Polished aluminum to a chrome finish for my Media PC

[bondys123]

After polishing I would spray a clear lacquer to keep the shine and stop it tarnishing...all the same nice finish a top job :-)

[2MCHNV]

that is a sick job u didhand polished aluminum looks so much better then electro plated chrome

[honitsten]

@2MCHNV Thank you. This was the 1st time I did this during this video. I was learning as I go.

[kauaiboy89]

i might use a similar process with the dremel on my aluminum rims, doing it by hand is just too much damn work.

[josh666675]

how did you do that with a dremel it scrathed the shit out of it.

[locoloic]

Did you find that the plate subsequently went back to the matte look over the next couple of days? This is because aluminium oxidises in the presence of oxygen. The matte/grey look is the oxidisation, which actually protects the aluminium. To prevent it, you need to put a clear-coat of lacquer on the aluminium as soon as possible after you've polished it.

Cheers.

[honitsten]

@locoloic No I wanted a chrome like shine and it did go away some but it still looks better than how I bought it. Thank you for the tip. I will try it the next time I polish aluminum.

[twistymcfistysback]

@honitsten Use a product called protectaclear and you can keep that finish with no dulling or oxidation.

[volemek]

turn the dremel on low and then put the compound on the felt pad while its running, it works much better.

[devourment8800]

would this work on a lapped cpu?

[GunnyBear95]

Nice work man! If you like doing finishes like this you should look into buying a little block of jeweler's rouge. It's the finest polish you can get and it's dirt cheap online!

[eBiology]

Not bad at all!

[dragonice000]

Horay Cinescore!!!

[FormichinoForum]

Thanks, very useful

[transdetendal]

i have to submit to jardidge and what his saying id go so far as 2000 grit and then polish with wheel and youl get a morror finish. i like your work ,just play around more with it and have fun

[jardidge]

Not bad, but I'd continue smoothing with the sand paper. start with 1000 grit and work four grades up. Start by going left to right. then up and down on the surface. Make sure to wipe down with rubbing alcohol between sandings.

Then just use the buffing wheel with no compound on. Trust me you will get a crazy luster.

I polished my katana using this method. It looks freaking amazing

ps: sorry for the long post :P

[honitsten]

@jardidge Use Alcohol between sandings, good idea.Thanks for the tip. I almost just lapped it till it was extremely flat. It would've taken forever to do.

[herbdell]

@honitsten do you know if the alcohol could damage some stickers that the aluminum can have? I have a motorcycle tank but it has stickers on it ...

[fatgoit]

use auto glym with the buffer ive polished alternaters and other parts and bits and its the only way to go

[honitsten]

@fatgoit Thank you. I will have to give it a shoot.

[haichid]

rather than using that felt buff look for the sewn style much like you would find for a full size buffer, they make them for the dremel. That will remove that foggy finish as well apply the rouge directly to your buff rather than smearing it on your project. The key to a good polish is heat. Fantastic work non the less.

[xXBallistic82Xx]

@haichid

You seem to know what your talking about. I want to ask you I have been polishing some parts off my 1911 pistol. I used automotive sand paper(1000-2000 grit) but it is a very slow proccess. I have a dremel tool. what accessories do I need for my dremel to get a mirror polish.

[brudman80]

Hey man! First off, Your PC tower looks really cool! The switch cover looks really good too. The Only thing I would suggest is that when you grind, sand, polish, or any type of finishing, you always want do it in the same direction from start to finish. This means the buffing wheels too. It makes for a much nicer finish. Keep up the good work man!

[honitsten]

Would never have thought about going in the same direction. (I did it on the paint finish, why not here too? I like that) Thanks for the tip :)

[markej4801]

This is exactly the information I've been looking for!!! Thanks so much for the vid. I'm working on a Ruger 10/22 receiver and once I ge the paint stripped, I will be following up with a polish job! Great encouragement.

[honitsten]

I'm glad it helped. I used some metal polishing guides here as a strarting point. Thanks for watching.

[thehostler]

nice but working with this type of metal is dangerous for your eyes... The mask is not nesesary. Only glasses are xD

[honitsten]

I wasn't sure so I used it anyway. To stay on the safe side I'm going to use a cheap particle mask next time.

Thanks for the tip and for watching.

[RickArter]

Great vid this will help me out greatly 5/5

[honitsten]

Thanks Rick.

I was experimenting with it and wasn't sure it would work.

Your Techstation turned out well. I like it.

[WestCoastMods]

That looks Awesome! Lot easier than I thought.

Great Job!

10/5

Cheers

LazyMan

[honitsten]

Thank you. I'm happy with it.

Now I'm going to work on the wiring.

[tenfoottapeworm]

Looking good. I always turn on the dremel and apply the rubbing compound straight to the buffing wheel.

[honitsten]

I kinda thought so too. Thanks for the tip.

[firestormcomputers]

You could have also just lapped it, like you would a heatsink.