Scratches in Aluminum

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Scratches in Aluminum

Postby Jim Marshall » Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:12 pm

We got one side of our tear skinned yeaterday and I cut it with a jigsaw and got some scratches in the aluminum. Does any one have any suggestions how I can get the scratches out? Our aluminum didn't have the protective film on it.
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Postby halfdome, Danny » Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:25 pm

My aluminum has many scratches all over it from the company who rolled up the sheets. I have tried sanding it with a DA sander and then hand sanding with the grain with no luck as it makes the aluminum look dull. I've been told you have to live with the scratches or do what Doug Holder did with a swirl pattern. I have decided to bondo & paint my TD and that will add about $345 to the cost if I only use one color. Painting aluminum takes special primer, bondo, hardeners, reducers, catalyst & then automotive paint. Good Luck & if you find a easier way I would like to know. Danny
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Postby Jim Marshall » Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:45 pm

I was afraid of that Danny, I hope someone can come up with something.
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Postby Kevin A » Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:57 pm

Jim, I don't have any suggestions for removing the scratches. For future reference, you might try using masking tape along the area you intend to cut, it will atleast prevent the jig saw base from scratching the aluminum.
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Postby Jim Marshall » Sat Feb 25, 2006 1:00 pm

Thanks Kevin, I had though about that but I was afraid it would cause too much drag on the saw. Thanks again buddy.
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Postby Kevin A » Sat Feb 25, 2006 1:04 pm

Jim Marshall wrote:Thanks Kevin, I had though about that but I was afraid it would cause too much drag on the saw. Thanks again buddy.

Maybe packaging tape might work too, it would create less drag from the saw. It might be harder to remove the tape though. 8)
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Postby madjack » Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:21 pm

Jim, Kevin's suggestion is best for avoiding scratches but scratches are inevitable and there is very little you can do about them...you can polish till the cows come home and that will tend to hide them but they will still be there...I have been thinking about doing an acid wash which will result inna dull shinny brite grey finish...it wont eleminate the scratches but rather blend them in to make them harder to see...much like polishing but much easier...we experimented onna piece of scrap trying to find a way to hide them, using various polishing/sanding techniques and found a scuff pad onna orbital sander hid them the best but it left that dull grey look...much easier to acid wash and get that same basic look...then shoot it with Bulldog and then automotive clearcoat
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Postby alaska teardrop » Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:33 pm

    Jim - Suggest scribing the backside (inside). Place the outside down on a clean non-scratch surface for cutting. Then the damage from your saw won't show.
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Postby MarksMG » Sat Feb 25, 2006 3:04 pm

Mine was scratched when I got it so after completion I used scotch brite pads while washing it and it gave the aluminum a brushed look. It is not too bad. Now everytime I wash it I do the same thing and it looks good again. It takes care of all the oxidation problems that you have with aluminum. Just my 2 cents worth.
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Postby madjack » Sat Feb 25, 2006 3:08 pm

MarksMG wrote:Mine was scratched when I got it so after completion I used scotch brite pads while washing it and it gave the aluminum a brushed look. It is not too bad. Now everytime I wash it I do the same thing and it looks good again. It takes care of all the oxidation problems that you have with aluminum. Just my 2 cents worth.


...that's what I was talking about with the orbital and the scuff pads(Scotch Brite)...wasn't a bad looking finish...... 8)
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Scratches in Tears

Postby sdtripper2 » Sat Feb 25, 2006 7:19 pm

Hello, Jim Marshall and All:

Here is a site for polishing that may help you. I found this site to have step by step instuctions that are very easy to use and print. Their products are used on airplanes and Airstreams. It may be able to help some of you get your Tear's to shine. I don't know how bad your scratches are Jim but this is one place you can start to see if this is an option for you. The method is to start with a course grade of polish and work to a fine grade for luster. I have done business with Tom Numelin of PerfectPolsih and his service and products were delivered promptly. Jim if you emailed Tom Numelin @ [email protected] he may have some remidies or suggestions for scratches?

The Perfect Polish Home page > http://www.perfectpolish.com/

The short and the long of it.
On the Perfect Polish site there are these detailed instructions on how to get aluminum to a luster.

Their main polish is "Nuvite"

Grades of Nuvite from a course grade to a fine grade for a finish.
See Grades here > http://tinyurl.com/rchkk

Nuvite application guide > http://tinyurl.com/oc4qu

Using a compounding polisher > http://tinyurl.com/7lfgq

Using a Cyclo polisher > http://tinyurl.com/odvws

Polishing Tips > http://tinyurl.com/reheo


Example of an Airstream project > http://tinyurl.com/mjvny


Hope this helps bring your Tears to shine?
Last edited by sdtripper2 on Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Jim Marshall » Sat Feb 25, 2006 9:59 pm

You fellows are super, thanks so much for the great suggestions and for the links. I will be checking the links out and see what they have. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

We went ahead and put the other side on today. When we started to trim the aluminum, for some reason it was a lot harder to trim than it was on the other side yesterday. We were using a solid carbide laminate trimmer bit and it was bogging down heavy. Come to find out they sold us two different thicknesses of aluminum. The first side was .040 and the side we did today was .063. I found that by slowing down my feet rate that the trimmer did a good job and with the trimmer there was a lot less scratching. It took longer but the end results were better. Oh well we got the .063 for the same price as the .040.

We did some waxing and polishing and you are right, it does make the scratches less noticeable. It isn't as bad as it seemed. We will check out the links that Jack gave us and the links that Sdtripper2 gave us.

We can't wait until we can buy our 5 foot aluminum for the top, thanks again fellows, we really do appreciate it a bunch. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Postby Jim Marshall » Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:15 am

Well we went to the links that Jack gave us and we went to the links that Sdtripper2 gave us. That is a ton of information and we did a lot of reading. We now wish we had chosen a different skin but we are too far in to back up now. We still love the aluminum look best of all and we don't really want any color other than the aluminum. We found out that we goofed right off the bat by putting wax on the aluminum but it wasn't car wax so it didn't turn black like a scrap piece we tried some of the auto wax on. Man I freaked out when I saw that.

This is were we are now, the link Jack gave us about the Bulldog product and then automotive clear coat, like he is going to do, is the way we are planning to go when the aluminum gets a little age. My question at this point is, can I take the wax (Johnson Paste Wax) off with lacquer thinner or acetone without messing up the aluminum. I have only about 2 square feet waxed so far. If this isn't the answer to removing the wax, what would be good to take it off and not discolor or change the appearance of the aluminum. We found out the wax will streak when water hits it so we want to head that off at the pass.

For right now we are going to use the Scotch Bright pads, like Marksmg suggested, when we wash and play it by ear. :)
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Postby DestinDave » Sun Feb 26, 2006 11:15 am

Jim... A couple washings with Dawn dish detergent will get most of the wax off. That's the main reason I recommend boat-owners do not use Dawn -- because it will remove wax from gelcoat finishes. If you really like the look of polished aluminum I think you'll find the solution on the sites Steve mentioned above (Nuvite) and then follow up with a clearcoat like MJ talked about. Clearcoat will need a "tooth" to adhere but the metal doesn't have to be sanded to where it's dull. A light pass with a ScotchBrite and then a good cleaning with denatured alcohol right before shooting should be enough. I'm not an expert on aluminum finishing but I think this will work. Anyone else have experience with this? Doug(Hodder) has finished his aluminum with a clearcoat and is outstanding!

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Postby madjack » Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:02 pm

Dave, that is what the BULLDG is for ...it is a clear, paint adhesion product....Doug told me about it...it is what he used on his before clearcoating...
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