How i made my ugly aluminum nice looking! And it's not hard and you don't need ANY special tools!

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Z.hb71

Z.hb71

Well-Known Member
Build Thread Contributor
Messages
19,475
Reaction score
27,691
So, my custom aluminum pieces are extremely ugly, they are scratched up and full, here's a example
IMG_20190613_211708_1.webp
So what I did to make em look nice, is I first filed down the deap scratches, then what I did was, take a 220 grid sand paper, then I went in one direction (this is crutial to getting the brushed aluminum look) and sanded it, then to clean it up, I took a scotch Brite pad, and went in the same direction as I did with the sand paper and this is the end result, they are not the same piece but looked the same before I did this, and thsi is the finished product IMG_20190613_211722.webpthere is still some VERY light scratches that I couldn't get out, but if yours werent gashed up like mine, you'll be fine, you could even clear coat it to make it look nicer, I think I'll try that and post it here to show how it looks. Anyways, hope maybe some of you can take away something from this and try it yourself! If you do, post pics up here.
 
Sometimes ,it looks too pretty after the file ,the aluminum gets like a mirror ,an you hate to touch it!....lol

Its a lot of work by hand ,but it looks a whole lot better than scratched color ,I hate iodide aluminum!.....(y)
 
Ok so I just today went at it with steel wool, and it looks even better! Now has more shine and the brush lines are more defined than before. It's a bit hard to pick up on camera
IMG_20190614_180417.webp
IMG_20190614_180414.webp
IMG_20190614_180434.webp
 
Oh ,those engines don't come with a bracket that holds one ,or is that extra cost?
 
cbaker65 said:
Oh ,those engines don't come with a bracket that holds one ,or is that extra cost?
Click to expand...
Ok this is a long answer. So this crankcase, is from a alx 71, they come complete but I chose to get just the crankcase becuase I thought I could build one for cheaper (false lol). So their engines have ignition system made for their exact set up (which there is brackets on the crankcase but since my ignition is different, I can't use those), I'm building mine differently, with a different in ported cylinder, running different fuel, so I didn't want to run their ignition with my different set up in fear of detonation, so I designed my own custom adjustable ignition system, with this CDI, problem was there was nowere to mount it, so I made this bracket to mount my CDI. Oh you might ask, why not just run their exact set up?, Well my answer is, Becuase 1, price, the cylinder they use is redicullously expensive excluding porting, so I went a different route. 2nd, in theory, my setup is better becuase it's adjustable, so if I change fuels, I can change timing accordingly, if I get a ramped piston and/or a ported cylinder I can change timing accordingly.
 
Ah ,ok ,make sense ,.....LOL....I am glad I didn't have to read your post from the beginning!....
 
Back
Top