Okay... it's time again. The thread that just won't go away. Polishing takes time. I wanted to post a few things I learned.
I bought a 6" bench grinder at Lowes for $35 a few weeks ago (3rd picture). Standard issue cheapo model. 2 wheels and a gooseneck work light. I got a 6" bastard file to scrape the wheels with (4th picture), and picked up 2 flannel stitched wheels. The white one is medium, and the yellow one is hard. With the right compound, this will put a glossy mirror finish on any metal.
Another thing that helps is using the right compound for the metal you're polishing. The (5th picture) picture is what the rouges do. The white diamond rouge works 10x faster than Jeweler's rouge on Aluminum, but the end result is the same. I wish I had this stuff when I was polishing the head. Black Carbide rouge will polish Stainless Steel after getting it to only 220 grit, but it will tear up aluminum. Be careful with that stuff unless you're working with harder metals.
I have two words for anyone who's looking for polishing supplies... TRUCK STOPS. They've got 10lb bricks of rouge for sale for like $7. They also usually have Nev-R-Dull which is the best damn stuff for cleaning the rouge (and everything else) off of your polished parts. Truckers are restricted to a certain amount of road time each day, so many of them polish their trucks to pass the time. They've got everything for polishing.
I picked up a 4-pack of rouge (2nd picture) at a car show for $9. It's about enough to finish what I started. I wanted a variety so I could try them all out. Car shows are also a good place to find supplies. Not just any car show. It's easier to find these vendors at at the antique and hot rod shows.
Polishing with a bench grinder greatly reduces the amount of time you have to spend sanding because the wheels are so much bigger and faster. Aluminum parts are ready for polishing after sanding them to 600 grit. You can clean up stainless with the black rouge after only 220 grit, and follow it up with the white stuff, then you're done. Bench grinders are best for smaller cast parts without much detail, sheet metal, and piping. Bigger unweildy things or detailed castings will require a DIY grinder.
All you have to do to polish whith a bench grinder is:
1) wear gloves
2) wear long sleeves
3) wear a dust mask
4) wear safety goggles or a face shield
5) load the compound evenly on the wheel
6) rake the wheel with a straight edge (4th pic) lightly to smooth out the chunks. (I'm taking pictures, you should ALWAYS hold it with both hands.)
7) (1st pic) always use the front face of the wheel so the part doesn't get jerked out of your hand. Always use both hands to hold your work. Press the part lightly into the wheel and let the wheel do all the work. Don't linger in one spot, always stay moving slowly at an even pace. You don't have to press hard enough to distort the wheel, but if you do slightly, you'll cover more surface area per revolution. Press too hard and you can wear out the bench grinder's motor, but a little pressure won't hurt it.
8) rake the wheel (4th pic) vigorously before re-applying new compound, switching to another compound, or when finished with it.
This makes a mess. The wheel disintigrates into dust, and little tiny pieces of rouge will get flung everywhere. Your hair, your nose, your eyes, your lungs, clothes... And the dust it creates is ridiculous. Take steps 1-4 seriously. Don't bolt your bench grinder to your mom's coffee table in the living room and expect to get far. Do it somewhere that you can make a mess. A shed, a garage, outside and cover up stuff in the room that you don't want to get dirty. You will get filthy. But the result is amazing. Check my website to see the results.
http://www.homepage.mac.com/Jafro