Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Finishing methods and saftey, inlay...
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Ophir
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:01 pm

Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Post by Ophir »

Hi guys. I have a aluminum control plate and I accidently just touched the plate with a metal knob I was putting on a pot. I only just touched the plate softly and I have a little scratch on the plate. Boy it seems easy to do on aluminum eh? You cant see it a few feet away but it bugs me. I see it when I play. Is there any trick to hiding little scratches on polished aluminum?
richard37066
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Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 11:44 am
Location: Gallatin, Tennessee, USA

Re: Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Post by richard37066 »

How "little" is "little"?

If it's only a surface hairline scratch then the prudent thing to do is to try to polish it out with something like Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish. Time and patience may do the trick. Failing in that, it would become necessary to remove material from around the scratch with VERY fine sandpaper and then polish the entire area.

Bent Romnes has posted the sequence of grits that he uses prior to his mirror-like polish. Were it me - and the scratch were truly "little" - I wouldn't even think of attacking it with anything coarser than 800 grit paper. Remember that the minute scratches left by the paper will also have to be polished out. Don't make any more work for yourself than is absolutely necessary.

Proceed with the utmost caution!

Richard
Ophir
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:01 pm

Re: Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Post by Ophir »

Thanks Richard. I just read through Bents post about polishing aluminum. I'll give the Mag and Aluminum polish a try. I'ts just something that really annoyed me. I was so careful with the guitar and just bumping the plate with a knob caused the hairline scratch.
Bent
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Re: Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Post by Bent »

Ophir, even the smallest scratch is tough to get out with Mother's. But try it, you might decide that it's good enough even with a smaller scratch remaining.
Sometimes we just have to live with a wee imperfection.
If you decide that mothers aint gonna do the trick, I would take the plate off and refinish, starting with the sandpaper closest to the size of teh scratch and work up to finer grits up to 600 and then buff and polish.
http://benrom.com/
21 BenRom pedal steel guitars, a Nash 112 and a 1967 TOS Milling machine with many cutters making one hell of a mess on the floor.
Ophir
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:01 pm

Re: Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Post by Ophir »

Hi Bentley
I dont know about aluminum. I bought the plate and some other things off a guy that had em made for a project he was working on and never finished so I 'm not sure if 6061 or 7075.
bluesteel
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Re: Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Post by bluesteel »

Bentley, back in the Army we used a mild polishing compound to polish our bayonets to a mirror finish for ceremonial parades. It is called Solvol Autosol in the UK, I have no idea what it is called in the USA but I'm sure it is out there somewhere. It's a well established product, and worth a try.

Will C
Bent
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Re: Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Post by Bent »

Ophir, bluesteel..the name is Bent, not Bentley. Any depth to a scratch requires re-sanding and then polishing IMHO. Mothers, autosol and the like is to bring up shine from the scratches that 4-600 grit sandpaper leaves. Sometimes I find Autosol does a great job.
http://benrom.com/
21 BenRom pedal steel guitars, a Nash 112 and a 1967 TOS Milling machine with many cutters making one hell of a mess on the floor.
Ophir
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:01 pm

Re: Hiding Scratches-Aluminum

Post by Ophir »

Thanks guys.
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