aluminium in commercial vehicles - European Aluminium Association

140 EUROPEAN ALUMINIUM ASSOCIATION ALUMINIUM IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES CHAPTER X
Aluminium tank (LAG)
In any case, before polishing, the
aluminium plates should be
degreased and cleaned to remove
any kind of dust and dirt to prevent
abrasive particles from being
ground into the aluminium surface.
Aluminium tipper (Benalu)
The same rules apply for manual
polishing. This process is difficult
to apply and a large and extensive
experience is necessary to
reach a satisfactory and reproducible
result. After removal of
surface dirt or oil, the manual
process starts with a rotary polisher
and the use of quick- cut-
ting abrasive paste. The pad
should be a wool compounding
type. Speed of the polisher must
be limited to prevent burning of
the surface. The polisher should
be moved back and forth, up and
down to ensure a uniform abrasion
of the surface. As the pad
will suddenly turn black (caused
by the polishing residue), great
care must be taken to regularly
clean or change the pad. After
the rough first polish, the type of
paste should be changed to one
with lower abrasion. Before
applying the final polishing step,
it is useful to clean the surface
again to remove the black
residue, which might be trapped
into the surface. The final result
of manual polishing should be a
mirror-like, uniform, swirl-mark,
black speck- and bright sparklefree
surface.
To keep the mirror-like surface
throughout a long period, it
makes sense to apply a clear coat
system, as exposure to normal
atmosphere would lead to a
bleaching of the polished surface.