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View Full Version : Polishing a Sportmaster with Flitz



Fish
03-28-2007, 09:49 PM
I was asked by a few people last weekend about how I got my sportmaster polished to a mirror finish (it was the blingmaster afterall, gotta gleeem clean on da sporty ya heuuurd!) ;)

back to the point, here is a pic of what it looked like when I started. Then a pic where I taped down the middle of the case and polished by hand with Flitz. Took about 5 minutes do do what you see in the pic with one application. I ended up going over the whole case again to really get it polished, but you can see what Flitz can do.

The last pic is the bottle of flitz. Not the cheapest stuff, but it is pretty amazing on anything that is metal.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/DSC_6266Small.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/DSC_6267Small.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/DSC_6269Small.jpg

Zerrman
07-07-2007, 12:19 PM
I just polished out a 21' alumaweld aluminum boat. I tried everything from flitz to mothers. The best I found was to buff with cutting compound then hit it with cheap stick polish they sell at lowes for $1.99. Sell in tool section its about 6" long and 1" round. And it worked better then everything I tried. Quicker and cheaper. They also make a product called SHARKHIDE that you put on afterwords to protect and seal aluminum you can get from boats dealers. Easy and most inexpensive way to get a great shine.

Techno
07-07-2007, 10:26 PM
Was there any scratches in the lu before you polished? I thought sportmasters were wire brushed for speed.:confused:

Fish
07-08-2007, 05:56 AM
not that I can recall techno, but that is not the first time I have cleaned it up. it was jus a basic dull grey looking LU like pretty much all the rest.

fullthrottle114
07-08-2007, 08:43 AM
thats the thing about polishing it, if you want a perfect mirror finish it should be sanded. i went to ace hardware and they sell little sanding pads. they are great!

the make a rough, medium and a fine. i just used the medium and fine. but even before sanding it if your lower unit has the slightest imperfection like height differances it still won't have a mirror finish. a sanding disk and a drill will save you alot of hand sanding. i also used a milwalkee grinder and put a buffing wheel in it, and it worked wonders. any light scratches it removes without a problem. great for repolishing!

and techno your right, sanding and polishing you lowerunit will slow you down a lil.

Techno
07-08-2007, 01:50 PM
You can polish to a mirror surface without sanding, its just an orange peeled mirror:D
I polish the old fashioned way with buffs on a buffing machine and compounds. Man handling a mid-section isn't fun but it sure is faster against a 1hp motor than a drill.
If its something that is already polished then using a Flitz magic sauce will work fine. Like what you will do next year.:D
Fishs 2nd picture is a good example of next years look compared to this years look.

Fish
07-08-2007, 03:55 PM
You can polish to a mirror surface without sanding, its just an orange peeled mirror:D
I polish the old fashioned way with buffs on a buffing machine and compounds. Man handling a mid-section isn't fun but it sure is faster against a 1hp motor than a drill.
If its something that is already polished then using a Flitz magic sauce will work fine. Like what you will do next year.:D
Fishs 2nd picture is a good example of next years look compared to this years look.

No doubt, but since it took less than 5 minutes to do the section above by hand in the before after, there is not much time involved in keeping it looking good.

there is another post somewhere on s&f where I put up some before and after pics of a stainless steel heat exchanger on a 1500hp diesel that had become badly disclored due to heat with some rust pitting. Flitz did the trick there too, but it was no where as easy as the sportmaster. The results however speak for themselves.

Not trying to sell the product, I just worked around boats long enough to know a good product when I find one; if people like it great, if not, no sweat either, just passing along the info.

150aintenuff
07-08-2007, 06:19 PM
I just polished out a 21' alumaweld aluminum boat. I tried everything from flitz to mothers. The best I found was to buff with cutting compound then hit it with cheap stick polish they sell at lowes for $1.99. Sell in tool section its about 6" long and 1" round. And it worked better then everything I tried. Quicker and cheaper. They also make a product called SHARKHIDE that you put on afterwords to protect and seal aluminum you can get from boats dealers. Easy and most inexpensive way to get a great shine.


ALUMAWELD...... ya mean one of these http://a912.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/23/l_f6f4a5a901df5093d8189dc8ed366247.jpg

the trick to polishing one of them is acid etch them first.... then sand the chit out of it with 600 grit to level then HEAVY METAL POILISH with a high speed buffer.

Zerrman
07-08-2007, 07:50 PM
Just remember there is a product called SHARKHIDE that you can get to put on your boat ext after you do all the hard part of getting it shiny. I guareente it will keep it looking new for a long time. You wont have to polish every year. It works, try it.

150aintenuff
07-08-2007, 07:55 PM
Just remember there is a product called SHARKHIDE that you can get to put on your boat ext after you do all the hard part of getting it shiny. I guareente it will keep it looking new for a long time. You wont have to polish every year. It works, try it.

it also peels off when subjected to anything as abusive as a gearcase traveliong through water... Sharkhide is a type of clear coat for aluminum so like any coating the stress of water at 100+ will destroy it within the same amount of time as the polish will dullout.. also it dulls a really good polish job in its aplication process.... ive polished the above boat so it was a true mirror... took a week to do it but you coldnt tell if was aluminum... it looked like a glass mirror... it lasted 2 years with minor up keep

Techno
07-31-2007, 08:37 PM
I bought the paste polish thats spoda be a 6 month protectant. I really didn't get this to polish but to keep my polished naked aluminum crow shiny.
Tried it on many different things. Stuff that is already smooth gleams right up, fuel rail -big time and throttle bar not bad for what it is.
Somewhat rough but basicly smooth makes aluminum look blacker and less like the gray look. The intake made a little difference, the block pretty good but the head not much if at all. Brass fitting of course gleamed up.
Rub rail was cleaned pretty easily and probably did a better job than a cleaner. It didn't do anything for polishing since its anodized and anodizing don't polish. Its much nicer looking anodizing though.

Tried 2 polished items, which is kind of stupid. The fully polished looks the same but don't seem to get marked from finger grappling. The sisal polished might have improved but this is the 1st stage of polishing for my 3 levels.

These were all rub my finger on it quick tests and not any kind of machine help.
The real test is half of one part will get this polish and see what it looks like in the fall.

1BadAction
07-31-2007, 08:46 PM
this is what it looks like if the aluminum is polished before its anodized. :D seems to hold its color way better also.

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/6933/reminitshocks6gx4.jpg

ps- Fish, ya got any more pics of that wagoneer? it looks mint!

Blizz
09-11-2007, 02:35 PM
Flitz will buff out any part on your boat with no ill effects including windshield if it has tiny scratches.

Fish
09-11-2007, 05:41 PM
Flitz will buff out any part on your boat with no ill effects including windshield if it has tiny scratches.


yep, i have also used it on eizenglass (sp) that got cloudy and it came out great. the stuff is great.

1bad, i finally saw your post about the wagoneer. Yep, just gotta get her running, she looks better than she runs right now, but hopefully one day when the finances and time all are on the plus side, it will live again.

flabum1017
11-03-2007, 10:08 PM
Did a quick one with my crossflow 140 using 800 paper on a 3"' disc sander then hand buffed with Flitz........ unfortunately, my shop didn't have a 3" buffing pad at the time. Didn't do a real good job because the skeg is welded and am planning on a new gearcase soon.

mikej
11-20-2007, 05:22 PM
where do you find the flitz polish?

swimbaitkid
11-22-2007, 11:35 AM
You can find it at West Marine

1(FASTALLI) Ron

Liberator*21
02-23-2008, 05:45 PM
Ok, I tried the FLITZ and it was good stuff. But I also tried a product that was advertised to perform a miracle. Fat chance, right. Not really, I ordered a 4 oz container of "GORDS" aluminum polish and went back over 1/2 of the FLITZ area and the polish difference is absolutely unbelievable. This stuff is amazing. The FLITZ side was obviously much, much duller. This stuff is a godsend for keeping aluminum polished.

SFRacing
02-23-2008, 06:16 PM
Ok, I tried the FLITZ and it was good stuff. But I also tried a product that was advertised to perform a miracle. Fat chance, right. Not really, I ordered a 4 oz container of "GORDS" aluminum polish and went back over 1/2 of the FLITZ area and the polish difference is absolutely unbelievable. This stuff is amazing. The FLITZ side was obviously much, much duller. This stuff is a godsend for keeping aluminum polished.

lets see some pics, i am getting ready to do mine and would like to see the difference. thx,

Liberator*21
02-23-2008, 06:36 PM
lets see some pics, i am getting ready to do mine and would like to see the difference. thx,

Can't do pics, I've tried, the flash just bounces back and no flash is to dark. Motor is in a garage with poor lighting...........sorry. But I will polish a bare piece of aluminum mill flat stock on my work bench and take pics of the difference going from , raw stock, to Flitz & Gord's. This way I can take close up macro photos without flash and should show the results in finer detail. Stay tuned for pics............................

Liberator*21
02-27-2008, 07:32 PM
Below are the pics I said I would post. They are of a piece 6061 T6 Aluminum Flat Stock w/Mill Finish, Flitz Polish & Gord's Polish. I polished each section using only the polish noted. Each section had the mill finish when I started. Polish time was 1 minute each section total, 50 seconds applying polish and 10 seconds buffing it off. You be the judge...........:rolleyes:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w201/90profx/polish/millstock.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w201/90profx/polish/Flitz.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w201/90profx/polish/Gords.jpg

Davey W
02-28-2008, 01:44 PM
Below are the pics I said I would post. They are of a piece 6061 T6 Aluminum Flat Stock w/Mill Finish, Flitz Polish & Gord's Polish. I polished each section using only the polish noted. Each section had the mill finish when I started. Polish time was 1 minute each section total, 50 seconds applying polish and 10 seconds buffing it off. You be the judge...........:rolleyes:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w201/90profx/polish/millstock.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w201/90profx/polish/Flitz.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w201/90profx/polish/Gords.jpgThats on real,just ordered a 4 oz sample, thanks:D

Fish
02-28-2008, 08:55 PM
looks like some good stuff there. I had a little better luck with the flitz when it came to mirror reflection than you did, but it is definitely nice to see an alternative that does at least as well if not better.

Got a couple more pics if I can dig them up. Not trying to sell one or the other or make this a contest, I just had never seen anything that does as good a job as flitz does till now.:) Good post and thanks for the pics, I can see what you mean.

Fish
02-28-2008, 11:16 PM
here are a couple of pics of a heat exchanger on a 1692 diesel engine that had become badly discolored and pitted with rust after 20 years of use. This took some elbow grease, but cleaned up pretty well with flitz.

Before:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/Flitzbefnaftr.jpg (http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/Flitzbefnaftr.jpg)


After:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/Flitzbefnaftr4.jpg
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/Flitzbefnaftr4.jpg)

Fish
02-28-2008, 11:36 PM
I also happened to try it on a headlight that had become cloudy and yellowed. the car is 10 years old, I guess it happens. Anyway, I figured it could not hurt to try flitz on it. Note: in the first pic, I did a test on the fog lamp in a small spot before I got my camera.

before
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/flitzheadlightLarge.jpg


After:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/makulaf/flitzheadlight1Large.jpg

Liberator*21
02-29-2008, 05:59 AM
I agree, no contest here, one just works for me better than the other. :)

Blizz
03-04-2008, 06:23 PM
When i worked in corporate jets we used flitz to buff all the polished parts like leading edges, intakes etc it will shine like chrome when finished.

oneshot
03-04-2008, 07:57 PM
were can you get it

150aintenuff
03-04-2008, 08:13 PM
were can you get it

most major autoparts stores and comercial retailers can get it and sell it

stvmerc
03-07-2008, 06:40 AM
were can you get it

west marine and boatUS both carry it.

HStream1
07-16-2008, 06:47 PM
OK they must look good while driving down the road and at the dock while every one is admiring that Scream and fly Machine.

But with all that work. How much faster is it?:nonod:

Fish
07-16-2008, 06:59 PM
OK they must look good while driving down the road and at the dock while every one is admiring that Scream and fly Machine.

But with all that work. How much faster is it?:nonod:

its probably not faster at all, in fact it might be a tad bit slower. My stv does pretty good in the sped department tho, whats wrong with having it look good too?

HStream1
07-16-2008, 07:06 PM
Nothing Fish. And no offense. I must be getting lazy in my old age. Just still wana go fast. A good fine sanding works for me. I tried all that high tec coating stuff. It just pealed off at 90 or so.:thumbsup:

its probably not faster at all, in fact it might be a tad bit slower. My stv does pretty good in the sped department tho, whats wrong with having it look good too?

Fish
07-16-2008, 07:13 PM
Nothing Fish. And no offense. I must be getting lazy in my old age. Just still wana go fast. A good fine sanding works for me. I tried all that high tec coating stuff. It just pealed off at 90 or so.:thumbsup:

No Sweat, no offense taken. It is really not that hard with flitz and I believe someone posted about another similar product above that was pretty easy to use too. Besides, when I get towed in, I would rather people look at my lower unit than the idiot with the blown up motor. :D

HStream1
07-17-2008, 07:12 AM
So this Flits stuff could be given to my wife to polish my lowers while I sat back with a ice cold liquid Barley and Hopps?:D

Fish
07-17-2008, 07:58 AM
its worth a shot:D:D:cheers:

HStream1
07-17-2008, 09:02 AM
She's off today so i'll send her to the nearest West Marine for some.:thumbsup:


its worth a shot:D:D:cheers:

150aintenuff
08-03-2008, 02:01 PM
not a sporty, and not flitz but I am in process of tricking out the folks new case, 3 colors, Black, Grey metalic, and a polished skeg... using Heavy metal pollish 3 stage polish... will post pics when done

benski
08-05-2008, 12:19 AM
I have also had great experiences using Flitz...obviously the weak American dollar plays a role in how much a tube of the darn stuff costs. A little goes a long way, too!.

fabizpwn
08-12-2008, 12:41 PM
wetsand it, start at 1000-1400-1800-2500-3000, then hit it with a rough cut compound, then hit it with mothers billet polish. it will bling like a king.

Stealth Assassin
09-29-2008, 05:13 PM
So,
What about sealing the polished aluminum so It doeas not go dull again after It has been In the water with the exhaust?

D

Hottrucks
11-02-2008, 01:10 PM
Ok now that people have polished there unit's has anyone found something to keep it this way I saw this and was woundering if anyone had tried it

www.sharkhide.com (http://www.sharkhide.com)

twogees
11-02-2008, 06:57 PM
Ok now that people have polished there unit's has anyone found something to keep it this way I saw this and was woundering if anyone had tried it

www.sharkhide.com (http://www.sharkhide.com/)

^^they talk about it on the first page actually.

any kind of protection like that is gonna take away from the shine it best to just do a lil upkeep and it will always be shinny plus it wont last either

150aintenuff--id really like to see pics of that aluminum boat that was polished if you got some

flitz is good but i prefer a product called nuvite .its a lil expensive but its better than anything ive used and ive tried alot of alum. polishes.Very popular with guys with airstreams and other detailers in the industry.

not alot of people know about it. just thought id share - i have no affiliation with this product just a fellow detailer. I polish brightwork on aircraft heres a couple of pics of some jobs ive done recently.

this thing was so oxidized it was turning to dust in certain areas
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/twogees/detail/detail012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/twogees/detail/detail015.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/twogees/detail/detail022.jpg

here you get an idea on how big this thing is. its a thrust reverser bucket for an old gulfstream 2
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v685/twogees/detail/detail020.jpg

Fish
11-02-2008, 08:26 PM
nuvite looks good, thanks for the info. :thumbsup:

kuczman
11-04-2008, 08:51 AM
I have one of these- mine is '56 I believe and I think polished to a mirror finish, she'd really be a Queen on the water. I ran her with a 115hp inline, let me tell you- it was not enough:D
But I dread polishing all those yards of aluminium...

kuczman
11-04-2008, 08:52 AM
http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail.asp?year=1959&usedvehicleid=3278228&vehicletypeid=8&makeid=1502&modelid=0&debug=1&redirtype=InBound&delta=1

Blizz
11-08-2008, 10:13 PM
The Nuvite looks pretty good on that old G2 part. But they still use Flitz on all their new Jets and anything that's repaired atleast in the Savannah plant. In the end if your use top notch polishes it comes down to preference.

twogees
11-09-2008, 10:49 AM
The Nuvite looks pretty good on that old G2 part. But they still use Flitz on all their new Jets and anything that's repaired atleast in the Savannah plant. In the end if your use top notch polishes it comes down to preference.
im not gonna try to go way off topic but ive seen some of the work that has come out of there (savannah) not in a few years mind you, but i have none the less.was taking care of a G550 that had B/W corrosion issues on warranty. wasn't too impressed with their polish job, neither was the DoM.

i figured coming from Gulfsteam itsself it would be perfect..might be just quality control. but it does work awesome on new ones too.theres like 5-6 different levels of abrasivess. makes it come out better than AIO polishes. :thumbsup:

Tango
11-09-2008, 07:38 PM
im not gonna try to go way off topic but ive seen some of the work that has come out of there (savannah) not in a few years mind you, but i have none the less.was taking care of a G550 that had B/W corrosion issues on warranty. wasn't too impressed with their polish job, neither was the DoM.

i figured coming from Gulfsteam itsself it would be perfect..might be just quality control. but it does work awesome on new ones too.theres like 5-6 different levels of abrasivess. makes it come out better than AIO polishes. :thumbsup:

I will second that... You want to see a mirror finish you look at the slats on a Dassault Falcon Jet! You will never see something look so liquid. The OEM required protectant is Nuvite.

Blizz
11-10-2008, 06:04 PM
G550 is after me i haven't been there for a while i do know that they started to contract some of there polishing out so you never know. I'm back on fighters again so no more polishing at the moment.

Baitcaster
12-30-2011, 08:50 AM
I have tried all kinds of products, I am going to have to try this stuff.

john4utvols
05-12-2012, 08:46 AM
I wonder if this will work on stainless fenders........

Baitcaster
05-13-2012, 10:42 PM
I wonder if this will work on stainless fenders........

It should. I recently used it and it works well, but I didn't feel it worked any better than a few other quality products on the market, like Mother's. Don't get me wrong, it is a good product and I would purchase it again, I just didn't feel it was some super-duper end all product.

Good luck with the fenders.

john4utvols
05-14-2012, 01:18 PM
I was hoping it was less work, than mothers.......:)

Baitcaster
05-14-2012, 08:40 PM
Sorry bro, it works well and may be a little less work, but nothing extreme in my humble opinion. But that is my .02, there are a lot of posts on here that feel a little different.