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This is a long post, so go to the bathroom now, get a soda and let me tell you how I came to Diamondplate success; from the most unlikely source.
Well, I have been trying to find a time efficient way to get my diamond plate toolbox back to new condition. I have had this toolbox parked outside in the elements for 5+ years.
Layers of bird pooh, pollen from pecan trees, and basic neglect had my toolbox looking bad. After I had my truck to a swirl free finish, this toolbox had to be fixed up to match
.
So I started my homework. Found many "easy" products, none worked. I tried scrubbing with harsh cleaners, nothing, not even a budge in finish. So I looked to Eastwood for their metal polishing kits. I tried this one
with pretty good results. Here is a before picture of what the diamond plate toolbox looked like:
Here is what I achieved using this magic mix kit:
As you can see, the acid left streaking and an uneven unacceptable appearance. So I tried to use the wool pads inlcuded using the polish that was included and achieved this result:
A little better, it removed the acid etching, but the bird pooh was still there and I was getting tired. The toolbox was still generally dull. I was unhappy with the $40 and 3 hours spent so far.
SO I went for the big guns, thinking I would get to the bottom of this. I used a 8" spiral sewn wheel adapted to a Makita 9227C, and some eastwood compounds in this aluminum polishing kit which set me back another $25:
This was a pain in the arse. Their compounds are known to be very hard, and I found that were difficult to transfer to the wheels. I tried a Sewn wheel with tripoli compound. Using a Makita 9227C on speed 3-4 with 0-3 pounds of pressure. I followed this with an 8" loose wheel and achieved basically a "brushed aluminum" look with no reflections, or minimal reflections at best. Here is a photo showing the finished product after both kits used following all instructions to a tee. I am now down $over $75 and 6 hours and I am getting tired. Here is the result:
Take a break grab some coffee and come back and let me tell you the rest of the story.........
Now I am one of those who feels that if I go through all the trouble of removing my toolbox, spend 6-7 hours, almost $100 I better darn well see some REAL results. I did not have the results I wanted so I began looking around my arsenal... Which includes a G100, a variety of compounds, cleaners (all meguiar's of course) and a little blue jar caught my eye.... I had never opened it before, or even read the label for that matter.
It was Meguiar's NXT Metal Polysh
I began to think aggressive at this point. Remember, I had not so much as washed this toolbox in over 5 years and it is parked outside 24/7 in south texas under extreme conditions. I had one more option. If this did not work, I would call eastwood and complain
I used this 8" yellow treated wheel on my Makita
I then transfered some of this sweet smelling blue gold on my toolbox and dove on top of it shouting profanities and swearing at the rotary, swearing to sell it if it didnt work for me I would sell it
I just put a dab and smeared it across the toolbox, and set the rotary to 4 and got after it.....
I stood back in wonder as I reached for a rag and some simple green to remove the "DEEP DARK BLACK" sludge that was now all over my toolbox. Here is what lied underneath. Notice the right side of the toolbox:
I stood back and looked in amazement. I felt stupid that I had spent so much time and money only to get this remarkable result from a $5 jar of polish. One thing I had to do was remove the heavy oxidation residue which is very black using a megs tire brush and simple green diluted 5:1, then wipe with an MF towel.
I started to tackle the other parts of the tool box, smearing away with the NXT metal polysh. I have to interject here to tell you that it DID NOT sling at all. The wheel picks it up and holds it. It spreads that great meguiars aroma all over my garage though, which I did not mind. Here are some finished results.
N-JOY!!!
Here is a relection shot, which I thought I would never see
Here I just wanted to show the angle I used the rotary. You definitely want to hold on tight when you are running this thing.
Here is a sunlight shot. This looks almost better than when I bought it. It almost looks as if it made of plexiglass. I assure you it is blindingly bright and shiny.
Thank you Meguiar's for a great product. It was very compatible with a treated wheel at 2000 rpms + . I will now ebay all the other products I have that didnt work.
Hey, maybe I can use this picture as a selling point for the products???
OH Yeah, Sweet NXT Goodness
Well, I have been trying to find a time efficient way to get my diamond plate toolbox back to new condition. I have had this toolbox parked outside in the elements for 5+ years.
Layers of bird pooh, pollen from pecan trees, and basic neglect had my toolbox looking bad. After I had my truck to a swirl free finish, this toolbox had to be fixed up to match
. So I started my homework. Found many "easy" products, none worked. I tried scrubbing with harsh cleaners, nothing, not even a budge in finish. So I looked to Eastwood for their metal polishing kits. I tried this one
with pretty good results. Here is a before picture of what the diamond plate toolbox looked like:
Here is what I achieved using this magic mix kit:
As you can see, the acid left streaking and an uneven unacceptable appearance. So I tried to use the wool pads inlcuded using the polish that was included and achieved this result:
A little better, it removed the acid etching, but the bird pooh was still there and I was getting tired. The toolbox was still generally dull. I was unhappy with the $40 and 3 hours spent so far.
SO I went for the big guns, thinking I would get to the bottom of this. I used a 8" spiral sewn wheel adapted to a Makita 9227C, and some eastwood compounds in this aluminum polishing kit which set me back another $25:
This was a pain in the arse. Their compounds are known to be very hard, and I found that were difficult to transfer to the wheels. I tried a Sewn wheel with tripoli compound. Using a Makita 9227C on speed 3-4 with 0-3 pounds of pressure. I followed this with an 8" loose wheel and achieved basically a "brushed aluminum" look with no reflections, or minimal reflections at best. Here is a photo showing the finished product after both kits used following all instructions to a tee. I am now down $over $75 and 6 hours and I am getting tired. Here is the result:
Take a break grab some coffee and come back and let me tell you the rest of the story.........
Now I am one of those who feels that if I go through all the trouble of removing my toolbox, spend 6-7 hours, almost $100 I better darn well see some REAL results. I did not have the results I wanted so I began looking around my arsenal... Which includes a G100, a variety of compounds, cleaners (all meguiar's of course) and a little blue jar caught my eye.... I had never opened it before, or even read the label for that matter.
It was Meguiar's NXT Metal Polysh
I began to think aggressive at this point. Remember, I had not so much as washed this toolbox in over 5 years and it is parked outside 24/7 in south texas under extreme conditions. I had one more option. If this did not work, I would call eastwood and complain
I used this 8" yellow treated wheel on my Makita
I then transfered some of this sweet smelling blue gold on my toolbox and dove on top of it shouting profanities and swearing at the rotary, swearing to sell it if it didnt work for me I would sell it
I just put a dab and smeared it across the toolbox, and set the rotary to 4 and got after it.....
I stood back in wonder as I reached for a rag and some simple green to remove the "DEEP DARK BLACK" sludge that was now all over my toolbox. Here is what lied underneath. Notice the right side of the toolbox:
I stood back and looked in amazement. I felt stupid that I had spent so much time and money only to get this remarkable result from a $5 jar of polish. One thing I had to do was remove the heavy oxidation residue which is very black using a megs tire brush and simple green diluted 5:1, then wipe with an MF towel.
I started to tackle the other parts of the tool box, smearing away with the NXT metal polysh. I have to interject here to tell you that it DID NOT sling at all. The wheel picks it up and holds it. It spreads that great meguiars aroma all over my garage though, which I did not mind. Here are some finished results.
N-JOY!!!
Here is a relection shot, which I thought I would never see
Here I just wanted to show the angle I used the rotary. You definitely want to hold on tight when you are running this thing.
Here is a sunlight shot. This looks almost better than when I bought it. It almost looks as if it made of plexiglass. I assure you it is blindingly bright and shiny.
Thank you Meguiar's for a great product. It was very compatible with a treated wheel at 2000 rpms + . I will now ebay all the other products I have that didnt work.
Hey, maybe I can use this picture as a selling point for the products???
OH Yeah, Sweet NXT Goodness
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