im sure there's probably a thread on here somewhere, couldnt find one though----but i want to know whats an eficient way to polish diamond plate??? ive tried a high spped buffer, the diamond plate just tears up the pads....ive tried hand polishing, too much work and it doesnt work that great...

here lately ive heard of a thing that goes in ur drill...a flitz ball or something like that...not sure on the name, but would something like this work good, i mean it supposedly works on wheels,...if not whats do you guys do to polish diamond plate?.....easily

 

cmon guys i know some of yall have polished diamond plate before....

 

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...new-today.html

 

has anyone used the flitz ball to polish diamond plate or anything really....does it work, or should i invest in a mothers powerball...or is there a better one on the market....for my drill...

 

idk what you should do, paint it gloss black lol

 

Yea the flitz ball just gets torn up from the rough edges...what I suggest is grabbing yourself an electric right angle grinder and they make fabric (8'' or so i think) wheels that you put on there then find a (hard) stick of polish and with the grinder on get some polish on the wheel and start going at it! Thats what I did to my toolbox when I used to work at a trucking company detailing Semis. We did the same thing on the trucks.... from aluminum wheels to tanks to entire boxes on the trucks. Be sure to wear safety goggles and a mask because you will get dirty!!! All the particles of the wheel plus the black residue gets everywhere but hell it polishes the aluminum like a champ! Theres no better way in my mind.....

 

What about steel wool?

 

that could work if you start off course then keep going finer and finer in conjunction with some sort of polish. Thats what polishing is...starting off with a surface that is very microscopically pitted and evening the surface out so that the light reflects off of the material "shinier". Haha I dont know how to explain that part..

 

NO! lol bad bad bad bad bad. Im sorry but I am so passionate about people staying the fvck away from steel wool on aluminum chrome or Stainless. I have spent countless hours cutting and buffing stuff that people have used it on.

I use Blue magic and a buffer wheel for a drill.

and this


To get the best life out of the wheel switch back and forth between forward and reverse on the drill. Once you get the stuff good and black (you will know what I mean when you do it) clean it up with a towel. That from what I have done will get you the best results with out tearing up equipment. Also try and find a good pace and try to go with the pitch of the diamond plate if you can.

 

Thats a quicker way though (without the bench polisher) but mount one of the wheels on a right angle grinder....much much faster then a drill....

 

I used 000 steel wool and it worked out great.

 

this is good stuff.
the best way i have found is to do it by hand with rag or piece of carpet and lots of elbow grease its tuff but it works great.

 

That's why Im suggesting the right angle grinder man, no elbow grease except you holding the grinder. But it does get hot! Idk I guess after I did it on the semis I think its the best way (and quickest) to polish aluminum. And you can start with course polish and keep going finer to get the mirror shine everyone looks for

 

For the cost of it and the know how to use it It really does work out really good. I have even used it as a starter on clearcoat before I hit it with the polish

Angle grinders are the way to go but if you arents super framilliar with buffing and how easy it is to burn the metal I would recommend the drill its easier to control the speed

 

How do you burn metal while polishing? NEVER had that happen to me

 

Incase nobody else posts it:
https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...new-today.html

 

I know this isn't exactly a current thread, but here are some pics I took while polishing my tool box. I use Diamond Brite Truck Box Polish. It is sold at Lowes for around $12 if I remember right.

 

came out great

 

I was also told that paint stripper does wonders on polishing aluminum or diamond plate.

 

I did mine with a Power Ball and some Mothers Aluminum polish. Came out exactly like this and didnt even ruin the ball.

 

So what do people think, is the powerball and some good polish sufficient? Or is the paint stripper idea the way to go? I want to do this to my tool box.

 

i have my mind made up now, i have this polish, all i need is the powerball. (where can you get one for less than $20)

 

You can get the powerball mini for under 20 at any auto parts store IIRC

 

powerball and mothers for me too, works great and fast.

 

Did this yesterday with powerball mini and mothers polish, and WoW what a difference. Did my wheels too....