Though it may seem self-explanatory to the more experienced, to get the best shine on a piece of aluminum (or any metal for that matter) you cannot just use soap and water. You also cannot just use any old polish either.
Certain polishes on the market today will give a general shine that will not last a very long time, so you’ll spend more time polishing, and less time admiring your handiwork.
To get a lasting shine that helps keep the aluminum clean, you’ll need to get the best aluminum polish available; this isn’t as easy as it may seem, however, since there are literally hundreds of products on the market.
Luckily for you, we have taken the time to test them and rank them for you. We have also picked three of the best and given you an in-depth review to help make your choice that much easier.
Top 10 Aluminum Polishes Comparison Table
| Picture | Name | Package Size | Price | Rating (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mothers 05101 Mag & Aluminum Polish | 10 ounces | $ | 4.7 |
| 2. Flitz Metal, Plastic and Fiberglass Polish Paste in 1.76-Ounce Blister Tube | 1.76 ounces to 1 gallon | $ | 4.5 |
| 3. Blue Magic 100 Metal Polish Cream - 3.5 oz. | 3.5 ounces | $ | 4.7 |
| 4. Prism Polish 16oz | 16 ounces | $$$ | 4.4 |
| 5. Restoration Center Simichrome Metal Polish | 1.76 or 250 grams | $$$ | 4.7 |
| 6. Blue Magic 500-06 Metal Polish Cream - 19 3/8 oz. | 19 3/8 ounces | $$ | 4.6 |
| 7. 3M Marine Aluminum Restorer and Polish, 09020, 18 oz | 18 ounces | $$$ | 4.4 |
| 8. Flitz LQ 04587 Green Metal, Plastic and Fiberglass Polish Liquid, 7.6 oz. Bottle | 3.4 ounce or 7.6 ounce | $$ | 4.5 |
| 9. Eagle One 1035605 Nevr-Dull Wadding Polish - 5 oz. | 7 ounces | $ | 4.7 |
| 10. The Original California Car Duster Company Purple Metal Polish/deoxidizer Combo | 12 ounces | $$$ | 4.6 |
Buying Information
There are a few things that you need to consider whenever you are purchasing any new product, and this still rings true when you are looking for the best aluminum polish available on the market.
- Ease of Use. High-quality polishes can come in one of several forms. Aluminum polish can come as a liquid, gel, or cream. Through our testing, we found the gels a bit easier for several reasons.
.- The first reason that we found the gels to be a bit easier is a pretty basic one. Since it is in gel form, it can’t spill out of the container as you are working.
. - Another reason that we preferred the gel is that it does not generally need to be mixed in any way. Some of the liquid polishers on the market came with a two-step process. This could make your project take a bit longer, even though it still gave good results.
. - The last reason that we preferred gels is that of how far they spread during polishing. We found that you did not need to use very much, in comparison to the other two types, to get a high shine.
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- The first reason that we found the gels to be a bit easier is a pretty basic one. Since it is in gel form, it can’t spill out of the container as you are working.
- How Much Do You Need? The best polishes on the market do not require a whole lot to get the job done. That is why they come in such small containers; this will save you money in the long run because you won’t be using up all of your polish on just one job.
. - Other Materials. While we were looking specifically to see what polishes worked best on aluminum, it is also a wise decision to look at what other materials the polish will work on; this will again make it more cost-effective because you can utilize it on more projects.
Top 3 Best Aluminum Polish Reviews
1. Mothers 05101 Mag & Aluminum Polish
Of all of the products that we tested, Mothers 05101 is definitely the best aluminum polish that we found. It was very easy to use since it comes in a gel form. You can use it by hand or with a power buffer; This means that it is good for lots of different applications, from small detail jobs, to larger ones, as well.
Whether you are completing a large polishing project or a small one, you will not need to use very much of this gel, as it spreads quite well. It can also be used on both coated and uncoated types of aluminum.
We also found that this polish can be used on a variety of different metals; this makes it an exceptional value especially if you have other metals that you need to polish on a regular basis.
Summary: This is a gel polish that spreads very well. It can be used both by hand and with a power polishing tool. It is very inexpensive and can be used on lots of different types of metals, making it an exceptional value.
2. Flitz Metal, Plastic and Fiberglass Polish Paste
This is another exceptional polishing product. It worked very well on aluminum, while also being effective on plastics and fiberglass.
This polish is in a cream form, which, as we stated earlier, doesn’t quite go as far as a gel-based polish would. While we found this polish to be of high quality, we did need to use pretty much of it to get the same amount of shine as our number one pick. It can also be used by hand or with power buffing tools.
Summary: This cream-based polish works great on a variety of materials, but was especially good for polishing aluminum. While it worked well, we found that we needed to use more of it than other products in this list.
3. Blue Magic 100 Metal Polish Cream
Blue Magic is another cream-based polish that works quite well. It can be used on a variety of metal applications, but not on any other materials.
Of our top three, this product spread the least, meaning we had to use a lot of it to get a good shine on the aluminum we tested it on. Once we found the right amount, it worked very well. It just was a disproportionately large amount compared to the Flitz and Mother’s brand polishes.
Like our top two picks, this cream can be used both by hand and with power buffing tools, which makes the job go relatively fast, as long as you use enough of the cream to get the shine you desire.
Summary: This product worked really well on different types of metal, as long as you used the proper amount. Compared to the other two products we reviewed, we needed to use a bit more to get the shine we desired.
