Polishing an Aluminum Case??

[ripken204]

i have seen some cases that are nicely polished and i was wondering what the process is to get a case that is all polished? i am thinking about doing it to my case and i would love to get some steps from the pros

[momoceio]

Lots and lots of time but you first have to strip the paint (obviously, then start sanding with about 600 grit and work your way up to a really high grit sand paper like 2000 or 2500 grit. From that point you probably have to use a polishing compound and a buffer but I'm not sure...

[lowfat]

The Lian Lis are anodized aluminum, which is going to make the process a lot harder. You are either going to have to get it sand blasted, or spent hours getting the anodization off. If you want to do it yourself, you are going to have to start with a pretty low-grit paper. I'd say 400ish. Then slowly work you way up to 2000 or so. Then you'll need a high speed polisher to take it up to a nice shine.

[Scubar]

Sand the whole thing down with a mouse sander using 400 grit. Once you have done that work your way up the grits using 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 ( if you can get 2500 )

Make sure you remove all the left overs with a lint cloth after each grit type. Once youve done that you really need a polishing wheel.

[PMM]

Their is alternative ways

You might find this an interesting read for getting a mirror finish using paint.

http://www.mnpctech.com/case-mod-pai...od-how-to.html

[lowfat]

Their is alternative ways

You might find this an interesting read for getting a mirror finish using paint.

http://www.mnpctech.com/case-mod-pai...od-how-to.html

To paint the case and get a mirror finish is going to take a lot more time. You have to do everything I said above nearly. Except do it between every coat of paint.

[ripken204]

oh im sorry that i didnt say it correctly. i only want to do the inside of the case to make it mirror-like

[Scubar]

Inside of the case is going too be really hard to do and will take hours and hours of hard labour to get a decent finish.

[momoceio]

Yeah...would almost be easier to just have the chassis dipped in chrome :P

[Kayin]

The inside of Lian Lis is really easy. Polish it with rubbing compound and then buffing compound, then metal polish. Instant mirror.

I've owned quite a few Lian Lis, so I've had more than ample opportunity to try it.

[lowfat]

The inside of Lian Lis is really easy. Polish it with rubbing compound and then buffing compound, then metal polish. Instant mirror.

I've owned quite a few Lian Lis, so I've had more than ample opportunity to try it.

Don't agree. There have been a few threads about this. The difference between a sanded-to-polished interior to just one that went straight to polish is huge.

If you want to do the interior you do not need to start at such a low grit. Start with 1000 or so. Make sure you use a sanding block and always use clean soapy water when sanding. If there are any deeper scratches keep with the same grit until they are gone. Then move up to the next grit. Then once you get to 1500 bring out the polishing compound. You can do it by hand as it is hard to get an orbital polisher inside a case.

Here is a pic of the interior of what my V1000 looked like.

[lowfat]

Inside of the case is going too be really hard to do and will take hours and hours of hard labour to get a decent finish.

It does take a while, but not near as long as the outside since it isn't anodized. I did all visible parts of my V1000 back in the day, it probably was about 10 hours of work in total. But it looked nice.

[Scubar]

Anodizing doesnt take long to get rid of though with a sander and some low grit paper, plus you can use a polishing wheel to finish it off.

Inside is more of a PITA as you will have to do a fair bit by hand to get a decent finish all over.

[PMM]

To paint the case and get a mirror finish is going to take a lot more time. You have to do everything I said above nearly. Except do it between every coat of paint.

Far from it, many ways without flattening back every coat including the very crafty (paint + lacquer clear coat + paint) technique

Yes time consuming but its down to the absolute quality your after vs the effort you need to put into it personally.

Anyway as for wet & dry paper I do highly recommend Meguiars Unigrit Finishing Papers goes up P3000 or P3500 for finishing off before you go down the route of cutting compound / buffing compounds & glazes/waxes.

I did well enough on my classic mini door http://brittech.co.uk/minidoor.jpg

[sirheck]

This stuff works great.

http://www.eagleone.com/pages/produc...=1006&cat=5006

[CyberDruid]

If you do want to polish an anodized part Oven Cleaner removes anodizing much more rapidly than sanding

But the interior as stated above is just plain alu so it should go quickly.

[fart_plume]

Make sure if you use oven cleaner to get the lye based cleaners the other types won't cut the anodize off and have plenty of ventilation and eye and skin protection.

[lowfat]

Far from it, many ways without flattening back every coat including the very crafty (paint + lacquer clear coat + paint) technique

Yes time consuming but its down to the absolute quality your after vs the effort you need to put into it personally.

Anyway as for wet & dry paper I do highly recommend Meguiars Unigrit Finishing Papers goes up P3000 or P3500 for finishing off before you go down the route of cutting compound / buffing compounds & glazes/waxes.

I did well enough on my classic mini door http://brittech.co.uk/minidoor.jpg

That is pretty sick!

[ooeric]

there is a soap you can use to remove anodizing.
i forgot the name. but its a household kitchen cleaner.

should be a stove cleaning related soap.

[Ugly n Grey]

Lye based soap has no lye in it. The lye has all been consumed by the fat during a process called soapification while the soap is curing. I own a soap company. No, I'm not jerking thine chain.

As to refinishing ALU cases, if you talk nice to the local custom rim rebuilder, he can do things to a case you simply cannot at a surprisingly affordable price.... including powder bonding or cutting a logo.

Doing it yourself is always more rewarding however.

[Serpentarius]

get the rotary polish 'thing', not for car - i forgot the name .. use the wool surface

use polishing compound, then glaze, then maintain it with wax (preferably carnauba bee wax ... sounds overkill .. but u can also put it on ur car)

if u're doing 1st time .. it's better u tried out on a piece of metal, steel .. whatever .. go it slow, speed is for pro ..

if u dun wan all this troubles .. just get ur casing to the car polisher .. they'll do it for a small fee .. (casing is much smaller than a car.. if u omit the mainframe)