QuackingPlums wrote:I was wondering if sandpaper would be too harsh so I'm glad I asked. My shafts have scratches on them too, so that might explain why the seals are shot. If I can polish them out and make them look presentable then I'd be happy. It'll be a shame that I can't use them, but I remember even BITD they were quite prone to leaking - I had the gold Kyosho Option House shocks on my cat back then.
The *only* way to get aluminum polished to a shiny gloss finish is to use fine-grit sandpaper and lots of wet-sanding. You won't get anywhere close to that finish with any kind of polishing compound alone, it's not abrasive enough to remove all the fine pits, striations, surface flaws.
I usually begin with 400-grit, then 600, 800 and 1000. That gets you to a very nice shine (good enough for anodizing anyway), but if you want a chromey, near-mirror finish, repeat the wet-sanding with 1500 & 2000-grit, then break out some rubbing compound and rub it down, then finally the automotive polishing compound of your choice.
It's true that a glossy finish won't last. Applying an automotive wax or clear-coating it might protect it for a while but this is a shock, after all, and that spring will constantly rub it. I think the best thing you can do to a newly-polished shock body is anodize it. That'll give it some protection and if it's polished really nice before anodizing, it'll turn out really nice.
