"Wally" wrote in message
. ..
Andy Evans wrote:
Like may people I use aluminium in equipment cases - in my case for
top plates for valve preamps and amps. I use 4mm alu, which Fays
Metals in Acton London supply and cut to size. It's not great looking
in its raw state, but all my DIY attempts with solvent cleaners, wet
and dry paper etc are even worse. How do they get that 'brushed
aluminium' effect? Has anybody come across a successful method of
finishing surfaces of alu? I'd need details - grade of sandpaper,
type of tool used - orbital sander, belt sander, hand finishing etc.
It would be a real help to fix this situation without having to
resort to anodising. On the other hand, maybe anodising is the way
out. Any views and experiences? Andy

I would recommend anodising, or some kind of protective finish. Bare ally
will go dull as it tarnishes, and it'll never really be 'clean' (you can
sit
with a mountain of rags and a river of IPA, trying to clean ally, but
you'll
still be 'cleaning' it when the rags and river have gone). I gather
anodising is qute cheap for sensible sized bits, so I guess it's worth
looking into.

Agreed.

As Arfa mentions, Brillo pad is an excellent DIY method.

But even before anodising, aluminium needs to be polished, because
every tiny scratch shows through. Also bear in mind that the anodised
surface is not a good conductor, and so anodised plates screwed
together may not form as good a shielded chassis a one would expect.

Any tapped holes need to be temoprary plugged with plastic machine
screws before anodising (most shops have a good supply of these)

My personal choice for a top plate is laser cut stainless steel, 4mm.
Just get the au-pair to flick her feather duster over it once a week,
and it will stay pristine for ever.

Also a laser cutter can do front plate lettering and logos, which look
a million times better than silk screen or letraset.

Iain