Eating an Elephant (Polishing Neglected Diamond Plate)

[vollychief]

I knew I was starting a big project but I’m the eternal optimist when it comes to something like this.  Also, everything I used are products I purchased before I found out about Adam’s Polishes.  Please don’t hold that against me. 

Saturday I started cleaning/polishing the aluminum diamond plate on one of our fire engines.  It is a 2001 model and it is safe to say the diamond plate has never been polished.  Here is a picture of the general condition after washing. 

 

 

About a year ago, I found California Custom Aluminum De-Oxidizer and Purple Metal Polish, so I tried it on the bumper of the fire engine.  All work was done by hand with applying the De-Oxidizer first, getting the white haze then applying the polish and working it well.  It worked well on the bumper.  I worked on the bumper off and on over a year.  It was after meetings, only for 15 minutes at most to see how well it worked.   

 

Saturday, I started with the bumper using the same products, but trying different applicators.  First was a tile brush and the de-oxidizer.  The brush seemed more trouble than what it was worth so I moved to old carpet squares.  I even tried working the deoxidizer in with a Torq buffer.  Working the de-oxidizer in by hand with a piece of carpet was the way to go. 

 

Moving to buffing, I started with a piece of carpet on the buffer.  It worked well but my homemade carpet buffing pad didn’t stay attached long.  I moved to a 3” white Hex Logic pad on the buffer.  It worked a lot better, but I think I need to go with a different pad, but that is a question later. 

 

I’m starting out with a 3” pad due to the some of the space I’m working on.  On the bumper, I think a 5” pad would have been too big.  But there are sections where I will be using a 5” pad. 

When I was wiping off the leftover polishing residue, it took forever.  I was using cheap terry cloth towels from Walmart.  Just on the front bumper alone and folding the towels into quarters, I used all 8 sides on 3 towels.  I went back later and was still pulling up polish residue even though the surface looked like I had everything off. 

 

This is my first question, what do you suggest to take off the polish residue?  If it is a microfiber towel, what kind?  I had no idea there were different types until I started doing some research. 

 

Here is a picture of the final product.  Great shine, only wish the lighting was better. 

 

 

 

For areas like this where it is hard to get in between with a polisher, what would you suggest?

 

 

Here is the new area I started Saturday.  The bolts in the middle I used as a guide (instead of tape) to separate 2 different methods. 

 

 

First, I applied the de-oxidizer with a carpet scrap over the whole section.  It did not turn white like it did on the bumper.  Any residual de-oxidizer I wiped off with a towel.  I didn’t do anything different that I can think of.

The left section, I applied the polish with a carpet scrap only.  This side did not work up with the black residue like it did on the bumper.  I reapplied some polish to the carpet scrap thinking more is better and kept polishing the diamond plate.  I still didn’t get the black residue that I did on the bumper, some but not much. 

I started to remove the polish and it did come off very good.  If you look in the comparison picture below, you can still see some polish residue.

 

 

On the right side, I used the same 3” white (not now) buffing pad and the California Custom Purple Metal Polish.  I worked it in different directions and reapplied some polish to the pad.  I must have applied too much and it started to sling residue over the area. 

After polishing what I thought was an adequate time, I started to remove the polish residue.  As you can see on the picture, the right side looks a lot better than the left side.  It was still difficult to remove the polish residue. 

 

Is this going to be something I need to repeat the process several times in order to get the mirror like shine back? 

 

I do believe I’m using the wrong type of pad.  I think I need either a wool, foamed wool or microfiber pad for the polishing process.  Any suggestions? 

 

I am also going to try Kingsford’s flour vinegar salt paste as an initial step before moving to the products I have.  I’m open to suggestions, but I need to use up what I have on hand first. 

 

My hope is once I get done, go over it again as a final step/clean up since it will take more than one weekend, and then apply something to help protect the metal.  Then maybe once a year it won’t take as long to buff the diamond plate back up to the shine it should be. 

 

For review of my questions: 

 

What should I be using to remove the polish residue?  If it is a microfiber towel, what kind? 

 

For areas that are hard to get in between with a polisher, what would you suggest? 

 

What type of a pad will be better for the polishing process, wool, foamed wool, microfiber or something else? 

 

What can I apply to keep the diamond plate polished or reduce the amount of work to keep it polished? 

 

 

[Kingsford]

When I do diamond plate on rigs I use a MF Pad and Metal Polish. To remove the polish I wrap an old towel (doesn't matter if it's MF or not) around the pad, which takes some practice and patience to get it from coming off.

 

Hard to reach areas, Mothers Powerball, Powerball Mini and Power Cone. Be careful because rough diamond plate will just shred them to pieces.

 

Generally when you are polishing something that old that has never been polished its going to be a lot harder if not impossible to get it looking like new again. We do the diamond plate on all of our trucks once a year. The older ones that were in service before we started doing it once a year don't compare to the newer trucks who have always had it done.

[1911A1]

To keep your freshly polished aluminum looking good longer it should be sealed in some way.This could be paint sealant.wax.ceramic coating or even clear coat. Raw aluminum begins to oxidize immediately when exposed to oxygen that's why it gets that dull grey look over time.aluminum oxide. Which is harder than aluminum and this makes old aluminum harder to get looking good than new alum. 

Edited March 21, 2017 by 1911A1

[chops1sc]

I've always had trouble with polishing diamond plate. I end up quitting, lol!

[1911A1]

I've always had trouble with polishing diamond plate. I end up quitting, lol!

Same here!

[vollychief]

When I do diamond plate on rigs I use a MF Pad and Metal Polish. To remove the polish I wrap an old towel (doesn't matter if it's MF or not) around the pad, which takes some practice and patience to get it from coming off.

 

Kingsford, can you post or PM a pic of how you wrap the towel around the pad?  I think I understand what you are doing, but I want to be sure. 

 

Also, how thick or thin is your flour salt vinegar paste?  Is it like pancake batter, thicker, or thinner? 

 

@chops1sc & 1911A1 - Thanks for the encouragement!    (I hope that is the sarcasm font for the forum)

 

I'm not expecting to get this done anytime soon.  It's more of a project to work on when I need to clear my mind.  I do appreciate the feedback!  Thank you! 

[1911A1]

It looks great so far Scott.Post some pics when you get done.

[K81Chevy]

Nice job on the Engine. Looks great!