I recently picked up an original ARC Brazing Induction Box for a pretty good deal, it's structurally in good shape but is very oxidized and dirty. I've preliminarily wiped it down with degreaser and tried a bit of Noxon 7 and Brasso, but they don't really do well on the heavily oxidized areas. Any other suggestions?

 

Try Bar Keeper's Friend. You can find it on Amazon or some hardware stores.

 

Go full on shiny. 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000 grit, then tripoli rouge and white rouge. It'll be a mirror.

 

Watch some Youtube videos on aluminum polishing. If it's mainly oxidation, Mother's Aluminum Polish does wonders - rub it on with a rag and buff off. If it's really bad you'll have to buff it out, using a bench grinder with a buffing wheel and polishing compound does magic.

Raw aluminum will oxidize over time, you'll have to keep it up with the Mother's Polish every now and again.

Dale

 

If you’re not looking for show mirror, I’ve clamped my rotary polisher to a wooden workbench and after a wet sand with something like 2000 grit, just used rubbing compound with an older pad. Keep a little squirt bottle of water handy. It’s a little messy but this way I’m better able to control heat on soft aluminum. Start somewhere that doesn’t show until you get the hang of it.

After you get it where you want it there are any number of polished metal sealants that help prolong results but I agree, eventually just some hand-rubbing with something like Mother’s metal polish and more sealant will be needed.

 

Fair enough, thanks guys. Forgot to mention that I did try some barkeeper's friend, we have some at home to do our stainless and aluminum pans. It worked somewhat but I'm not sure if it will be enough for this application.

I'm not really looking for a mirror or like new finish, just want to clean it up because at this point everything else in my engine bay is very well maintained and tidy. In it's current state, the box would stand out like a sore thumb I'll grab some Mother's polish and see how clean I can get it, prior to committing to buffing/grinding. I do have an orbital buffer for that task though.

Thanks for the insight.