Polishing

[deltonmike]

What your best way to polish aluminum parts on motors especially small detailed ones.

[jw-in-dixie]

I use 4-0 stainless steel wool dipped in oil. Followed by increasingly finer coated abrasive and cotton wheel buffer with rouge. Depending on the finish you desire.

JW in Dixie

[Doug Wilson]

i have had good luck with 0000 steel wool and mothers mag wheel polish worked great on my A50 johnson
Doug

Doug

how is it motors multiply when the garage lights get
turned off?

[legendre]

For fine hand polishing, Simichrome is good. Some suggest Flitz, which works very slowly but can give a jewelry-quality finish – I believe it’s intended for fine metals. But either of these are only used once the surface oxidation is removed..

Otherwise, mop wheels with white, grey and/or red rouge are the go-to standard.

Don’t over-polish any parts that are directly responsible for cooling, such as the fins on an air-cooled engine. Polish the edges if you like, but leave rough everywhere else – you want that surface area!

[skeg]

First a de-grease is in order or you will be transferring said junk to your buffing wheels. Then a tight knit wheel with cleaning polish followed by a looser knit wheel with red rouge polish or similar fining polish. Clean the part again and then put some Flitz to it. Do exactly what the directions tell you and make sure to finish with micro cloth. Good info on polishing in the members section as well.
Skeg

[bobprock4200]

+1 on Mother’s. You want to start with a smooth surface, but it really cleans the oxidation, delivers a mirror-like finish and leaves a layer to slow further oxidation.

[brook-n]

Roughing:
As other have mentioned in this thread, I usually start with a roughing wheel & compound.
Then I move to a polishing wheel & compound.

Finish/maintaining by hand:
I also like Simichrome, Flitz & Mothers, In my experience Mothers seems to hold the shine longer. ( a must if you collect & restore motors from the brass & polished aluminum era as
Maintenance can be time consuming task.)

Polishing small detailed parts:
On small parts I like to use my Dremel tool as all the roughing & finishing wheels are available for it. Larger machines & wheels can easily take small parts from your hands and throw them to the floor damaging them or having to go hunting for them under the bench.

Respectfully

[deltonmike]

Thank you all for your help

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