Finish polish alternatives

[WesRagle]

Some thread drift but ... It seems to me that the worst part of polishing 6061-T6 is removing the grain. During those long hours of F9 polishing flat sheets I've often wondered if something like whats shown in this video would replace F9 polishing. Maybe start with a higher grit sand paper, always use an interface pad, and finish with the polishing method of your choice.

Ref. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1ARAB_enUS529US529&ei=05y0Xsn2E8OUtQWe3oyoDQ&q=use+fine+grit+sandpaper+to+polish+aluminum&oq=use+fine+grit+sandpaper+to+polish+&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAxgBMggIIRAWEB0QHjIICCEQFhAdEB46BAgAEEc6AggAOgYIABAWEB46DggAEOoCELQCEJoBEOUCOgUIABCRAjoICAAQgwEQkQI6BQgAEIMBOgQIABBDOgcIIRAKEKABOgQIIRAKULCdAljspgNglrcDaAFwAXgDgAHHAYgByyqSAQUzNS4yMJgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXqwAQY&sclient=psy-ab#kpvalbx=_DZ20XpDuNcO-tQWyorWoBw42

Anybody tried it? Might be worth an experiment.

Wes

[Rynoth]

Some thread drift but ... It seems to me that the worst part of polishing 6061-T6 is removing the grain. During those long hours of F9 polishing flat sheets I've often wondered if something like whats shown in this video would replace F9 polishing. Maybe start with a higher grit sand paper, always use an interface pad, and finish with the polishing method of your choice.

Ref. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1ARAB_enUS529US529&ei=05y0Xsn2E8OUtQWe3oyoDQ&q=use+fine+grit+sandpaper+to+polish+aluminum&oq=use+fine+grit+sandpaper+to+polish+&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAxgBMggIIRAWEB0QHjIICCEQFhAdEB46BAgAEEc6AggAOgYIABAWEB46DggAEOoCELQCEJoBEOUCOgUIABCRAjoICAAQgwEQkQI6BQgAEIMBOgQIABBDOgcIIRAKEKABOgQIIRAKULCdAljspgNglrcDaAFwAXgDgAHHAYgByyqSAQUzNS4yMJgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXqwAQY&sclient=psy-ab#kpvalbx=_DZ20XpDuNcO-tQWyorWoBw42

Anybody tried it? Might be worth an experiment.

Wes

My understanding is that sanding our thin structural skins may remove too much material resulting in a more fragile airframe. Nuvite is supposed to "bend" the grain over rather than remove it. Sanding/scotchbrite to remove scratches is one thing, but thinning out the entire material could have unintended consequences.

[WesRagle]

Hi Ryan,

Nuvite is supposed to "bend" the grain over rather than remove it.

I've heard that before but ... , what's all that black stuff that is all over me, all over the shop floor, and all over everything else after a polishing fit? I can see the shiny metallic stuff in the polishing pad if I go too long without using the spur. I'm not sure I buy it, especially with the F9. But I can't say for sure.

Another thing that puzzles me is just how different the F9 experience can be from sheet to sheet. I made a fairing from some 0.025 that was left over from the Sonex build over a decade ago. No kidding, three passes of F9 and it was good to go. Other parts took so many passes I quit counting. I don't know 10, maybe 12 passes. On some of the parts I gave up and hit it with three passes of No. 7 rubbing compound to get the grain down to where I could finish up with the F9. It's a mystery.

[sonex892.]

Some thread drift but ... It seems to me that the worst part of polishing 6061-T6 is removing the grain. During those long hours of F9 polishing flat sheets I've often wondered if something like whats shown in this video would replace F9 polishing. Maybe start with a higher grit sand paper, always use an interface pad, and finish with the polishing method of your choice.

Ref. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1ARAB_enUS529US529&ei=05y0Xsn2E8OUtQWe3oyoDQ&q=use+fine+grit+sandpaper+to+polish+aluminum&oq=use+fine+grit+sandpaper+to+polish+&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAxgBMggIIRAWEB0QHjIICCEQFhAdEB46BAgAEEc6AggAOgYIABAWEB46DggAEOoCELQCEJoBEOUCOgUIABCRAjoICAAQgwEQkQI6BQgAEIMBOgQIABBDOgcIIRAKEKABOgQIIRAKULCdAljspgNglrcDaAFwAXgDgAHHAYgByyqSAQUzNS4yMJgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXqwAQY&sclient=psy-ab#kpvalbx=_DZ20XpDuNcO-tQWyorWoBw42

Anybody tried it? Might be worth an experiment.

Wes

I love a shortcut and as an experiment tried 1200 grit on the turtle deck, I later wished I hadn't. It gets rid of the mill marks quick but in the end it was a lot more work to compound than the bare sheet.

[peter anson]

I make steering struts from 6061 and polish them. I found that the best method was to use a Scotchbrite sheet (maroon or brown colour) to roughly clean off the surface and then use a buffing wheel. I'm not sure if that is useful information because a complete aircraft is a bit bigger than a 3/8" rod but it might be worth a try on a small area.

Peter

[DCASonex]

Best way i found to do the initial polish to remove the grain is with the flat sheets on a large table where one can apply significant pressure to the polisher. If doing that on a finished assembly, it will leave crease marks from internal structure like wing ribs. Nuvite warms against using much pressure but I suspect that is due to the possibility of leaving crease marks on finished planes, but using pressure on flat sheets laying on a table really does speed up the process.

David A.

[Rynoth]

Best way i found to do the initial polish to remove the grain is with the flat sheets on a large table where one can apply significant pressure to the polisher. If doing that on a finished assembly, it will leave crease marks from internal structure like wing ribs. Nuvite warms against using much pressure but I suspect that is due to the possibility of leaving crease marks on finished planes, but using pressure on flat sheets laying on a table really does speed up the process.

David A.

The other (perhaps more important) thing to look out for if/when applying pressure is how hot the aluminum is getting. It can heat up rather quickly and with excessive pressure/not enough movement there's the possibility of causing warping and/or heat treating (reducing strength.) That said, doing F9 on a flat table is definitely the way to go for removing the initial grain.

[Matt541]

Got my bottle in yesterday, I'll say my first impressions are good.

I only went after a few areas with a new microfiber towel, but it does appear to work as advertised. The product is definitely thinner than nuvite or other polishing compounds. It WILL NOT remove scratches and water spots. It is not for an initial polish IMHO. (The bottoms of my wings were never polished, applied some, need something more abrasive for sure.) But for maintaining or refreshing a polish, I think it works well.

Pro 40 used on the left, untouched on the right. (Turtledeck being prepped for paint.)

3'-5' away it looks wonderful, closer than that and you can see any scratches or water spots.

I think it will work even better using a buffer/ polisher, but that task is a few items down the list.

[Rynoth]

I got similar results, and I'm quite impressed with the product as a maintenance polish on an already polished aircraft.

In these pictures I cleaned up the whole wing with mineral spirits, then applied Zephyr Pro40 to the leading edge skin only with microfiber. Rub on, let dry, wipe off.





Honestly using Zephyr is easier than waxing a car, it didn't require any sort of buffing, just some light elbow grease.

I did try it on my wing inspection panels that had been scotch-brite wheel smoothed but not polished. It cleaned them up a bit but by no means did it "polish" them. My impression is that it does a great job of returning the surface nearly to the original polished state, though it didn't do much/anything for water spots or bug removal/spots. It basically pulls off the surface oxidation that dulls a mirror finish.

[jowens]

Hi Ryan,
I too did just hand buffing, then followed with an orbital buffer, for me, there was a huge difference including removing water spots.

Jim