Polishing/Clear coating

[Albannach]

If I polish some aluminium(alloy) parts using Autosol, is there anything I have to do to them between the polishing stage and the clear coating stages?

[si tate]

What, non of the shiny brigade seen this thread yet.

[BUSHWHACKER]

I thought it was a p*ss take!

[Albannach]

Nope, I'm cleaning some bits from my bike.

I thought about polishing them then wiping them with petrol (like we used to do to get wax polish off paintwork) but as I've never done it before, I thought I'd ask.

[an1mal_69]

you could use anchor wax instead of the clearcoat, easier to apply and reapply. Got the shaft BTW, cheers. Not opened it up yet but it here

[surfenstein]

one word of advice,dont use a clear coat,it will tarnish and turn yellow in a matter of weeks.best thing to do would be to polish the alloy and then just buff them up once a month with some metal polish.

[Albannach]

Got the shaft BTW, cheers. Not opened it up yet but it here

Glad it got there OK.

[Albannach]

one word of advice,dont use a clear coat,it will tarnish and turn yellow in a matter of weeks.best thing to do would be to polish the alloy and then just buff them up once a month with some metal polish.

Ah, OK. I'll keep a closer eye on things then, not let them get as bad as they did!

[an1mal_69]

again, if you're not going to clearcoat..anchor wax is the way forward. Its widely used on the VW scene for the 'rat-look' where they let the body rust then use the wax to protect the bare metal.

[an1mal_69]

Another one I jus spotted out back 'Rimwax' (ooo-er missus), used for protecting polished and alloy wheels. Not as long lasting as anchorwax i.e. you may have to apply every few months as opposed to maybe twice a yr..but is available in less than 5lt tubs unlike the anchor wax

[Albannach]

I'm bidding on 5L of Ankor (took a while to find!) Wax on eBay, £15 delivered, which I thought was not too shabby?

[an1mal_69]

'ankor'.. ..doh

Cant grumble at that for 5lt's, probably keep you shiny indefinately..lol

[BUSHWHACKER]

Looks just the same as Duck oil or WD40 to me!

[Albannach]

I don't know what it looks like, I've never seen it before.

[gary-r]

just noticed this thread - try belgum alu polish, its about a tenner but i use it all the time on bare polished alloy. it keeps its finish and doesnt tarnish when the bikes been out to play in the rain. most of the bike is bare alloy or stainless and ive found that stuff the best - its not abrasive like solvol and leaves a wax coating on the metal.