Paintball

[ApoC_101]

Originally Posted by alpha434

balls.

that's gonna take a while. you will definitely need to wash your balls thoroughly afterwards.

[csermonet47]

Hit it with some Mothers and a microfiber and see where it is. Work it in until the polish turns black (aluminum dusts black). You may be surprised. If you want it shinier, bust out the sand paper and work up to 2500 grit or so. Buffing wheel and compound is great, but Mothers is good stuff and not everyone has a buffing wheel. Mothers is one of the few over the counter car care products that really is the best. I dabble in automotive detailing and polishing aluminum is something that I have experience in.

Note: Raw aluminum is very soft, so make sure you use a high quality microfiber (no melted edges, they can scratch the surface) and keep everything CLEAN.

[Hawkeye20]

One method I've used (on a round part) is to throw it in a drill press chuck (so its spinning) at a medium speed and press a Stock Brite pad against it with medium pressure. Works for a light polished finish.

[B-17]

Anyone else just use brasso?

I feel not as fancy.

[HP_Lovecraft]

For years I used Gun-Brite. Seemed to require less work then Mothers, but the local stores stopped carrying it.

Note: you still should sand through the different grades before using the polish. Otherwise, you will get shiny "bumps and scratches", as well as the factory toolmarks. Those will show up very brite when polished

[ta2maki]

Originally Posted by B-17

Anyone else just use brasso?

I feel not as fancy.

Not a fan of brasso. It seems like it's good for restoring a tarnished finish, rather than creating a new shiny one.

[Jaan]

Mother's is what I've used and it's worked well. For small parts I use the buffer wheel on a dremel too.

[Lindsay]

I use WAB gray matter. By far the best stuff I have tried. It is a "truck" product so you can find it at fleet pride or most big truck stops. Turns aluminum into a mirror pretty much.