How to Polish Car Parts
- 1). Tape off any surfaces that are near the car parts you are polishing. You can use masking tape to do this step. For example, if you are polishing trim, you need to tape off the painted areas all around the trim. If you are polishing rims, you need to tape off the tire. By taping off the car components, you can leave the aluminum parts attached to the car. This saves time and lets you to focus only on the parts of the car that are seen.
- 2). Remove anodizing, if necessary. This is a substance that makes some car parts look hazy and white. You can use oven cleaner to do this step. Spray the oven cleaner into a cup and dip a clean towel into the cleaner. Wipe the anodized areas with the towel using a circular swirling motion. The area will look very bad when the anodizing is removed. This is normal. Rinse the area off with water to remove the oven cleaner. Let it dry.
- 3). Clean the car parts with paint thinner. Be careful that the paint thinner only gets on the parts you are polishing. Paint thinner will damage plastic, painted surfaces and rubber. Pour the paint thinner onto a clean towel and rub the car part in small circular motions. Work from top to bottom when you do this. Wipe the area off with a dry towel once you have cleaned all of the parts.
- 4). Sand the car parts using a piece of wet 320 grit sand paper. You can also pour water over the components. This is called wet sanding. Repeat this using 400 grit sand paper, followed by 600 grit, then 800 grit, followed by 1200 grit and finally 2000 grit. Make sure that you keep the area and the sand paper wet for each of these. You must take the time to remove any marks from the previous grit before moving on to a new grit.
- 5). Polish the area using a metal polish on a felt pad attached to an orbital sander. You may need to polish cracks and crevices by hand using a folded piece of felt. These areas may be a little less shiny than the areas on which you used the buffer.
- 6). Remove the tape from the adjoining car parts. Wipe off the polished car parts with a soft cloth. A chamois cloth or a piece of soft flannel are good choices. This will remove any smudges from the parts.