Finishing Aluminum Parts

Deburred
Deburring and polishing aluminum is almost always a multi-step process. The aluminum part pictured above was deburred using an aggressive Ceramic Media in order to achieve a heavily rounded edge. Using an aggressive media, of course, makes the polishing process much more difficult since the surface finish after deburring will be a rough, matte finish.

Polished

After tumbling with a Precision Ceramic Media (2nd picture above), the surface finish is much smoother and brighter. While this would certainly not be considered a mirror finish - which is extremely difficult to achieve on aluminum with a tumbling process alone - the part is ready to be painted or anodized to produce a beautiful result. In addition, the part can be further burnished using a dry tumbling process with a media such as Walnut Shell Grit, Corn Cob Grit or even a Hardwood Media and a polishing cream.