My Velocity VR 1 has aluminum tread plate on both sides of the engine. They are looking quite dull. Looking for recommendations for cleaning and bringing back the shine.

Thanks,
Padraig

You might consider pulling them out, and having them cleaned and powdercoated.

I hadn't thought about that. I'll have to look and see how they come out. If I remember correctly, the only accessories fastened to it are batteries, trim pump and hatch lift. My old knees hate getting down in the engine compartment.

Thanks

Padraig

Bio-Kleen, the green stuff. I polished the front gravel guard on my Low Hauler 5 years ago. It still looks good.

Did you use the cleaner and the polish?

Thanks.

Padraig

Flitz on a buffing pad
I use it to polish top of my truck boxes. They ate alum diamond plate.
Its hard on the buffs, but looks great

I remember washing it a good car wash soap and then using the green polish. The towels were turning black from all the tarnish. It looked like chrome when I was done. I just wish I could find a product that would refinish anodized aluminum panels. The lower panels on that trailer are very dull. The trailer was left outside for years and never washed. I worked on it a lot the first year to clean it up, now I use it when I need to haul a bike or 2.

White Diamond metal polish

Griff, I tried WD on the side panels and it did not work. My understanding is that since they are anodized, they have to be stripped and then polished out.

My Velocity also has the diamond plate in the engine compartment and I also am getting ready to do my annual polishing of it.

I've used White Diamond, Flitz and several polishing creams. They all work pretty good.

It your aluminum is really bad you have to start by wet sanding it with a fine sanding paper or sponge.

If it isn't too bad, start with an aluminum pre-cleaner that Flitz, or many of the other cleaners offer. Then use there polish.

I usually do it by hand and it isn't to hard to keep it up if you do it every so often. Small pieces of carpet work great as a applicator..

Another option to make it easier would be to buy a variable speed mini random orbit polisher. 3" pad would be a good size..

I;ve even made my own polishing pads cutting a 3" circle out of some carpet scraps and glued velcro to the back. They work better than the foam pads. If you have a bigger area use a 6" variable speed random orbit polisher.

A regular high speed buffer or an air powered polisher work great and fast, but it will throw the compound all over the place and it's a lot much work to clean up the black slurry.

Have plenty of rags and wear rubber gloves as you will look like a coal miner.

After you have it all polished, clean it well and put a ceramic sealer or wax on it to help protect it until you have to do it again.

Beer also helps.









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