Hi guys,


Need some help here.

I have got an aluminium saber hilt that has some medium scratches on it.

I'm not familiar at all with the polishing process so it'll be great if someone could perhaps give me some instructions as to how i can go about polishing out scratches on an aluminum surface.

It is an electronic toy so dry polishing is almost necessary.

I do not have any sophisticated tools just the basic home DIY stuff (ie i do not have a polishing belt etc).

Thanks!

Can you take some pics of the scratches? How bad are they?
Polishing is simply going from course to finer grits of sandpaper and then to finer grits in pastes.
Aluminum is soft so it's pretty easy, but where to start the process depends on the scratches.

Hi thranduil.

Are these photos clear enough?

Photo 1 and photo 2 are the same shots taken one after the other. Hopefully the different sheen can give you a better idea.

There are scratches on the flat surfaces as well as on the edges.

I would use some fine files to take those out as a sarting point. Question is, do you have such or know someone who does. Files are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, as well as "grit" or cut.

You can also scrape the surfaces with flat X-acto blades.

It's not easy to put "how to" into words. Do you know a machinist? Someone who can show you what to do and how to?

Unfortunately I don't know of any local machinists. I imported the item from overseas so would prefer to have a go with it first before thinking about sending it back for scratch removal. Two way Shipping costs and all.

For the metal files, is there a particular grit I need to buy? And is there a specific name of the material/type of metal file? If there is it might be easier for me to hunt it down at the shops.

At this point, I'm probably hoping to at the very least reduce the appearance of the scratch.

Try the internet for metal working tools, files. A hobby shop would probably carry the small finer files. I'm sure you could even find some helpful videos on You Tube, punch metal working into the search bar.
I found this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dec78RQs ... re=related

That video shows how to properly file out defects. Not quite what you're dealing with, but it should at least help you understand. You need to do the same, but not drawfile. You'd be forward, pushfiling, but the point is you don't use a file in a back and forth motion (that dulls the file).
I'll shoot some pics of my small files and post them if you still can't find what you need.
Let us know how you make out.
Good luck

What a handyman!

Good luck fixing your scratches.

3M makes some good aluminum oxide coated sandpaper that would probably clean those up... but then you'll have a somewhat "brushed" appearance. I don't know if you get those out without having them professionally polished in a metalworks shop or something... ?

[quote=""Curunir""]3M makes some good aluminum oxide coated sandpaper that would probably clean those up... but then you'll have a somewhat "brushed" appearance. I don't know if you get those out without having them professionally polished in a metalworks shop or something... ?[/quote]

The finer the grit you progressively use (and if you alternate polishing one direction with, say, 150 grit and then polishing perpendicular to that direction with 320 grit sandpaper, a technique only used in the beginning stages of the polishing), the less apparent the sandpaper lines become. Once you get into the mega-fine stuff and polishing paste, the lines ought not to be there anymore.

Well there you have it! Jamanticus might have it nailed. See if you get get some finer sandpaper from 3M and test it out on a piece of aluminium that you don't give a $hit about.

Thanks for the help Thranduil and Co... Appreciate the help fellas.

Looks like it's going to be tough to remove cuz the scratches is in a very tiny hard to reach spot so sand paper might be difficult. Only option i see is to use a jewellers needle metal file(?) and try to remove the edges of the scratch and maybe try to find a fine grit electric drill bit (do they make those?) and try to buff it out...

I have contacted the seller (who made the item for me) and hopefully I'll be able to find a solution. Fingers crossed!!

Thank goodness the scratches are only at the pommel area and the main hilt areas are ok.