Metal Polishing

BLACKFIRE Metal Polishing Products
Introduction by Terry Freiberg

    About six months ago, I was contacted by one of our show-car customers with a question. This person had an aluminum sided transport trailer that he used to take cars to various events. This trailer had become dull, chalky and water spotted over the years and he wanted to polish the aluminum to a show-quality, mirror-like finish. He asked what products he should use and what the proper procedure was for doing the work.

    All of the metal polishes we offered were non-abrasive. They were not designed for this type of restoration. I did an internet search for "metal polishing" and was overwhelmed with product offerings but couldn't find a complete system for taking oxidized aluminum to a show-quality finish. Frustrated, I called Scott with our foam pad supplier. In addition to having more experience in polishing various surfaces than any person I have ever met, Scott is a pilot with decades of experience polishing aluminum fuselages. Scott not only knew the right company to contact for polishes, his company had developed wool polishing pads for the aerospace industry optimized for each of these polishes.

    Polishing aluminum is similar to polishing paint. It requires using various grades of abrasive polishing compounds starting with a heavy cut metal polish and ending with a super-fine, finishing polish. The BLACKFIRE metal polishes shown below are not made by us. They are manufactured by one of the world's leading experts in aerospace metal polishing. These polishes were developed over the last 40 years for the general aviation and aerospace industry. These are the same polish formulas used at the OEM level by Fortune 500 aviation and aerospace companies. We have a confidentiality agreement with the manufacturer of these polishes that prohibits us from disclosing their name or the names of their customers.

    These metal polishes are designed for application with either a dual-action or circular machine polisher. We offer a specific wool pad for each polish depending on the machine used. We have different pads for dual-action machines and circular polishers. These pads were developed for the OEM aviation and aerospace industry. Four of these proprietary pads have never been offered to the general public before.

    We offer three different grades of abrasive polishes. You may not need all three steps. Depending on the condition of the metal you are working on and the level of shine desired you may only need one or two of these polishes. We also offer a protective, acrylic, metal sealant. The use of a final sealant is optional. If you have a show vehicle that is not exposed to the elements, there is no need to seal the finish. On the other hand, if you are polishing an Airstream Trailer, sealing the finish will keep the finish looking better longer, resist bug and tar build-up and make future cleaning easier.

    Bottom line, this is a state-of-the-art metal polishing system. Even if you worked for NASA, you couldn't buy a better or more advanced technology.

Excerpt from customer letter: "... own a set of 20” unsealed billet aluminum wheels that were already in good shape but despite weekly relentless polishing (Mothers Ball followed by Billet polish and Wheel Wax applications) they would oxidize and water spot in less than 2 weeks;  clearly a simple fact of life with unsealed billet aluminum.  When honed and burnished however, the warmth and color is unparalleled,  but you pay a price for fanaticism! The polishing takes roughly 1 hour per wheel to get them as close to perfect as I am happy with.

I started with Blackfire Fine Cut Aluminum Polish. The results were in a word: amazing.  After roughly 30 seconds I had the entire wheel looking better than I ever had with any system or amount of time and effort.  I would have stopped there but wanted to see how good they could get.  I finished with the Wet Diamond Aluminum Show Polish and appropriate buff wheel.  With the exception of surfaces that I had to finish with felt cones, they looked like the day I took them out of the box, literally.  All this in roughly 15 minutes counting time to change wheels and do one wipe down inspection.  I sealed them with the Blackfire Metal Sealant and will be interested to see how long they stay right in everyday traffic with summer mid Atlantic conditions. Blackfire Aluminum Polishing System is a huge hit!"
Flip S., Rockville, MD

Put a mirror-like shine on your Airstream	or a sparkle on your pontoon boat!