Scratches in mill finish aluminum

[BreMiSt]

Hey all.
I am at the step where I am applying the Aluminum sides sheets on my trailer. I am noticing a couple of things.
First, there are a couple of light scratches in the sheets. Not super noticeable standing back away but when you get up close they are. So...
I'd like to polish them out but I don't want splotches or patches of polished aluminum next to the rest of the mill finish surface. Any advice?
Also, and very much related, is that I have sections of the sides that the mill finish "grain" is oriented differently than others. Again, not noticeable so much from far away but up close, yes. If I find a way to polish the scratches out should I just go ahead and polish the rest to achieve a consistent finish and reduce or eliminate the "grain" direction affect?
Thanks for any help you all can provide?
Brett

[tony.latham]

I'm not the aluminum polish master but if you attempt this you'll need to polish out the entire teardrop.

I'd suggest you Google the methods of polishing Airstream campers. There are several Youtubes on it.

Me? I'd live with those scratches for a few months before making the decision.





Tony

[MatBirch]

If you don’t want to go full polish-
We build lots of mill finish things all the time, and it’s a major pain. One trick I’ve learned for myself to mimic the grain, is reasonably easy. Unfortunately though you’ll have a really tough time trying to match exactly, so don’t hope to repair scratches in the middle of a panel. You’ll likely need to do complete sections.
Start with an orbital sander with around 180-220 grit. It’s not woodworking, so don’t try to go with a course grit to remove your scratches. The scratches you induce will never come out. Just sand longer with a finer grit. Sand until you get a consistent “white” surface. You’ll know as soon as you start working, as the surface will sort of “pock” until it’s complete. Then switch to around 320-400 grit and go again. Do a really thorough job of this step.
Finish with a scotch brite pad, I use the wine colored. Scrub in a single direction, paying close attention to your start/stop at the end of each stroke, as it’s easy to make little off-line scratches and “loopdeloos” as you reverse directions. A final careful one direction only lap will finish it off nicely. Clean it well and finish with your favorite flavor of topcoat. We use SharkHide for exterior surfaces, sometimes clear coat interior cabinet work, or just a little paste wax for small parts to keep fingerprints down. If you already have fingerprints, the best we’ve found is just windex with ammonia.