Cleaning/Polishing Aluminum

Flitz, use it all over the boat. Safe to use on blued firearms too. Awesome stuff.

 

http://www.flitz.com/

 

Gilly

Flitz is great on bare metal, but if there is a protective coating on the aluminum (and I'm pretty sure the Lionel cars are coated), Flitz will take it off. Flitz has ammonia in it, among other things - that's why it works as a brass polish. I'd try something a lot milder, maybe automotive cleaner wax. If the fingerprints have etched their way through the coating, the only way to get them out would be to strip the coating and re-spray the aluminum with a clear coat - clear lacquer or whatever.

 

I thought the Lionel extrusions were anodized?  If so, soap and water would be the choice.  My Budd cars are bare aluminum, and polishing them is a bear, because it is difficult to remove the polish residue, even using the flour trick.  Some Sunset are painted.  Use care when polishing them.

Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish.

 

Be SURE to cover or remove name plates and lettering as it will take it off. Wear gloves as it gets black as soot, and use clean soft cotton rags, but the results are amazing.

 

Gandy

I would avoid using a stick of dynamite for this job. Start by using a mild soap and warm water solution with a soft clean paint brush. Blot dry with your best softest face towel.

I would try NuFinish, a car polish made for clear coated modern automobiles.  It does not have abrasives like chrome polish and contains no wax.

 

Get at wallymart, in orange plastic bottle with blue lettering.

 

I have been using it for years about twice a year on my 14 year old and other cars.

 

Charlie

yup that the best solution...try it with a microfiber cloth, they do miracle and most of the time only with water.

 

And for a shiny finish Pledge MultiSurface (safe for every material and leave no residue)..a small spray on a microfiber cloth (not directly on the cars/engine) go a long way...exist in scent free, but the lavender one is nice too...

Use a neutral PH all purpose cleaner or soap like Zep Marble and quartz cleaner (at Home depot). For making it pop use a water base stainless steel poilsh followed up by a light buffing using a microfiber cloth.

Lee Willis probably has some leftover Simple Green you could use as a starting point. 

 

Heck, even the Feds are using 'simple green' (more printed...worth-less...money) to try to clean up the economy (mess)!    (Hmmm...methinks there's a limmerick lurking in that!)

 

Meanwhile, back on topic...  I know what takes care of the ye olde 2500-series aluminum cars.  It's in the above recommendations.  But, I agree with the above cautionary suggestions re newer-generation finishes...unless the manufacturer might have some recommendations???  Worth a try?

 

Whatever...let us know what did...and didn't...work.

 

KD

This thread is old enough I don't feel that my posting this is hijacking the thread, so here goes:

 

What about removing scratches from aluminum, what's the best method?

 

I have an OK Engines passenger car shell that I'm working on and have removed some of the fluting, but in the process left a few small dings/gouges/scratches in the roof surface:

 

 

 

 

The entire roof was covered with fluting like you see above the windows, I've been working on it for 2-3 weeks now.  I've removed every other flute on the other side above the windows and need to do this side next, before I do a final smoothing of the surface.

 

Since these photos were taken I've smoothed them down even more, but still have minute scratches in the surface.

 

Removing every other flute above the window has played havoc on my nerves

When I was refurbing the aluminum sill plates on my old car (relatively thin gauge) I used a buffing wheel with the least abrasive rubbing compound stick available at Northern or Harbor Freight (the compound was specified for gold and similar soft metals).  With a high speed rotary like a dremel you have to be careful not to over work one spot or the heat and compound will start to make undulations in the smooth, soft aluminum surface.  It did remove surface scratches, not major dings.  Then chasing that process with elbow grease and Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish made them shine like new chrome.  I'm going to use the Mothers on my MTH Amtrak aluminum cars, but as previously mentioned in this thread I'll be completely avoiding the painted stripe areas.

 

You might could try some super, super fine grit sand paper and then buff back smooth.  That is a cool looking car body.  Good luck on your project.

Robert

Thanks Robert!

 

I removed the fluting using my Dremel and various bits (I bought some diamond bits at Harbor Freight), followed by files, sandpaper, foam sanding blocks, steel wool, and even a Mister Clean Magic Eraser, trying to see what worked.

 

I recently bought a battery-powered drill and thought I'd try a buffing wheel in it for the final finish (shoulda got some compound at HF when I was there).  I've heard even toothpaste will work.

 

I just came back in from removing the last of the fluting, now I have to get the surface fairly flat so I can start work on finishing the surface.

 

I've read that Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish is the stuff, so that's next on the buy list.

I would use a sanding block, and work my way down with successively finer sand paper.  Once you do about 400 grit, you are ready for polish, again with a sanding block and by hand.  I still say you would be happier with a blank Kasiner, CRC, or even Speer extrusion.

If buffing with your drill you probably want to get a fine compound. The white compound of Dupont is finer then the red, or Dupont 606 professional compound.

 

I don't know about toothpaste?

bob2,

 

After I dremeled off every other rib above the windows, I used files to do an initial "smoothing" of the surface.  Next was kind of what you suggested, I used a file (fits between the remaining flutes) with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around the file (used as a sanding block).  So far that seems to be taking enough metal off to smooth it down considerably.

 

I have some 1500 grit wet/dry, but I think some polishing compound would be useful at that point.

 

I think I have found the correct answer...time and patience (and a lot of elbow grease).  A milling machine would have been ideal, but I didn't feel like spending several hundred dollars.  I bet I've spent over $50 on files, sandpaper, etc to do what I've done so far on this $50 car body!  I still have to find some trucks, ends, diaphragms, and interior details, so I'll have over $200 in this car (shortly after I'm done GGD will come out with this exact car I'm sure).

Bob you may want to try looking at some of the products offered at Caswell Inc. They sell a complete kit for restoring aluminum. Another good product for polishing aluminum is cape cod polish.

Yes, polishing with a buffing wheel is the only way to remove the scratches and get the surface smooth. Check out Caswell like FMC suggested. They have a good website.A buffing wheel on a bench grinder would probably be the way to go.

Now you why the Delorean was not a big seller. You can not get those gouges and dings "out" as they are metal that has been removed. Scratches can be sanded or polished out.

Fill the roof with Bondo, sand it smooth and paint it or have a new roof fabricated.

If you remove enough metal from the rest of the roof to get down to the bottom of the gouges, you'll have a thin roof or holes.

Heres what id been doing for 30+years,since i been doing autobody and paint for a living plus showing cars and trucks...If there any scratches? wet sand it with 1000 grit wetsand paper then buff it out with 3M super duty compound!You will get that mirrior finish you wanted by doing what id said..

At our store (LHS) we sell a polishing kit that is part of the product line for the scale model automobile/truck builders...details, tools, etc..  The kit consists of 6 pieces of polishing cloth in grits of 3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000, and 12000.  Each piece is about 3" X 4".  I use it myself to eliminate scratches on clear plastic.  If the scratches are very superficial, light rubbing of the scratched area with each of these 6 cloth coupons in ascending sequence will...everytime...eliminate the scratch.  If the scratches are much deeper, you'd want to start with coarser grits...say, 400-1000 to work it out faster.

 

Now, having said all that, your job would probably require more than these small coupons of polishing cloth.  Our model car customers have found two automotive paint stores...specializing in automotive paint/finishing supplies, as for body repair/customizing shops...within a 50-mile radius who sell polishing cloth in these superfine grits by the larger sheet.  They're not cheap...like big-box store sandpaper...but they are the necessary tools of a different trade. 

 

For that car roof, I agree with the earlier suggestion to start with some coarser grit rigidly backed to work out the file marks and any waviness to the surface before progressing to the polishing cloths/steps.  Hold the roof up to a good light, sighting along it, to check your progress periodically.  You might even want to do another 'trick' the serious model car builders use...spray a light coat of flat primer onto the surface and let it dry.  Then put the surface to a critical eye test, having a light beam shine from different shallow angles to highlight and/or shadow any surface irregularities.  You can then concentrate your sanding/polishing on the smaller areas requiring attention.  For your aluminum car, you can then remove the thin primer coat with an appropriate liquid/gel paint remover, wash, and finish polish with one of the paste/liquid suggestions above. 

 

BTW...looks like an interesting car-in-the-making!  Please show us the finished (no pun intended!) product when you're done??

 

FWIW, always...

 

KD

Thanks guys!

 

The real problem area is where the mating line of the smoothed off roof and the fluting on the sides meet.  If I get too aggressive I'll most likely put a few nicks in the 1st flute, if I hold back I won't get the smooth finish.

 

Some dings are acceptable, the real cars had them as well.  But at O scale they do tend to stand out.

 

For now I'm hitting it every day, just a little at a time until I feel I've done enough to make the dings look like wear and tear and not vandalism LOL!!!

I repair heavily scratched American Flyer aluminum 600 series passenger cars by using a buffing wheel on a bench grinder, and a red polishing compound. Heavily tape along the upper fluting to prevent the compound from doing any work there. It will take a few tries to get t perfect, but it works nicely. Mothers is not strong enough to get the scratches out, use it to polish to a high even shine after buffing.

 

Gandy

I have a bench grinder, but I need to check to see if I have a buffing wheel.  I know I need to get some of the red compound.