# Bare Alu Lights, Durable, Best way to keep them shiny?



## abarth_1200 (Aug 18, 2011)

Hi everyone, I have often passed up the oppertunity to get my hands on a bare aluminium light because im not sure how to look after them and how well they will wear, from pocket carry, drops, scratches, and just general oxidisation. Basically how durable are they, comparing to my only bare metal lights I have stainless steel and titanium which are great, only faint scratches but these metals arent as soft or prone to air.

Has anyone got pics of any bare Alu lights brand new and older ones?

How about a polish for making them look like new again.

Let me know what your opinions are?


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## RBR (Aug 19, 2011)

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## abarth_1200 (Aug 20, 2011)

Im not talking about stripping the ano of my current lights, so the alu lights would already be polished.

Just how to look after bare aluminium and how it wears over time, im almost sure a jewellery type polish would suffice but I dont know.

Im not looking to sand blast and powder coat either:duh2:


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## precisionworks (Aug 20, 2011)

abarth_1200 said:


> Im not talking about stripping the ano of my current lights, so the alu lights would already be polished.
> 
> Just how to look after bare aluminium and how it wears over time, im almost sure a jewellery type polish would suffice but I dont know.
> 
> Im not looking to sand blast and powder coat either:duh2:



nothing is worse to maintain. Plan on polishing every morning and every evening. If you do not want to polish twice a day you really should buy something else


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## gadget_lover (Aug 20, 2011)

It really depends on the alloy and the design, along with what you consider polished. I made one and used it daily for several years ( till I lost it). The surface was smooth to the touch, but not really polished. More of a bright satin finish. I wore it on my belt, unprotected. The only polishing it got was from handling it.

This thread has pictures right after I made it. I turned it using 2011 alloy instead of 6061 since I was not going to anodize it.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?69661-Slim-2-my-first-scratch-light

After 5 years, it looked like this. 

http://www.tanj.com/slim2_c1.jpg

Daniel


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## Anglepoise (Aug 20, 2011)

gadget_lover said:


> It really depends on the alloy and the design, along with what you consider polished. I made one and used it daily for several years ( till I lost it). The surface was smooth to the touch, but not really polished. More of a bright satin finish. I wore it on my belt, unprotected. The only polishing it got was from handling it.
> 
> This thread has pictures right after I made it. I turned it using 2011 alloy instead of 6061 since I was not going to anodize it.
> 
> ...



+1

The trick with aluminum is not to polish it..........rather a brushed finish with scotchbrite pad or wet and dry paper.


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## precisionworks (Aug 20, 2011)

> The trick with aluminum is not to polish it..........rather a brushed finish with scotchbrite pad or wet and dry paper.


+1

I built a custom bike & used Performance Machine wheels. Polished aluminum cost $1800 per pair, chrome cost $2400 per pair, so I went cheap & got the polished. Big mistake. They looked nice for a day or two, or until the bike was ridden 20 miles ... then they needed polishing again. In less than six months, they were powder coated


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## shao.fu.tzer (Aug 20, 2011)

Use Simichrome on an old sock... Rub it in and let it sit for about 10 minutes, then buff it off with a clean sock... Amazing stuff...

Also - ordinary white cheap toothpaste, hot running water and an old toothbrush will remove corrosion on just about anything...


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## precisionworks (Aug 20, 2011)

> Use Simichrome on an old sock...


+1

Simichrome is awesome. Another great one is Flitz: http://www.flitz-polish.com/index.php?page=Product.Product&externalId=541

For even finer polishing on soft materials like plastics, Meguiars M1008 works miracles: http://www.skygeek.com/m1008.html?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_content=m1008&utm_campaign=froogle&gclid=CN7107Wf36oCFQYKKgodNQlj8g 

SkyGeek caters primarily to pilots, but they also sell to everyone else, have low prices & fast shipping.


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## PEU (Aug 20, 2011)

I always envy the amount of pro/consumer chemical/finishing options you guys have there in the USA 


Pablo


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## darkzero (Aug 20, 2011)

I could be wrong but it seems like different aluminum alloys oxidize quicker than others?

Here's my very first real EDC that's about 8 years old. I EDC'd it for 4 years & used it everyday at work so it was exposed to every automotive fluid & chemical around the shop. I only polished it one time by hand (no sanding) & only cause some fluid/chemical turned one side very dull (still pitted). That was about 6 years ago.

Surprisingly for how old it is & the exposure it had, it's not as bad as one might think. On the bottom is that EDC, on the top is one of my shelf queens that has never been outdoors, just some minor surface scratches. The original finish is not polished & I have no idea what alloy Mcgizmo used on these.








But scratches on bare aluminum is inevitable. For a polished light it doesn't take much labor to hand polish the shine back into it if you do it occassionally. But no matter how good the polishing is, scratches can always be seen once put under light.


One method to preserve a nice high polish is to powder coat it clear. A high quality clear powder coat will not turn yellow with age. Only down side is since the clear powder coat is on a smooth surface, it doesn't stick as well as it should. Normally a piece is beadblasted before it gets powder coated for better adhesion. So the clear powder coating won't be as strong but if it gets' damaged you can touch it up with clear nail polish.

But it's not as bad as it sounds. Here's my mini race bike. I had the steel swing arms polished & powder coated clear. It was very nicely done by a local powder coater who happens to do all the powder coating for Exile Cycles. It was done 7-8 years ago, no chips & no rust. And this is a bike that I raced.










precisionworks said:


> Another great one is Flitz


 
Everyone has their personal favorite flavor of polish. In my opinion, Flitz is some of the best. :thumbsup:


I've been using Master Formula for the past decade. With every purchase they include a bottle of Sealer Gloss to apply over the polished finish. It works pretty well, causes liquids to bead & roll right off. It also prevents grime from sticking easy. My guess is it's just some form of wax as it's applied in the same manor. So maybe applying some wax to the polished finish might help prolong it? But not sure how good of an affect it will have for a flashlight that is often handled & most likely stored in your pocket or a holster.


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## BVH (Aug 21, 2011)

I remember decades ago when I had a Norton and Triumph, both with Amal aluminum carbs and lots of polished aluminum. I'd spend hours polishing every nook and cranny of the carbs and everything else alum with Semi-Chrome. Fantastic stuff! Man, did those bike look awesome standing there looking at them with my crippled fingers.


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## abarth_1200 (Aug 21, 2011)

So its got a lot to do with the type of Alu used, im going to assume most lights that come anodized or hard anodized arent the right Alu to be stripped and left bare, and manufactured bare Alu lights are made of the right Alu for best finish, like those 2 McLux models.

That custom made edc looks great, doesnt look 5 years old


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## shao.fu.tzer (Aug 21, 2011)

I have a few bare aluminum lights that still look as shiny as the day I got them... Aluminum forms a thin oxide layer almost immediately upon exposure to air that prevents further corrosion. Anyway - I've said it a few times this week - use a toothbrush and white Colgate toothpaste and then rinse under warm water. I've found that this technique will take the tarnish off of most brass, copper, silver, aluminum, nickel, etc...


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## archer6817j (Aug 21, 2011)

I have a lot of bare aluminum prototypes. Aluminum is so soft it scratches easily and you can't really polish out scratches. A brushed finish with scotchbrite is one good option, as suggested. You could also just anodize them clear, no dye. If you do type II it will not really change the surface appearance. Type III will come out a little frosty. Of course to anodize, you'll have to strip all the components out of the light.


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## Davo J (Aug 21, 2011)

Hi,
I have done a lot of polishing over the last 15-20 years, and I can tell you that finger prints and oil off your hands is the worst thing to put onto bare polished aluminum. 

For a flash light that has already been polished before, I would recommend polishing with a auto aluminum mag wheel cream polish (over here we use Autosol) then washing any residue off with a liquid dish washing detergent, wipe throughly dry, then spray it with acrylic clear on a warm day (otherwise it will blush and ruin the finish). 
Being paint it can still chip if you drop it, but the clear will keep the shin for a few years. Once clear coated, the clear does take away the shine slightly, but them you use auto paint buffing compound to polish the clear and then wax over that to protect it, just like a car.
The one thing to watch if using a bench grinder with a buffing mop, is that you don't round over the sharper corners which is easily done.

A bloke I met at a car meet asked me about his rear window mould on his old falcon which was aluminum, as it kept tarnishing. He followed these instructions and has not had a problem so far and it has been 4-5 years.

When I spoke about finger prints, I have a show truck and after every show I come home and find them all over it. If left, the shape of the finger print actually starts etching into the aluminum.









Dave


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## darkzero (Aug 21, 2011)

What is it, a Hilux?


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## precisionworks (Aug 22, 2011)

WOW, she is gorgeous ... speaking of the truck, of course :devil:


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## StrikerDown (Aug 22, 2011)

She's polished up quite nice... The truck is okay also!


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## RBR (Aug 23, 2011)

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## PhotonFanatic (Sep 21, 2011)

These were polished about three years ago and while I've handled them many times since then, the fingerprints do not ruin the finish, but note that they have not been exposed to any abrasion. So, it is possible to keep bare AL looking really nice, if you have a buffing machine and the right polishing compounds. I probably final polished these with SimiChrome before packing them away.


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## kuksul08 (Sep 25, 2011)

Those look great^ Simichrome is some awesome stuff.


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## shao.fu.tzer (Sep 25, 2011)

Yep, Simichrome is awesome and well worth the money... I discovered it years ago when I wanted to polish up the brass fittings on my kukri collection. I believe that they claim that it inhibits further corrosion, but it doesn't really seem to make a difference on brass... As Barry noted earlier, Flitz is great too... 

Honestly, I've never had a real problem with corrosion on bare lights, as others have said, it's the scratching that drives me nuts... I've always wanted to get into buffing since I already have a bench grinder, but it seems like a decent investment if you want to do it right, and I've never had enough stuff to buff to make it seem worth the money... The poster with the ScotchBrite suggestion was pretty dead on... I'd just sand/steel wool/scotcbrite the light to a nice satin finish and leave it at that...

Corrosion is less of a problem on a polished light though - less surface area and rough patches for it to set into...

...and PhotonFanatic - those are some sweet lights man...


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## PhotonFanatic (Sep 25, 2011)

shao.fu.tzer said:


> Yep, Simichrome is awesome and well worth the money... I discovered it years ago when I wanted to polish up the brass fittings on my kukri collection. I believe that they claim that it inhibits further corrosion, but it doesn't really seem to make a difference on brass... As Barry noted earlier, Flitz is great too...
> 
> Honestly, I've never had a real problem with corrosion on bare lights, as others have said, it's the scratching that drives me nuts... I've always wanted to get into buffing since I already have a bench grinder, but it seems like a decent investment if you want to do it right, and I've never had enough stuff to buff to make it seem worth the money... The poster with the ScotchBrite suggestion was pretty dead on... I'd just sand/steel wool/scotcbrite the light to a nice satin finish and leave it at that...
> 
> ...



Huh, believe it or not, those bodies are still for sale. LOL


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