finishing aluminum

How do you guys get that engine turned look, I have some scratches in my fuel cell i wanted to sand out and finish somehow or even polish. any ideas or recomendations?

scotch-brite pad on a 90 degree angle grinder should get you the look you're after.

ive use a wire wheel and drill press but it was on flat metal.

is that some sort of special disk or just a pad cut up to fit and stuck on there. that will give me the brushed look right? I might try that first and then get a 1" wire wheel and get busy making the pattern down the tank.

hey and do you have any pics of the scotch brite effect on the alum?

i would try the scotch brite pad first. the wire wheel well dig in the aluminum and not work as well were the scotch brite pad will just sand the surface

be careful with a wire wheel it can seriously mess up aluminum, i'd try the scotch brite or a D-A with something like 800-1200 and if you want a polished tank get a buffing wheel and aluminum compound but you'll have to polish it often. I've also used worn out flapper discs but have to be real careful.

so i could just scotch brite it to get that brushed look and then zoop seal it or something.

well i tried a test spot on another random piece of aluminum i had with similar scratches and i came to the conclusion that i will definately need to hit it with a high grit sand paper first to get rid of the scratches and then i can make a disk out of a scotch brite pad and put that on the da and use that for the brushed look.

well the make lil 2 in wheels for a small angle grinder for gettin off gaskets and such. brown for steel and green for aluminum...there called roloc discs