Brian,
Use plenty of compound as that's what does the cutting not the wheels.
Plenty of passes rather than keep it in one spot as you'll create an uneven
surface. Don't use too much pressure as you should let the compound do the
cutting and you don't want to slow the buffer down. The faster it spins the
better it polishes.
Heat buildup is a by-product of polishing so wear thick leather gloves. The
metal will never get hot enough to get discolored from the heat. Always keep
the piece you're polishing on the "down side" of the wheel and watch out
when coming close to the edges. If you do it wrong the wheel will take that
piece outta your hand and fling it across the room! That's another reason to
wear thick leather gloves!!!!!!
As for the trim it's hard to really polish those out because of the ribs and
due to the fact that they really get messed up after all these years.
They're also very thin. Take your time and don't expect miracles.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian St. Jacques" <brian@varatouch.com>
To: <datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 12:10 PM
Subject: Metal Polishing
> Hello All,
>
> I just got a metal polishing kit from Eastwood and have been playing
around
> with it the last few days. I have never done this kind of work, so I am
not
> sure if my technique is quite right, even after actually reading the
> instructions. I was wondering if anyone on the list that has some
> experience with making metal shine could answer a few questions for me...
>
> - Is it better to make lots of short passes over an area or to leave the
> buff concentrated on that area?
>
> - Is heat build up an the part good? bad? doesn't matter as long as the
> metal doesn't get discolored?
>
> - Should I always have a slight "haze" of compound on the part or should I
> work the part until the "haze" is gone and then apply more compound?
>
> Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated. I have started out
working
> on one of the aluminum door....uh...threshold?....plates. Mine are very
> ugly with quite a bit of corrosion. I have half of one looking almost nice
> after lots of work with steel wool and tripoli, but you can still see the
> surface imperfections from the corrosion unless you are standing two feet
> away and in the right light. At this pace I will have all of that aluminum
> trim looking beautiful in a few short years....
>
> Brian '68 1600
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