The answer is pretty easy - it’s brutally hard work but the satisfaction from success can be very high. And unlike my previous white collar life sitting behind a desk, spending a day polishing makes one absolutely filthy.

We obtain aluminum from multiple sources but it’s all “mill finish” meaning that nothing has been done from manufacturing to warehousing to shipping to protect the surface. Once it arrives here we have to rectify that.

First the material is cleaned, then the sanding starts. Sanding removes the scratches and blemishes in the surface. Depending on the quality of the material we may start at 260-300 grit, but we continue on with 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500 and 2000. And the material is cleaned between every step. We then continue to prep the surface with 3000, 4000 and 5000 grit specialty foam sanding pads which come from the the bowling industry. Who knew competitive bowlers sanded the surface of bowling balls? Next comes an acid bath to remove embedded impurities followed by a full wash. We end with two phases of polishing using first brown and then white compound, usually with a high speed dual wheel polisher and of course washing thoroughly between each polishing phase. And there’s a final phase of washing with acetone. And then we’re done.

One negative side effect of this effort is what I call “hole anxiety.” Since so much work has gone into preparing the surface the stress level for the machining work like cutting and drilling holes goes up dramatically since a mistake will waste so much labor.

While indoor pieces will maintain a highly reflective mirror like polish almost indefinitely, outdoor pieces will oxidize over time and the mirror like finish will turn a slightly more dull grey. Currently there is no known coating or treatment that will keep polished aluminum in original condition outdoors permanently.