Aluminium polishing

[Seven]

Quick question series,

Have any of you lovely people spent the time and effort to polish up an aluminium slide/frame/magazine?

For those that have, can you possibly detail exactly how you went about this, how it turned out and how the finish held up to usage?

Im thinking about doing it for my pistol and magazines. Polishing them up to a super shiny, almost chrome like finish, but if it's a ball ache to maintain I might think again.

I've found a few places that detailed how they did it but each person seems to have a slightly different method with varying degrees of effort required so really just polling to find the best/quickest method and gauge the amount of upkeep required to keep it looking great.

Cheers!

 

[Iceni]

Depends on the metal.

Aluminium is pretty vague when it comes to airsoft. A good portion of what I have seen is more zinc than aluminium. It's why it goes dull grey/black when it tarnishes.

Zinc alloys can be polished, but they tarnish at a frighting rate and need sealing with something durable once polished. It means that if you are polishing internals to stay looking polished you will end up buggering the internals. The sealant (normally spray lacquer) will add resistance.

For externals, the polish on zinc alloys is only as good as the lacquer finish. If you seal it with a decent 2 part lacquer then the finish will be about as durable as car paint.


If it is actually a decent quality casting aluminium or machined billet then you can just hit it with autosol and leave it. The natural aluminium oxide layer will for a thin skin that will slightly dill the finish but also protect it very well.


For the actual polishing you want a very low-speed Dremel with felt pads, or to go at it by hand with cloths/toothbrush and a lot of elbow grease.

You have to be careful with the choice of dremel. The UK market is flooded with triac controlled (variable speed) mains powered ones. These generally have a low speed of 8-12000rpm. The problem isn't the speed it's the torque. They don't slow down enough under load and will burn soft metal when polishing.

The best out of the box Dremel would be something like the 18V rotacraft.  Whilst it's still an 8000rpm unit that's a no-load speed. Under load, it drops to nothing, and you can use pressure to control the speed. It makes it a very hard unit to burn plastics and soft metals with.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rotacraft-Variable-Speed-Rotary-Tool/dp/B000B8JNWC/ref=sr_1_13?srs=1783069031&ie=UTF8&qid=1548668360&sr=8-13

Autosol and elbow grease will go a long way if you don't want to spend a lot of money. It takes considerable effort to get to a high polish, it is cheap and autosol can be easily bought. Wilko, Halfords, and loads of places that sell tools stock it, Some supermarkets as well.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/shampoo-polish-wax/autosol-metal-polish-75ml

 

[Seven]

Depends on the metal.

Aluminium is pretty vague when it comes to airsoft. A good portion of what I have seen is more zinc than aluminium. It's why it goes dull grey/black when it tarnishes.

Zinc alloys can be polished, but they tarnish at a frighting rate and need sealing with something durable once polished. It means that if you are polishing internals to stay looking polished you will end up buggering the internals. The sealant (normally spray lacquer) will add resistance.

For externals, the polish on zinc alloys is only as good as the lacquer finish. If you seal it with a decent 2 part lacquer then the finish will be about as durable as car paint.


If it is actually a decent quality casting aluminium or machined billet then you can just hit it with autosol and leave it. The natural aluminium oxide layer will for a thin skin that will slightly dill the finish but also protect it very well.


For the actual polishing you want a very low-speed Dremel with felt pads, or to go at it by hand with cloths/toothbrush and a lot of elbow grease.

You have to be careful with the choice of dremel. The UK market is flooded with triac controlled (variable speed) mains powered ones. These generally have a low speed of 8-12000rpm. The problem isn't the speed it's the torque. They don't slow down enough under load and will burn soft metal when polishing.

The best out of the box Dremel would be something like the 18V rotacraft.  Whilst it's still an 8000rpm unit that's a no-load speed. Under load, it drops to nothing, and you can use pressure to control the speed. It makes it a very hard unit to burn plastics and soft metals with.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rotacraft-Variable-Speed-Rotary-Tool/dp/B000B8JNWC/ref=sr_1_13?srs=1783069031&ie=UTF8&qid=1548668360&sr=8-13

Autosol and elbow grease will go a long way if you don't want to spend a lot of money. It takes considerable effort to get to a high polish, it is cheap and autosol can be easily bought. Wilko, Halfords, and loads of places that sell tools stock it, Some supermarkets as well.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/shampoo-polish-wax/autosol-metal-polish-75ml

Thanks for that.

The parts im specifically talking about are Airsoft Masterpiece slides and frames and Prowin magazine bodies.

I would presume, perhaps wrongly, that they would be decent quality aluminium.

Does that help?

Will they easily maintain the high gloss shine?

 

[Iceni]

Billet aluminium. Solid block that has been CNC machined rather than cast.

They will polish well.

I'd try autosol on a soft cloth first, and work from there. Try it without sealing. If it's good quality it should self protect and need very little maintenance polishing.

 

[Seven]

Billet aluminium. They will polish well.

I'd try autosol on a soft cloth first, and work from there.

Cool, I'll be heading out soon to get some unrelated stuff so I'll see if I can pick some up.

How about maintenance? Will it maintain its high gloss shine easily or can I do something to help it stay shiny? Still recommend a lacquer? Like an automotive type?

 

[Iceni]

Aluminium is normally very good at keeping a shine. It'll depend on how much you hold and use it. If you want it to stay 100% polished it needs sealing even if that is just with a wax. Autosol has some wax content for this. There are also aluminium polishes that have a wax content to keep the shine. 

Personally, I'd try the autosol, and see how long it polishes for. Then work from there. 

We used to use the same stuff on aluminium castings of Honda engines on racing go-karts when we did shows. The polish once done was easy to get back, and would last a days racing (high heat). If left without using the engine the polish would last for months. All done with toothbrushes!

 

[Seven]

Aluminium is normally very good at keeping a shine. It'll depend on how much you hold and use it. If you want it to stay 100% polished it needs sealing even if that is just with a wax. Autosol has some wax content for this. There are also aluminium polishes that have a wax content to keep the shine. 

Personally, I'd try the autosol, and see how long it polishes for. Then work from there. 

We used to use the same stuff on aluminium castings of Honda engines on racing go-karts when we did shows. The polish once done was easy to get back, and would last a days racing (high heat). If left without using the engine the polish would last for months. All done with toothbrushes!

Excellent, thank you!

Just a thought that came to me now... Would a clean microfibre cloth with an extremely light touch of silicon oil and rubbed over the surface be a good idea?

Like after use I could clean the parts as I normally do and then just run a practicaly dry cloth of silicon oil over it?

 

[Iceni]

It certainly won't hurt. But it might kill some of the lustre.

I'd test it first tho, So a small section inside the slide, and see what the effect is. You might run into a light coat of lacquer and that will ruin your day.

 

[Immortal]

You could try CapeCod cloths to keep the shine. They work quick and are fairly cheap for an industrial tin with many cloths. It's what most jewellers use. Personally I've not tried them on Ally myself so perhaps just get one and try it or see if someone has used them on youtube etc. They last a long time and can be reivied with a mineral oil to keep them going. I have a brass pistol that I use them on.

 

[Seven]

You could try CapeCod cloths to keep the shine. They work quick and are fairly cheap for an industrial tin with many cloths. It's what most jewellers use. Personally I've not tried them on Ally myself so perhaps just get one and try it or see if someone has used them on youtube etc. They last a long time and can be reivied with a mineral oil to keep them going. I have a brass pistol that I use them on.

Just checked it out on the old YouTube... Says it does aluminium on the pack and looks like it does a decent job from what I've seen... Another tool in the arsenal, thanks!

 

[Immortal]

Just checked it out on the old YouTube... Says it does aluminium on the pack and looks like it does a decent job from what I've seen... Another tool in the arsenal, thanks!

In which case they can polish to a mirror finish. ?

 

[Seven]

Ok... Check this out...

View attachment 41962View attachment 41961

Decided to take an extra step and start off with some fine grade sandpaper... 600 grit done as above, before and after.

Next I'll do 800 and then 1000 grit and then the autosol to put the cherry on it.

Look spanking after only the 600 grit so I can't WAIT to see the finished article!

Cheers ma dudes!

6 magazines to do though... This might take a while! Netflix is getting pounded tonight! 

EDIT: 

This is how it looks after all 3 grades of paper and autosol polish. The colour difference is amazing!

View attachment 41970View attachment 41969

 

[Iceni]

Once you use autosol you always have a tube kicking about. It's really useful.

Those mags are looking good.