How to Polish Aluminum Using Toothpaste

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In this video, I will be seeing if you can actually polish aluminum using toothpaste. As you can see I’m starting out with a raw piece of aluminum which doesn’t have a refined finish from machining. For toothpaste, I’m using on which has whitening capabilities, therefore it does have some grittiness to it.

I’ve already done this, but always make sure you pre-wash the piece to remove any contaminants which may jeopardize the polishing process.

Now to try something a little different, I’ll start off with the raw aluminum on one side and then use an abrasive pad on the other side to see how much of a difference is made. These abrasive pads are available in various grit ratings, this was is rated at 600 and I am also using water as a lubrication.

Moving right along to the polishing process. Removing the tape and then working across the whole surface. As you can see I have a small amount of toothpaste and will be using a piece of paper towel for polishing. Typically when polishing a metal, both the material being removed and the polish can be somewhat hard to clean afterward. The paper towel is easy enough just to dispose of instead.

Work the polish into the surface. I am also using water for lubrication which prevents the toothpaste from drying, does help dissolve it, and also aids in the polishing process. Overall this took me a couple minutes at the very most. And as you can see, with the toothpaste turning black, it is removing material.

Once done, this is what I’m left with. Even with the area where I had used the abrasive on, it appears to have been taken over by the grit in the toothpaste. Therefore that abrasive pad wasn’t needed and the toothpaste possibly has a courser grit when starting out than compared to that 600 grit abrasive pad. Any marks in the surface have not been removed but possibly lessened when using the toothpaste. If you wanted any surface imperfections completely removed, then wet sanding would be needed.

We have a clean brushed finish, but certainly not anywhere close to a mirror finish. Toothpaste may even work for an engine turning finish too.