prepping chassis plate

[denti alligator]

I like the grain on the chassis plate, but mine has some scuffs and so forth that make me hesitate giving it a layer of hi-gloss lacquer. How might I prep it? Brasso? Steel wool?

[howardnair]

not brasso-you can buff scuffs out using steel wool or sandpaper -but duplicating the grain from the original machining may be impossible- too fine shows up as bad as too rough-even tho the too fine can at least be roughed up- so you may have to do the whole piece-experiement on the back side-

[ssssly]

Can you post a pic of the scuffs you are trying to get out. Many times with laser cut aluminum the cutters can leave small blemished that can be removed by coating the object with some oven cleaner. Not sure is the top plates have a seal on them though. This will however remove any protective overcoating so you will probably want to seal the aluminum with a clear coat or polyurethane afterwords. Also depending on the type of aluminum this can also make things worse by discoloring it, so try a small spot on the back first to make sure it doesn't do anything weird. 

From my experience steel wool will change the grain of the top plate. If you are very careful and patient you can apply even pressure and only rub in one direction to give the whole top plate an even appearance. Much the same way you would if you were doing a "brushed" finish with sand paper.

Or you can make a ""brushing" jig and rebrush the whole top plate. I would think ~200 grit will give a brush similar to the stock top plate for my EROS. Just keep in mind if you take sandpaper to the top plate you will be redoing the whole thing. You won't be able to spot fix.

[Doc B.]

Use around a 320 grit paper. The grain has a direction, and you need to determine it before you take any major swipes at it, because if you go against the grain it will show. Press the paper against the chassis at one side edge and only put pressure on a swath as wide as your scuff mark. Now draw the paper all the way across the plate from side to side in one steady stroke. Keep doing this until the scuff is reduced to your liking. It should come out quite close to the original grain pattern.