Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

[kfa4303]

H all. I picked up one of these little $5 polishing kits from HF today to see if I could use the white compound on my rubrails to help clean them up a bit. Do I need to clean/wash the rails down with something first, and then use the buffing compound, or do I just apply it directly to the rails, as is, and start buffing? I'm not going for showroom shine, or anything. I just want them to look a little better than the are now. They're actually in very solid and in good shape, but I don't think they've been cleaned since the boat was made in the late '50s. Thanks.

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-buffing-kit-43657.html

 

[herefishy]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Your not going to hurt anything, one way or the other. The compounds are actually abrasives - they will do the cleaning. I believe the different colors are rated in terms of "grit", like sandpaper? Use the smaller/more coarse compound first, then the other.

~Fishy

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Go to WalMart and get some Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish. Costs around $3 bucks. Rub it on till it turns black then wash it off. All of your Aluminum will shine like chrome. I tried the same buffing kit and it works but.. I used the Mothers and with little to no effort I actually got better results. It is amazing stuff.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Awesome. Thanks y'all. I'll do a little experiment and try both. I'll try to get some before and after pics. Thanks.

 

[herefishy]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

As an afterthought - When you use the compounds and the wheels - I'd mask your gelcoat around the trim with tape. You could take some gloss off.

Cheers.

 

[sasto]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

I've always used Woody Wax at about $35 a can.....I think I will go to the Mart store as Woodonglass does. Thanks.

Good luck kfa!

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Go to WalMart and get some Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish. Costs around $3 bucks. Rub it on till it turns black then wash it off. All of your Aluminum will shine like chrome. I tried the same buffing kit and it works but.. I used the Mothers and with little to no effort I actually got better results. It is amazing stuff.

Is that anodized aluminum, or uncoated. This will make a difference on what you use to polish.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Is that anodized aluminum, or uncoated. This will make a difference on what you use to polish.

Non-Anodized.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Non-Anodized.

Thats what I figured. For non anodized I use Mcguires paste. For anodized I use woody wax with bronze wool.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Update: Hi all so I just spent the last few hours polishing up the rub rails. I tried the little HF kit, but it didn't really work, so I went to the store and got some McGuires paste. At first it didn't seem to be doing anything (i.e. no black residue being formed). I realized that there was just way too much goo and grime on there after 50-something years of neglect, so I scrubbed it all down with a couple of disposable, SOS, steel wool, soap pads, then rinsed and dried the rub rails. I then re-applied the polishing cream and voila! black residue everywhere, just like when you polish silverware. I still had to use quit a bit of elbow grease to apply, then buff, then apply, then buff the paste, and I pretty much had to sacrifice a terry cloth towel to the job, but now they look great! No pics, but chriscraft254's post gives you an idea of how they turned out, only mine were much worse off to start with. Still lots of dents and dings in the rails themselves, but I don't mind that, so much. I even had enough paste leftover to do all 4 chrome wheels on my truck! They've never looked better either. It should be much easier to maintain the rub rails from here on out. Thanks again everybody. Happy boating.

 

[kilowatts]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Hi Guys:

The results in the previous posts are excellent. I went another way though....

I have a 1976 Grew(Slickcraft) SS215 with a factory aluminum rubrail which was badly scarred by fishing line leaders after years of use. I tried to polish it with various products but to no avail, still scarred! I removed the rails in 5 pieces, took them to be bead blasted and put them back in place. Then I slathered on 2 or three coats of hard carnauba wax furniture polish and they've been fine for the last few years. The rail has a pleasing appearance which minimizes the appearance of the scars. I guess this is just another way of approaching the same issue. I hope it helps.

kilowatts

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Cleaning/polishing aluminum rub rails with a buffing kit

Update: Hi all so I just spent the last few hours polishing up the rub rails. I tried the little HF kit, but it didn't really work, so I went to the store and got some McGuires paste. At first it didn't seem to be doing anything (i.e. no black residue being formed). I realized that there was just way too much goo and grime on there after 50-something years of neglect, so I scrubbed it all down with a couple of disposable, SOS, steel wool, soap pads, then rinsed and dried the rub rails. I then re-applied the polishing cream and voila! black residue everywhere, just like when you polish silverware. I still had to use quit a bit of elbow grease to apply, then buff, then apply, then buff the paste, and I pretty much had to sacrifice a terry cloth towel to the job, but now they look great! No pics, but chriscraft254's post gives you an idea of how they turned out, only mine were much worse off to start with. Still lots of dents and dings in the rails themselves, but I don't mind that, so much. I even had enough paste leftover to do all 4 chrome wheels on my truck! They've never looked better either. It should be much easier to maintain the rub rails from here on out. Thanks again everybody. Happy boating.

Note! ChrisCraft254 did not use steel wool to brighten his aluminum. This is a no-no! Yes, steel wool will brighten the aluminum, but it can also cause the small pits to collect the steel off of the steel wool and cause dis-similar metal rust. If you are looking to use this type of abrasive on aluminum, use "bronze wool".

You more than likely have removed some anodizing that was on the railings. Being that they were old, I may indeed be wrong because some of the older railings were not anodized. I would make sure you wax the railings now that they are cleaned up. Good luck