Thread Number: 23237
POWER TOOLS FOR WET-SANDING KIRBYS 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 260238   12/20/2013 at 11:37 (3,771 days old) by Jeschbac (Texas)        

What is the best way to sand scratches out of Kirby aluminum castings? I've been wet-standing by hand and if I spend long enough doing it, the results are great. The problem is that it just about kills my hand. Is there an easier way? Are there power tools that can wet-sand on these contoured surfaces?

Post# 260275 , Reply# 1   12/20/2013 at 21:27 (3,771 days old) by RoyalLover60 ()        
Kirby polishing...

 Try Turtle Wax metal polish and 0000 steel wool...a little hand work, but a great shine,and control better than power polishing. To keep them buffed up, I use a Conoisseur silver cloth now and the after a "spin"...

Post# 260280 , Reply# 2   12/20/2013 at 22:41 (3,771 days old) by Jeschbac (Texas)        
Thanks...

 but will this go after scratches?

Post# 260296 , Reply# 3   12/21/2013 at 04:16 (3,770 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH)        

bnsd60m9200's profile picture
no it wont... use 120 and 220 grit quarters on a palm sander. then wet sand with finer grits. wet sanding is for polishing, not cutting and getting gouges out.

Post# 260316 , Reply# 4   12/21/2013 at 12:18 (3,770 days old) by d-jones (Pittsburgh)        

The gray sandpaper made for wet sanding comes in a number of coarser grits that are made for removing material. The main advantage of wet sanding is that the water caries away the particles removed by the sanding process and prevents them from loading up the paper and making it useless. And it bears mentioning that the finer the paper is the faster this loading up will happen. This isn't likely to be as much of a problem when sanding aluminum with a coarser paper, but when sanding paint(think auto repair) or Bondo it makes a huge difference to use wet paper and water.

The advice given above to start out with courser paper to remove material more quickly is worth following. But if you're dealing with a really deep scratch, by the time you sand the surrounding material down to the bottom of the scratch you've noticeably altered the contour of the metal. In those cases it's sometimes better to have a very thin bead of aluminum welded into the scratch to fill it in. Then you can go over it with sandpaper or files and remove the excess material.

Post# 260419 , Reply# 5   12/22/2013 at 20:10 (3,769 days old) by Jeschbac (Texas)        
Appreciated...

 all of this great advice! A few other follow-ups: I've heard that you have to be careful with aluminum because inhaling the sandings would be bad news for the lungs. Does wet sanding keep that down? If I were to dry sand and wear a face mask, would that be protection enough?

Now, what about the idea of using a Kirby Turbo Sander for these projects and sucking up the particles as they are sanded off? Kirby explicitly says not to wet sand, but you can use the device for scrubbing floors, etc, which are wet.

So I guess what I'm reading here is that dry sanding is ok to take out the worst of the scratching, then perhaps do the final stages with wet sanding. Is that about right? And if I dry sand, I could try the Kirby Turbo Tool, right?

The final issue is that sanding kills my right hand when I have to go through multiple levels of sandpaper, and I'm trying to figure out a way of going easy on my hand and speed up the process.

Post# 260423 , Reply# 6   12/22/2013 at 20:40 (3,769 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH)        

bnsd60m9200's profile picture
aside from a palm sander to get the gouges out, you really need to hand wetsand to get the control of polishing you need. i use cheap orielly's automatic transmission fluid now as the "wet" part of the method. it helps polish. after using the wetsand method in 320,400,600,800,1000 and 2000 grit in up down, then left right every other grit, i use 0 and 0000 steel wool to final polish. with the 0 first do it in the opposite direction angle you did the 2000 grit sandpaper. then get the 0 wet with atf in circular motion to get rid of the sanding marks from the 2000 grit. last the 0000 polishes to great luster. finally wipe it down and wax the aluminum with high grade paste car wax (i recommend meguiars ultimate paste wax). i dont use a buffing wheel. itll take about 4-8 hours to do a heritage style rug nozzle depending on level of aluminum pitting and oxidation. about 20-50 hours of total finishing for a kirby to get it done and look professionally done. i even polish all the visible screws on the machine. its messy and time consuming, but the only way to really make it look new without scratches. this technique has been perfected over 2 years and 10 kirby's restored.

Post# 260424 , Reply# 7   12/22/2013 at 21:02 (3,769 days old) by kirbykid (Horseheads,New York 14845)        

Dont use a electric sander to wetsand metal! Last time I did it, I electricuted myself. Use a air powered sander, thats what I use now.
Post# 260428 , Reply# 8   12/22/2013 at 22:22 (3,769 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH)        

bnsd60m9200's profile picture
you need to read more carefully what i wrote. i never said anything about wetsanding with the palm sander.

Will

Post# 260429 , Reply# 9   12/22/2013 at 22:22 (3,769 days old) by super-sweeper (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)        
The best method I've came to:

 super-sweeper's profile picture

Go out and buy yourself a Kirby turbo sander (DO NOT use your good one, buy some old junky one you couldn't care less about), and place your sand paper in it. take a bottle of water and punch a hole in the cap, add some dish detergent to the water. connect the Turbo Sander to a wet-capable vacuum cleaner and go to town on that Kirby!

 

Works very efficiently.
Post# 260436 , Reply# 10   12/22/2013 at 23:16 (3,769 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)        

kirbyclassiciii's profile picture
There is something called an electric polisher-buffer you can use.

~Ben


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