'm not sure what is safe to use chemical wise. I don't want it to be toxic after I'm done. Any ideas?
i am a little confused how is that hookit pad attached to the drill? The one from your link is a screw on type? I thought the dewalt drill (also one of your links) was a standard drill type that accepts drill bits (with a tightening key)
With all of that sanding, how much does it take away from the actual thickness. Was thinking about doing this to an aluminum drum shell. But I don’t want to sand it if it will effect the sound of the drum!!!
Hi! Thank you for sharing how to !!! If the mirror surface will be used outdoor. what is the best metal for it? Will Aluminum get rusty outdoors? Is stainless steel the best choice for outdoor usage? Thank you so much!
Aluminum won't corrode or rust, and Stainless Steel has chromium in the metal to help protect against rust. I would say Aluminum is the best, followed very closely by Stainless Steel.
i bought some raw ar15 receivers from war dog industries made with billet aluminum will this method be safe to use on them? they are already in raw aluminum no finish on it, i just need to polish and clear coat but i am not sure how well this will work on billet aluminum lol
Hii I am making 21inch reflector for telescope but I am from India and here 3000 and 5000 sandpaper is not available is there any alternative And which kind of polish u used to make it shine
well... if I polished a 30' Airstream trailer, how often would it need to be touched up and resealed? Would I spend more time maintaining it than enjoying it?
Use a DA (dual action) sander if you have air, $30 Walmart. electric orbital if no air. Step up grits with 6” psa sanding discs. This leaves no visible variations or patterns from a tool and your hand. Don’t do this in the sun, keep your work cool. Friction creates heat, heat expands metal, heat on one side distorts the reflected image
Does this basically simulate with chrome look like? I'm about to mod a backplate on my GPU and I want to make it look chrome and then spray it with black chrome paint to give it a darker finish. I'm making my dream computer
Great stuff. I hand sanded my Harley aluminum front forks to shine like chrome. From 80 grit, 200,400, 1500, 2500, 3000. Its shiny but still a little dull. I’m looking for the mirror finish. Any other suggestions?
amzn.to/2WKlfLv, here you go. This link will bring you to Amazon were I purchased all my supplies. If you check the description of this video you will see links to all the products I used.
I'm sorry for the late response, but I made this video about sanding and polishing aluminum by hand and should help you with your cage frame:ruclips.net/video/lgqc_n3yIKs/видео.html
Clearcoat on aluminium is a terrible idea, at least every professional semi truck polishing company has told me NO when I asked. They say that the clearcoat will turn yellowish.
This is a strange question/statement but I wonder how well this would work for plastic... I was 3d printing a sword and wanted to give the blade a mirrored finish and planned to paint it aluminum.
Exactly what I wanted to know. I'm just polishing up an old aluminum shifter for my car and needed some reference. You did it concisely and to the point (didn't take 20 minutes just to talk about what you were going to do in the video lol). Idk if this is weird, but you also have a comforting voice lol. Thanks.
thanks for linking the products; saved me even more time, my old canoe looks sweet AF now. good luck out there.
Thinking about stripping and polishing the aluminum hood on one of my cars… super nice tutorial! Thanks!
EXCELLENT video! I use a mirror for welding the top of exhaust tubing and I get 1 or 2 uses out of a glass mirror at the most. So I thought I might have better luck with aluminum but didn't know if I could get it to a mirror shine or not. This confirms it! Thanks for the demonstration. Now I'm gonna go make my mirror which will be a lot easier to refurbish back to a mirror shine after it gets hit with slag than a piece of mirror glass that just ends up pitted and useless.
This video gave me everything I needed to know. Thankyou so much!
Great video. Will follow to polish my new aluminum propeller!
Minha nossa, ficou um ótimo trabalho uma pena que no Brasil não temos produtos como esse para espelhar alumínio.. parabéns pelo trabalho 👏 .
Thanks so much. Method 2 beats the dog out of your first video. I guess that's because of the aluminicut? Seems like it is half the work. I am going to look at an aluminum flatbed for my one ton Monday and from the pics I think it is the aluminum that has not been shined at all (kinda like old galvanized tin ). It isn't bad like it is but I had picked out a diamond plate one that I was trying to wipe my brain around the $4500 and the 800 mile haul and the other essentials for mounting. The bed I have found is 850 cash and 260 mls pickup and haul. It is an 8 foot 8 by 8 foot bed. Your video has got me primed and stoked. I just hope that it is still there . You never know about craigslist. Anyway. Thanks for the great work. Reggie
Working on a 34 rolls ,all aluminum. And I am having a tuff time , getting reed of the buffer scratches that are every where. You make it look easy, I'll start over again.
Red scotch brite and wd -40
Amazing job! Im very jealous of your flat surface.. Im polishing a bicycle frame... Wish me luck!
how did it go? i'm about to do the same thing on my vintage 26" er. did you sand out the deep scratches if you had any?
@ if you want to get rid of deep scratches u need a low grit. I wasn’t too bothered with scratches. The smooth bits of the bike turned out as a mirror polish and look great
Any thoughts on what speed you'd want with a variable speed random orbital polisher? Too fast leaves burns up the alumicut and causes it to goo up, so slow and not enough cutting power? Great video!
Thanks, gonna do the sides of the hill on my aluminium boat, can't wait!
Will this process work on brushed finished aluminum wheels that I’m trying to make into mirror finish?
Good work brother 👍 keep it up😊
That is amazing process to get to that finish!
Thank you, great job, and thanks for all the links.
You're very welcome, I'm happy to help
Looks great! Any way that a dual-action sander would work too? I don’t have a drill that can keep up.
OMG MAESTRO! Bravo
love videos that are to the point ... Great Job!
I dunno if I'm either doing something wrong or if you're just ridiculously good at this, but using smaller 2" discs ranging from 240 to 5000, I wasn't able to get nearly the same finish as your videos. My workpieces definitely look nice and polished with no scratches or smudges but you must be some kinda wizard to get that sorta reflectivity (and doing it with just 4 even passes of the drill)!!
I guess I need much more practice but thanks for the instruction so far!
The trick is to go very slowly on each pass. I hope that helps. Thank you very much for watching.
@@SkillsandTrade Thank you for the response. I do think I was going too fast and I'm gonna try and redo everything from scratch with new discs. Also maybe with an angle grinder and arbor instead of my 18 volt drill
Sounds good, best of luck on your project
ruclips.net/video/E4w0yd7XdfM/видео.html
What attachment us needed for the hook it and interface pad in order to attach it & use it with the drill? Lumber yard said I needed a special drill & I don't think that's correct.
We are working on restoring a '49 Feather Craft boat. It is 15ft, all aluminum, definitely not horizontal or flat, and has lots of dings, etc. Any advice for doing all the steps in your V 2.0 video that would help reduce the look of inconsistency from doing a section at a time? Thanks for any thoughts and replies. If anyone has already done this, please respond!
Beautiful result.
Thank you very much, I'm happy to know you enjoyed the video
Magical!
Thank you very much
Hiya, are you using a specific type of sand paper for aluminum? Am I correct in thinking that you wouldn't switch between sand paper that had been used on any other metals? Thanks so much and well done!
Never use paper that has been used on a dissimilar material. Always have dedicated wheels/discs/brushes etc for each material. Not doing so can ruin the finish (carbon steel on stainless will cause the stainless to rust) and similar to ally.
I have a big sheet aluminum under my outdoor bar that is 3’ x 6‘ I take the scratches out or how can I do some kind a durable finish. Maybe a decorative finish?
Now you gotta try doing that with a soda can!
Do you have any idea why this happened - I have an old handheld 12 volt spotlight with a parabolic reflector. While I had the light disassembled, I took some polish in a bottle to the reflector. I only wiped it on with my index finger but it totally stripped that mirror finish off. I tried to polish it back but it just won't. The surface is glossy smooth but is dull. I'm at a loss. What kind of coating was on this reflector giving it that mirror finish that a simple polish in a bottle was able to remove? I'm confused what happened exactly.
You suggested using alumicut as a lubricant for sanding. Will wet sanding with water give me just as good as a finish? Also would any aluminum cutting fluid/lubricant work?
If not alumicut, any other Aluminum cutting fluid or lubricant should work
I want a mirror exactly like this! I don’t care how much shipping costs, I gotta have one just like it!
Hellooo thank you for your video, it's been truly helpful. Just wondering, would I be able to attach the Meguiars finishing disc onto a orbital sander? If not, would you please suggest an alternative? Thank you very much. One ❤️
How often does the bling master sealant last?
I am polishing some aluminum for my boat that is in salt water.
Awesome video! I assume if I want a satin finish, you skip a few steps and stop at a lower grade grit before the polish?
I have a piece of aluminum I wanted a mirror finish on but used 0000 steel wool on it instead. While parts of the surface have become more mirror like, the center seems to have gotten worse. I was using a circular motion to polish with. Did I put scratches where there weren't any before? Would some kind of polishing powder or paste work too?
Can I just polish the aluminum to get rid of small marks?
Amzing videos.
You could do videos for beginners (it's probably as easy as it can be 🙁) . I have problems finding good videos in Swedish, your video helped me to understand a bit more, but I'm still newbie 😊
Tt would take a long time. Depends on if the marks are scratches and how deep they might be.
Thanks, nice job and video.
Looks great!
To the point - excellent !
do you know if the Blingmaster Bling Barrier Clear Sealant is somewhat heat resistent? i want to polish my valvecover.
can you please try with aluminum and copper to create a sun death ray and see its capabilities of melting steel or cooking or melting rocks . . thank you
Great video. I’m doing/using something wrong though. It seems that to get these results you have to use aluminum oxide sand paper only not the wet/dry kind right ? I’m also trying to polish 1” x 1/4 “ strips, much less surface than what you are doing, does that make a significant difference? I got to 800 aluminum oxide ( your regular sand paper more or less) and if I pass to 1200 for example, but wet/dry it gets opaque, reverses the process. Any suggestions?
Great. Vedios. Well. Done
Can you do this with a random orbital?
Hi. Thanks for the video. 1. Do you know if you were using a specific type of aluminum sheet? Are there different types? 2. Will this oxidize if left outside?
Holy crap I didn't know it was possible to get aluminum that polished. It's more reflective than a mirror. Great job. How long does the protective coating you applied last? Is it more of a wax that needs to be reapplied and is there something you would recommend that might last longer. For example clear coating it with clear spray paint or something like that?
I'm curious as to the answers to your questions as well.
@@justinw1765 any answers?
How long does that finish last before tarnishing again??
Loved the video 👍 I'm restoring a old aluminum pancake pan.
But I'm not sure what is safe to use chemical wise. I don't want it to be toxic after I'm done. Any ideas?
You could probably use a little dawn dish soap and sand by hand or with a drill or orbital sander of some kind.
@@SkillsandTrade I thought about your idea, cool I think using baking soda with it would be good for first cutting sand.👍
Sounds like a good idea. Best of luck on your project. I hope you have many pancakes in your future on a shiny pan.
@@SkillsandTrade I will let you know thanks again 👍
@@dalelaubach4853 how did it workout for you?
May I know how long would this mirror shine last before I need to repeat the same process again?
Good video. Well done.
Awsome video, thank you
Thank you very much
Where do you get the pads? Local store only have them as highest to 400 grit
Just like the way when he say SANDING
The hookit pad is for a sander. Where did you get the adapter for it?
I used the chuck on the drill to hold the hook it pad in place
@@SkillsandTrade so you just tightened the chuck onto the threaded piece that normally screws into a sander?
Yep that is correct
What’s your thought on alternating scratch marks between grits?
What does Alumicut accomplish here for you? if the answer is lubrication, then why not using water or alcohol?
Effective job of mentioning every product name every time.. Good for sponsorship..
Wow ! That’s so beautiful. How do you treat 3D objects that can’t be flat sanded?
Dremel with sanding bands
Awesome 👍👍👍
How durable is that polish?can it be repaired if dented?
i am a little confused how is that hookit pad attached to the drill? The one from your link is a screw on type? I thought the dewalt drill (also one of your links) was a standard drill type that accepts drill bits (with a tightening key)
With all of that sanding, how much does it take away from the actual thickness. Was thinking about doing this to an aluminum drum shell. But I don’t want to sand it if it will effect the sound of the drum!!!
Hi! Thank you for sharing how to !!! If the mirror surface will be used outdoor. what is the best metal for it? Will Aluminum get rusty outdoors? Is stainless steel the best choice for outdoor usage? Thank you so much!
Aluminum won't corrode or rust, and Stainless Steel has chromium in the metal to help protect against rust. I would say Aluminum is the best, followed very closely by Stainless Steel.
I was always told never sand aluminum over 800 grit cause it seals the pours.
Hey is there a way to add color to this and have it shiny?
Amazing! Seemed relitivly fast.
i bought some raw ar15 receivers from war dog industries made with billet aluminum will this method be safe to use on them? they are already in raw aluminum no finish on it, i just need to polish and clear coat but i am not sure how well this will work on billet aluminum lol
Hii I am making 21inch reflector for telescope but I am from India and here 3000 and 5000 sandpaper is not available is there any alternative
And which kind of polish u used to make it shine
Quick question. Where can you get those products?
What was the reflectivity percentage when done ?
well... if I polished a 30' Airstream trailer, how often would it need to be touched up and resealed? Would I spend more time maintaining it than enjoying it?
It should last several months before you would need to touch it up. Especially if you used some sealant
Is there any electric shock when u are doing polishing?
Use a DA (dual action) sander if you have air, $30 Walmart. electric orbital if no air. Step up grits with 6” psa sanding discs.
This leaves no visible variations or patterns from a tool and your hand.
Don’t do this in the sun, keep your work cool.
Friction creates heat, heat expands metal, heat on one side distorts the reflected image
does the grass still grow?
Does this basically simulate with chrome look like? I'm about to mod a backplate on my GPU and I want to make it look chrome and then spray it with black chrome paint to give it a darker finish. I'm making my dream computer
How do you prevent the aluminum from getting cloudy spots. Hazy milky looking
Thank you very much sir! 🔥
You're very welcome, I'm happy you enjoyed
is this enough reflective to be used for telescope?
How long does it stay like that ?
Several months
The amount of times I've seen this video on reddit hurts for how low the views are.
Thank you ❤️❤️
Great stuff. I hand sanded my Harley aluminum front forks to shine like chrome. From 80 grit, 200,400, 1500, 2500, 3000. Its shiny but still a little dull. I’m looking for the mirror finish. Any other suggestions?
ruclips.net/video/E4w0yd7XdfM/видео.html
Can i use it for telescope mirror
Thanks for the info
Can you do this by hand?
Can this be done to an airstream?
where can you get the Blingmaster Bling Barrier?
amzn.to/2WKlfLv, here you go. This link will bring you to Amazon were I purchased all my supplies. If you check the description of this video you will see links to all the products I used.
Am I the only one who came to this video after learning about mirrors and reflection of light in school?
Where do you get the alomacut
Hello, I don’t have a machine can this be done by hand and for a cage frame made of aluminum ?
I'm sorry for the late response, but I made this video about sanding and polishing aluminum by hand and should help you with your cage frame:ruclips.net/video/lgqc_n3yIKs/видео.html
@@SkillsandTrade hello, thank you.
What's the RPM you operate at ?
Will this work with a alloy plate boat ???
It should work fine
can I use WD-40 instead of alumicut?
What was the actual worki g time for each pass?
Once brought to a mirror finish, can you clear coat it? Will the clear coat bind to the mirror surface finish?
Yes you can. The Blingmaster Blingbarrier I use acts as a clear coat and helps protect the finish
@@SkillsandTrade how often should the blingmaster be reapplied?
Clearcoat on aluminium is a terrible idea, at least every professional semi truck polishing company has told me NO when I asked. They say that the clearcoat will turn yellowish.
Weird how this showed up on my feed, I was just thinking about polished aluminum for a sturdy mirror to place under my car at shows.
Why a drill? Sander/polisher? Orbital sander?
This is a strange question/statement but I wonder how well this would work for plastic... I was 3d printing a sword and wanted to give the blade a mirrored finish and planned to paint it aluminum.
I only go to 1000 cuz it's all I got. But 5000 looks so good
How about a variable speed random orbital polisher rather than spinning drill?
If I owned one I would use it in a video. Maybe in the future
Would this work on an uneven surface which is not flat?
Also what about scratches made with a blade (scraping plastic film)