metal restoration and polishing

[lvtoclimb@comcast.net]

Anyone one know of any tricks or magic elixirs that WORK for restoring SS/ Aluminum tubing?  I tried Mothers, but there is still quite  a bit of oxidation.

[TedStrat]

For the stainless I always use Never Dull - blue can and has a cottony cloth inside you rip a wad off and polish, then wipe off with cloth in 5 min or so. Works great on SS and fairly good on oxidized aluminum. When the aluminum is clean, get some Rupp alumna guard - spray on cloth and wipe down every so often. It works great on T-tops and aluminum stations - it's a protectant -not a polish though

[lvtoclimb@comcast.net]

Yeah, I saw the Never Dull in the store and will give that a go.  I did find with lots and lots pressure using Mothers, the oxidation started to come off.  Way too much work though.  I was wandering about using a drill attachment with polishing pad?

Thanks for the suggestions.
Sean

[Craig]

I use Wichard Wichinox. Great stuff! Cleans and restores anti-corrosive coating to stainless. Not meant for aluminum as it contains phosphoric acid. It is not cheap($20.00/tube) but really works well with little effort.....wipe on, let stand, wipe off.  For aluminum Flitz is the best I have found.

[skip1930]

Haggerty Metal Polish from jewelry stores ...

But if the aluminum is anodized and that's scratched away. No hope. That's the reason for the anodize. To protect the metal as aluminum is nothing more than compressed mud.

Dubois Chemical has stainless steel wash and Aluminum wash ...

These two products could not be further opposite on the pH scale.

The stainless steel wash dissolves aluminum ... I know this because a submerged an aluminum ladder covered in dried paint in a hot tank of ss wash and the next morning the only thing left was the plastic parts of the 5 foot ladder. Sorry boss.

skip.