Ok so I bought some 1/8" aluminum to make some custom parts for my case. The aluminum had some scratches in it already plus a few just from making the pieces. Some of these scratches are pretty deep. My question is, is it possible to get this to a polished surface using just a dremel and dremel bits? I want to clear coat it when I am done so I will not be painting it. I used the drum sander attachment w/ the coarse and medium sleeves(120). I used some funky sanding thing that looked like a sea sponge(511) which I think would leave me with a surface ready for polishing. I couldn't really find anything between the sanding sleeve and the 511, that I have anyway. So if possible could someone help me out with the steps and coresponding dremel bits to get from scratches to polished.

p.s. I searched the painting forum and didn't really see anything so if I missed it sorry.

Thanks

Kr1cH

are these aluminum plates? don't want to use a dremel for that. just get a sanding block. you can probably do the lower grits (400-600) with a power sander but you'll probably want to just wetsand the higher grits. get some metal polish also, you can get some good polish at www.englishcustompolish.com

don't think clearcoat would work on just metal very well . ..

im working with aluminum tread plate so its not exactly flat, thats why I was hoping to use a dremel tool.

how big is this plate? it would be hard to get an even level with a dremel.

about 2" x 6". Oh and the clearcoat was just a recomendation by a friend to keep it from getting scratched. I do have a benchtop grinder I was thinking of getting one of those buffing wheels for. With the dremel bits 511 it will have been sanded at around 350-400 grit. Is this enough to get it to a nice shine? I did some more research on the web and they talk about going from 220 - 320 - 400 - 600 - 800 - 1000 - 1500 grit. I just dont think that would be possible w/ tread plate because it is not flat, but if thats how i have to do it...


Kr1cH

you can probably just sand the treads out.
where'd you order the metal btw? onlinemetals.com?

No I want to keep the daimonds. Thats why I cant just wet sand.

well in that case, you'll just have to use your dremel to detail sand . ..
its going to take a lot of work to get that thing sanded enough for a mirror finish.

If you are trying to buff aluminum...get a buffing wheel for a benchtop grinder. It works GREAT. I got mine from Eastwood...http://www.eastwoodco.com

Here's a pic of how shiny you can get it with a buffing wheel - (sorry for the long url)

http://www.davidgroth.com/index.cfm?...340F1B56FCD4F6

Start with like 150 grit, then 280, then 320, then 500-600, then 1000, 1500 then go to the buffing wheel.

Good luck!

Hey thanks for the help. I've kind of come to the conclusion that I will not achieve that polished look with the dremel. I'm pretty sure I can get the major scratches out and then go from there. One more thing, when you polished it, did you use any compound?


Thanks
Kr1cH

englishcustompolish.com has some good metal polishes
if you want a really good polish, you'll need to use some compound

Well, I don't really know how DEEP deep is, so I'm going to take a stab and tell you to go to your local Autoparts store and pick up some "Blue Magic" Metal Polish. It works wonders on everything from plastic headlights to aluminum headers and fuel injection. It took out scratches that were...sorta deep. Takes some amount of elbow grease though...