Polishing Alloy Bull Bar

Anyone got any tips and tricks to cleaning up an alloy bar.
Mine is somewhat sand blasted after 4 years so figured would give it a cleanup.
i have already started to rub it back using 600 wet n dry and will be going to 1000 then 2000 when I can get some. Some of the stone chips are pretty deep so they take a bit to clean up.
I was going to be using Meguiars Power Metal polish and California Purple Alloy polish.
Doing it by hand is painful.
Figure there might be some truckies out there who have had to polish the bigger bars and fuel tanks and found some shortcuts

Ill be watching this thread as my sports bar could really do with a polish.

Me too. Always start off doing it in spots with Brasso etc, and it ends up just getting too painful to finish, . I was thinking of a lambswool buffer (proper drill or air tool) with some alloy polish might be the go, and then clear lacquer it to do the job properly.

Wicked lightning shine! Any big truck shop sells it. Its the best and easiest you will find.

I've been using Purple Metal Polish. If you haven't polished your bars for a while it takes about 2-3 goes to get a nice shine but if you do it often enough u only need to do it once. Available from Truck Service Centres and Repco.

I have Purple already and it works a treat but was hoping someone might know of a more mechanised option .
I have heard of people using buffers etc but never heard what they use with the buffer.
I have already started with wet n dry to start removing the sand blasted feel .
Purple will bring back from Dull in a heartbeat but I am after something a bit heavier and I cant exactly run the bar against the buffing and polishing wheels on the bench grinder

I've just spent a couple of hours over the last two nights polishing my bullbar and sports bar with the good old Brasso. Came up pretty well. I found that there's no need to rub hard, just rub often (Jesus, that could be the name for a porno!). I had a few baked on locusts on the front, so just hit them with the tar and spot remover before using the Brasso. Probably took 3 hours all up to do both. Boring as batshit, but just have a few tunes on in the background, switch off the brain and it's done before you know it. My ute is a 2003 and I'm pretty sure the bars had never been touched before. I'm rapt with the way they came up. Sure there's still a few gouges and scratches, but they add character.

I'm even thinking of giving the duco a bit of a polish on the weekend, but will probably need to get some touch up paint before tacking that job.

Sounds damm good.
Funnily enough I was going to have a go with Brasso this weekend. But I am using a Buffer/angle grinder due to bad shoulder.
I now have the full set of options.
I have the buffer polisher with hard and soft rag mops as well as a foam pad .I was going to have a shot with everything and see what works best. I know I will be able to bring the bar back to shiny but its the rubbing out the stone chips that will make it interresting.
Will try to post pics as I go
to polish I have the full alloy bar , the sports bar from a hilux and then just for giggles a set of side steps just in case I get energetic.
Bull bar is the only damaged alloy as such. The sports bar just needs a good polish and the steps will be sanded back then polished .
Black everything here I come. Damm messy job but should be worth the effort

I've found the secret to getting that black shit off your hands when you're done. Just grab a bit of washing powder (clothes, not dishes) a little bit of water and away you go. You want to get the consistency of paste - not too runny.

You're welcome!

Works great on grease when you've been under the bonnet all day too, been using it for years, but one piece of advice, if you're working outside make sure you wear sunscreen because the scratchy feeling of washing powder and sun burn DO NOT mix!!

I used to do that but have found that simple anti bacterial hand cleaner soap works an absolute treat.
Also its not as harsh on your cold hands as OMO lol
been there done that way too many times

WD40 or CRC is good for getting stubborn stuff off like silastic, but it's not cheap when you use it as hand cleaner.

As for OMO no man should let his wife/girlfriend keep a box of OMO in the house in case it ends up in the window.

I gots me a front loader lol so no powder in the house

Ok so I started on the bar today and damm its going to be a lot of work
its hard to show what its like but hope the pic gives you an idea



This is after I have been rubbing back with various grades of wet and dry then hit with the buffing mop on the polisher



just an idea how much alloy I have to do

and then ths sports bar

Hey guys, I just did this last week end on my car.. with NO sandpaper ( screw that!!! )
Go to ebay. buy one of these kits
8" Metal Buffing Polishing Kit & Polisher | eBay

I then started with Autosol to get the dirt layer off, unfortuantly that has to be done by hand.. and then i worked my way through the grades of polishing wheels and compound on the wheels.
You have to press with a firm pressure and make sure there is always compund on the wheels..
Once you finish with the softest cloth, finish up again with Autosol for a nice mirror finish =D
Had it done in 1 night. and turned up great! ( exception for rock chips.. but you dont notice them unless your staring at the bar point blank.. which then, if someone was doing that i would like to know why the hell there so close to my car! )

The dirt on the bar was baked in! good old pilbara sun and red dirt..

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/821/img0076jo.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/204/img0106qs.jpg/

Hope this helps..

Also.. you do have to removed the bar from the car + eveything not metal off of the bull bar.. when your polishing with the machine, and slip = not pretty..

I have no idea how to make my pictures non link thingy ma jig..

I only had to use the wet n dry on the worst areas that were badly sand blasted.
The rest I used basically the same as you.
I didnt buy a kit as such just a buffer grinder and the bits and pieces I needed.
Ended up getting a car paint buffer pad and Mothers power metal polish and it worked a treat.

i will ask my bro in law tonight..he builds truck bull bars for a living..
i know he uses a 9 inch grinder with a buffing pad but not sure what he uses on the beffer.

I used the 8" soft mop with the white rouge. Worked well but needed that final polish to bring it up

my bro inlaw said that the wicked and purple polish straight on the buffer is the go...no need to sand it at all.
he also uses this solid,bar of soap like cutting wax,but he couldnt remember the name of it.