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Tip: Polishing your Aluminum Spinner

Allan / Cummins Spinners

Allan / Cummins Spinners

Active Member
Hi All
I have been asked how I polish the Spinners I market,

Method 1
Find a good polishing shop and have them do it (most electroplaters do polishing)

Method 2
Have the electroplaters chrome the cone.

Method 3
Find someone who works cheap and pay them to do it.

As you can see from the above I am not a fan of metal polishing, but I learnt over the last 10 yrs on the smaller spinners I polish.

My method is as follows

Dress in the oldest cloths you have, you will get dirty
I use the following polishing compounds.
Brown then white then green polish bars.
Remember the polish compound does the work not the wheel.
Also clean the wheel when it gets shiny and before you put more compound on the wheel, an old wood rasp file is a great wheel cleaner.
I use the brown on a stitched cotton wheel this is the one that you use the most, do the cone at least 2 times, this wheel does 90% of the polishing
I use the other polishes on a calico wheel. I do the white and green bars once over the cone.
I clean the cone with a soft cloth and thinners between each different polish compound.
If you find a mark or spot you missed when using the calico wheels go back and fit the stitched cotton wheel the calico wheels will not fix the marks.

WARNING DON'T WASH THE CLOTHS YOU WORN IN YOUR WIFE'S WASHING MACHINE SHE WILL KILL YOU :D

In the next few weeks I am going the try polishing a cone with Nuvite which is the same way I polished my first home built a Zenith 601 XLB

Hope this helps. Any questions please ask and I will try to answer then
Cheers from downunder :)
 
Hi Allan,

Any pictures of these different polishing wheels you are talking about ?

The only system that I have seen being referenced on this site is the Nuvite system.

Is the system your using from a particular manufacturer?

Cheers
 
You can get the wheels and polishing sticks he is talking about at harbor freight tools or commonly known as horrible freight tools:D
Happy polishing
Bird
 
What speed to you spin the wheels for polishing

Allan
Thanks for the polishing explanation. What speed to you spin the polishing wheels? Do you use dedicated desk top polishing machine? Can polishing be done using an old 110V electric drill?

I'm trying to polish a couple pieces of regular aluminum from Vans for reflectors in the embedded wing tips. I'm spending a lot of time trying to polish with an electric drill and not sure I'm making progress. I started with white, but have switched to brown after reading your instructions. I do see the brown makes faster work of shinning.

Do you have to have dedicated wheels for each color (grit) of polish or can you put white on top of the brown and green on top of white?

thanks
 
Polishing speed

Hi Steve
I do all my polishing using a breach grinder which I gave fitted my polishing wheels too. I am not sure what speed the RPM is. It is 240 volts which is what we have in Australia
I see no reason why you could not use an old drill but you would need it have a good firm grip as it will buck a bit if you get the angle wrong. I would practise on some old bits first. Another way is you mount your old drill in a bench vise (just and idea)
You should use a new wheel for each compound but that can be expensive,
Just make sure you clean the wheel with a old rasp between compounds
Hope this helps with your polishing
Cheers from down under
 
Reflectors

Steve. Rather than polishing metal have u considered mirrored plastic? Light, Easy to cut & works great.
Keith
 
Adding to what Allan does - the polishing will go faster if you prep the aluminum before starting the polishing process. Also always change wheels between the different compounds. Never mix the wheels and compounds or you will be sorry.

If you have deep scratches better think about painting. For minor scratches and to remove most surface defects start by wet sanding with 400 grit paper, what you are looking for is to get a uniform grey color and any surface defects to show up. After 400 go to 600 then 1000 grit. When you get finished you should have a scratch free surface that is matt in finish. Now begin your polishing process. Wear Heavy Gloves it will get hot enough to burn you and secure loose fitting clothing. Eye protection is a must and be careful when you get to an edge as the wheel has the ability to catch the part and throw it across the room hitting every expensive thing in the process. Of coarse this only happens when you are putting on those last final touches and the resulting bend in the metal will make you start all over.

Files work great for cleaning the pads. So does a 1X2 board with several 16d nails protruding aboit 3/4" through it. I like the board best as it gives you a two handed handle. What you are aiming to do is rough up the wheel and get rid of the embedded aluminum particles and compound. The cleaning process will remove lots of lint and debris so be advised there will be lots of dust, grit, and lint in the polishing area when you get done.

Harbor freight has most everything you will need including a decent polishing motor with long arbors. A heavy stand to bolt it to is most helpful to be able to get to the various areas. Once you do it, it is a no brainer just dirty, tedious work. Also your buddies will want you to do theirs too. Be sure to keep the details a mystery as they will pay more beers if they think its real hard.
 
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