polish a swimplat form??
 

I was gunna get my swimplat form repowdercoated this winter..but I was wondering if anyone has ever polished one? like polished aluminum

ive polished both aluminum and stainless im glad someone else was paying my hrs.......

What colors are your boat? I've always been a fan of black chrome. I even black chrome powdercoated my aluminum wheels. It was raining so those are the spots on the wheels.

I polished out a pair of small steps on the back of an Eliminator cat a few years ago for a customer. The moron who decided to place two unprotected / polished pieces of aluminum right next to and under exhaust tips that dump hot water whenever the boat is running should be shot - slowly, with a small caliber weapon, starting with non-lethal areas. Get my drift? All I can say is it was a good thing the guy paid me by the hour. The work could best be described as therapy - for deranged serial killers. I'll never take another job on like that one no matter how much it pays.

So in answer to your comment, I like polished aluminum too - as long as somebody else polishes it.

Pain in the ass to up keep also. Just chrome it and be done. I'm slowly taking all the polished parts off my boat and chroming them

Go with the polished aluminum looking powder coating if it's the look your wanting. I agree with the up keep in that area being a real PITA

well i was thinkin of polishing it, then clearing it??

Much better option!

where do you get the black chrome!? i want my wheels on my yukon done in that

I don't know that I would want my swim platform, or anything else that I stand on or sit on, chrome or polished. At least it is the swim plat, and close to water to cool it down, but I've burned myself countless times grabbing something chrome that has baked too long in the sun.

Not to mention it being a giant mirror. If you spend anytime sitting on it I am sure the sun would be bouncing off of it right into your eyes..................

Plus polished alumium is a pain to keep clean. I had polished billet wheels on my Prostreet chopper, it was a show bike and after the first time it saw rain, I had to take the wheels off and machine polish them again becasue no matter what I tried there were small water spots. \

I say have it powdercoated with one of the translucent colors.

Your right, you probably wouldn't wanna chrome something you have to touch. I'm doing little parts that don't get touched or very rarely do

I think you have the right idea, mine are colored and look great

just adding my 2cts worth here, but i am experienced in polishing. I have done a few dozen street bike frames, along with countless other odd and end parts. aluminum is a very porous metal and extremely soft. it will never keep its shine if it is in constant contact with hands and feet. the trick is to keep it up once it is polished. you could very well "clear" it after you polish it, but in my opinion, it takes away from the actual shine you get from doing all the work to polish it anyways. if you do decide to go that route, the best polish by far that i have used to keep up a finish is called Simichrome. It has been in my case hard to find (minus the internet), and also costs about its weight in gold, but is totally worth it if you go with polishing something. if you need any advise on the steps to take, PM me and ill do my best to help you out. Not that im some pro at doing this, but ive spent my fair share behind a DA sander and a buffer to know a little. lol