DIY polishing a badly oxidized/pitted fuel tank - high speed sanding

This how I sand heavily pitted, scratched and oxidized tanks. Instead of a DA (dual action) orbital sander... I use a 3000 rpm polisher with a 5 or 6 inch foam pad. This will cut your sanding time by 50-75%. Hope you guys enjoy, as always if you have questions or comments plz don't hesitate and plz subscribe it helps me stay in touch with all of you and keeps me wanting to post more of these videos for you!!! 😎😎😎
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Videography: Denis Champagne
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[@SlimJim-Bob]

I’m glad to see you using a pad for kneeling. You’ll appreciate that in 20 or 30 years.

[@DCSuperShine]

lol my knees still kill me at the end of the day... most likely won't be here in 20-30 years lol

[@brandenjennings6402]

Another great video! Looks a lot faster than using an orbital sander. Will definitely try this.

[@DCSuperShine]

+Branden Jennings thank you!

[@sebasebancho13]

Great video very helpful for those who want to do it. Sad thing is it looks like the owner is running recaps steers. I might be wrong tho.

[@DCSuperShine]

This guys is cheap! So ya not surprised 😮

[@MyNavy1234]

Is 16 degrees in may warn enough to work outside on tanks

[@DCSuperShine]

anything above 10 celsius you should be fine.

[@dennisdance2262]

Looks great but question how do you do the steps ?

[@DCSuperShine]

I have a few other videos on steps :) thanks for watching

[@efrainberrios8494]

Great Tutorial video! Thanks for posting!

[@DCSuperShine]

Thanks for watching

[@DCSuperShine]

Sorry for the late reply but thanks for watching!!!

[@michaelkay3565]

Luv your vids help me out alot over the years wish ya the best

[@DCSuperShine]

Glad to hear it Michael!

[@christopherfletcher1942]

Hi there im wobdering what kind of sanding discs are you using are the aluminium oxide resin based or another kind pls

[@DCSuperShine]

yes aluminum oxide. I sell them on my website. thanks for watching

[@darylzampese1855]

nice job.. Hey how do you finish it down to a mirror finish without the swirl marks??

[@DCSuperShine]

+Daryl Zampese I always finish with a flannel pad and 480blf blue bar from Menzerna.

[@KowboyUSA]

DCSuperShine works sweet.

[@KD-mm3li]

That was impressive.

[@DCSuperShine]

Thanks, simple process with quality products! Anyone can do it it’s just hard work!

[@davidlewis4177]

Incredible job,,, 👍👍👍

[@DCSuperShine]

Thanks for watching

[@thebeastytank]

Hey man, how would u blend the top part of the tank to the rest cause the grinder can’t fit ??

[@DCSuperShine]

Depends on the situation, if there’s room for a smaller pad I’ll use that if not elbow grease by hand.

[@thebeastytank]

@@DCSuperShine thanks DC, keep up the tutorial vids !!

[@bl674]

I hand polish the top where polishers don't fit.

[@ja5435]

Dam he’s in the middle of the sun beaming down on him polishing for days. His boss should buy him an air conditioner suit.

[@DCSuperShine]

LMAO

[@1bad69xss4]

I’ve got everything but the foam backer for the 6” sanding disc. Wish I could find them.

[@DCSuperShine]

You can find them on my site, you got my kit already?

[@1bad69xss4]

DCSuperShine No sir, I’ve been polishing my own wheels and parts for quite sometime. I’ve always just used a DA with interface pads. But these foam backers would be very helpful on my rotary for those tougher sanding jobs. Thanks for the help.

[@RR-fb3xd]

How long does it last

[@DCSuperShine]

Totally depends on how you maintain it… do nothing a few months… take care of it can last 1-2 years

[@chris387]

I need to do this to my tanks

[@DCSuperShine]

Everyone does!!! :)))

[@chris387]

@@DCSuperShine yup! As soon as it gets warmer in Chicago ill polish my tanks n battery box. Thanks for the vids! 👍

[@DCSuperShine]

Np thanks for watching

[@Alex450whp]

We’re do you buy the sand paper?

[@DCSuperShine]

It’s aluminum oxide paper any local body shop usually carries it! Thanks for watching!

[@vernagayton1582]

Would the same thing work for stainless steel along where it has been welded and pitted from the welding? I want to get the pits out and come back with a mirror finish. Thank you Great video by the way

[@DCSuperShine]

Yes of course, the difference with sanding stainless is you absolutely need to use a high speed sander, sanding with a DA will take FOREVER :)

[@scottkucinski4967]

I used a wire wheel

[@About2Rain]

My friend does this and is not wearing a respirator. I told him he’s nuts. He just covers his face with a bandana and puts on safety glasses.

[@DCSuperShine]

Hehe I did that for a few years at the beggining… definitely need a full face respirator… wouldn’t work without it now!

[@ozmartin1389]

How much pressure are you using for the orange buffing wheel? And what speed?

[@DCSuperShine]

6000 rpm and about 15 lbs of pressure

[@matthewritchie3595]

Do you take on any work if so I have some tanks to do.

[@DCSuperShine]

Of course. Where you from?

[@losoj30]

is there a way to seal it so after one rainstorm it's not screwed up again

[@DCSuperShine]

Using a good metal polish helps a lot. As for clear coatings there’s nothing that I’ve found that works all the good.

[@scottowens5911]

loso j just bite the bullet and spend the cash for durabrite wheels and tanks. And you'll never have to polish again or worry about sealing anything. Or go with painted tanks or stainless tank covers.

[@Retired88M]

I’m currently driving a 2010 former Penske Pro Star that’s never had the tanks polished Can you offer any advice on how to get some shine out of the tanks when doing it by hand? I was told to use OOOO grade steel wool with either Mothers paste or Wicked white liquid or California purple as the 1st step after doing an acid wash I run primarily Pennsylvania and Northeastern states that use a lot of salt in winter I won’t be trying this till I know it won’t be salty in the spring

[@DCSuperShine]

Why in good heavens do you want to do it by hand??? Much easier and a way better job doing it by machine.

[@Retired88M]

Don’t have the facilities or machine to do it otherwise

[@pulidosmora2876]

tengo una duda !! usas algún tipo especial de lijas? ya que lo e intentado y no e podido hacerlo 😭😭😭

[@joseluistinocov.142]

Si tine q ver la lija con una lija de 600 a 1500.estabien pero loq ace la magia aquí es el disco de tela y la barra q se le pone para quitar las pequeñas imperfecciones queja el lijado

[@juliocamejo5202]

Cómo se llena el disco de pulir gracias

[@fuzzy6396]

Airway buffing wheel

[@TheNextAdventure]

Have you ever done rough cast aluminum? Not polished at all yet? I'm assuming I"ll need some very heavy grit, like 40-80 range, but not exactly sure.

[@DCSuperShine]

+Steven Walborn I haven’t done much cast aluminum unfortunately and the stuff I did do only required 320 and up. Sorry I couldn’t help more.

[@thomasmaniece3386]

start with 80 grit,but use a bit of grease on the wheel or belt that you are using..But DoNot dig out every pit or air hole,and just do a quick cursory grind,then continue with 150-180 and take out what imperfections remain,this will help retain the shape of the piece,and also ensure that your 80 grit lines are eliminated,a 320 or old 240 greased will get you a pretty clean surface that a once over with a 240 or 300 greaseless compound,dry,broken up with a touch of belt grease on it....which will Easily buff out with tripoli and a cotton wheel and/or airway buff

[@donridzon8914]

How come you don't do a 3 step process? Orange wheel, brown bar, yellow wheel green bar, and white wheel blue bar? Just curious.

[@DCSuperShine]

Simple there’s no need... most of the time it’s a gimmick to get you to buy more of their crappy products. Prep your surface properly by sanding the required grits to get your surface as smooth as possible, using quality compounds one cut and one finish is all you need.

[@russellatwell2000]

great job!looks like a hard job

[@DCSuperShine]

+Russell Atwell thank you

[@BillyBob-vz8ol]

Why iPhone will not allow me to this site saying forbidden

[@DCSuperShine]

Hey Bill, I’m currently switching over web servers new site will be up and running very soon. I apologize for the inconvenience, you can message me on Facebook and if we have what you need in stock I can make it happen. Thanks!

[@gbeksel]

After you used the rotary sanding...did you use the DA sander after to take out the sand lines before polishing?

[@DCSuperShine]

Nope there’s no need using Menzerna exactly what you see in the video. If you use 800 or 1000 as an extra step it helps remove the lines when you’re using shitty compounds. :)

[@stephenpalmer350]

Is using a 849 vs a air da sander a big difference

[@DCSuperShine]

Absolutely cuts your time in less than half. And in my opinion it leaves a better Shine

[@paoloscotto]

Hello,nice job ! is the same polishing machine used during the 3 steps ? Thank You

[@DCSuperShine]

+paoloscotto no the sanding is with a 3500 rpm polisher, the first cut is with a 6000 rpm grinder and for finishing back to the 3500 rpm set at 1800 rpm

[@Ocalaman]

How you clean out an aluminum fuel tank that is oxidized inside with a powdery coating?

[@DCSuperShine]

Not sure I understand your question. :(

[@loganellis-chickenlittlesg2098]

Is that a heavy cut wheel? And a brown bar??

[@DCSuperShine]

+Logan Ellis orange yellow blend airway wheel with 439t green Menzerna bar you can find both on my website link is in the description. Thanks for watching

[@markhutchinson4222]

We're can I get that 6 inch backing pad at

[@anthonyhooter8011]

Arbor freight has the backing pads and foam pads

[@gilbertpena2153]

Wow pretty cool. At what speed did you sand, with that high speed foam pad?

[@DCSuperShine]

3500rpm

[@MsSonofmacca]

How much pressure do you use while doing the sanding

[@DCSuperShine]

Honestly there’s no rule really, if there’s scratches I’ll use the edge a bit more with a bit more pressure... most say to let the sand paper do the work... pressure has no bearing on results. Hope this helps

[@BillyBob-vz8ol]

@@DCSuperShine why am I getting forbidden when trying to visit ur site. From iPhone and home pc

[@Joeybag0donuts]

When do you use the orange one vs the yellow pads?

[@DCSuperShine]

Orange is just stiffer, it’s more about personal preference then performance

[@deborahlovrich1718]

I was just wondering what would you charge to do a tank in that bad of shape

[@DCSuperShine]

Tanks are $200+ depending on sanding

[@bryjb10]

Should you really need to sand with that low level of a gritt and use a red heavy cut polish pad? You should be able to skip the red pad no?

[@DCSuperShine]

Depends on how bad your surface is, and this pad is considered a medium cut. Hope this helps

[@CAPIXABA9731]

Is safe you do the polishing with tank full of fuel?

[@DCSuperShine]

Yup I’ve polished thousands of tanks probably 99.9% of them with fuel in them :)

[@jamietwitty8823]

Best way to remove concrete from wheels?

[@DCSuperShine]

+Jamie twitty hehe depends on how thick. If it.s just spots a flat screwdriver or scrapper works before sanding. If they are really bad you can use these. dcsupershinestore.com/products/new-high-strength-buffing-disc-two-pack-24-95

[@jamietwitty8823]

DCSuperShine thank you!

[@tristanfinch2554]

What bar were you using

[@DCSuperShine]

439t green Menzerna

[@PickupsAreNotTrucks]

2 questions. 1, have you ever had problems with old pitted tanks where sanding has caused fuel to leak through an already thin tank? 2, where are you located to do a job like this?

[@DCSuperShine]

+PickupsAreNotTrucks so far no ive been doing tanks for the same customers for well over 10 years, I sand them every year with still no problems... not saying it's not possible tho. I'm from Ontario Canada

[@vandendaelejonas]

hey man. i followed u for a while now. Do u got any tips or movie on how to polish alcoa durabright EVO wheels from a truck? Greetings from belgium!

[@DCSuperShine]

+jonas van den daele yes I do, I wanted to post it this week but didn't have time to edit it, so should posted this coming week.

[@Nate-uu6xy]

I know it's been a while since you posted this video but how long did it take you to do one tank using this method? Also could you get away with using a lower RPM machine to do the sanding and polishing?

[@DCSuperShine]

The sanding was fine at 3500 rpm you can bring it down to 2200 if you want. Same for polishing. I cut at 6000 rpm but you can go down to 2200-3500 just remember the slower your spd, the longer it takes to polish and the harder it is to get all the sander marks out. Hope this helps

[@jclar3565]

Always interesting to watch a real pro. 180 grit seems really course but I supposed aluminum is soft enough to smooth out without too much issue

[@DCSuperShine]

Ya it cuts the sanding time down quite a bit. Some use 80 grit.. that’s crazy tho you’re spending more time getting out the 80 grit sander marks then anything. Thanks for watching

[@jasonedits459]

Great job buddy. Quick question are you using any polishing compound or just the pads? I have zero knowledge in polishing lol Thank you

[@DCSuperShine]

+Fadi Ewan the pads alone would do absolutely nothing :) so yes for sure I use Menzerna compounds

[@kevinludwig3004]

Yes after he used the 4 different grit sand paper he used a cut polish then a finish polish it's a none stop all day job. But next time it will go very fast if you do it often..

[@steventaccone591]

What rpm do you cut and finish with ? 3000 rpm ?

[@DCSuperShine]

Cut @6000 rpm and finish @1800

[@cristodavila3861]

Where can I get the foam pad.

[@DCSuperShine]

You can find them on my site

[@drjohnsonhungwell5115]

What model sander did you use ?

[@DCSuperShine]

I use dewalt and Bosch for my sanders.

[@drjohnsonhungwell5115]

DCSuperShine Thanks

[@dubbinmcluvin7394]

Where do you get the foam backing pad?

[@DCSuperShine]

You can find them on my website www.dcsupershinestore.com

[@yaspalsahi365]

Awesome Job! Just one question - I looked all over your website but cannot find the exact tools you used in this specific video. Please advise what sander and polishers you used and their names!! Need these asap!

[@DCSuperShine]

+Sam Sky if you go under tools on my site the dewalt 849x is what I used to sand, and the dewalt 28499x is what I used for polishing. The only thing I don't have on my site yet is the foam pads, can't seem to find a reliable supplier.

[@yaspalsahi365]

Thank you sir! Can you link me on where you get your foam pads for the 849x? Do you need an additional attachment because I believe the 849x is a polisher, so how do you attach sand paper to it?

[@DCSuperShine]

+Sam Sky you screw it on to the 5/8's arbor it's a foam backing plate. As of now I only have a local supplier, been trying to find someone reliable who Carey's these things for a long time now.

[@jimmybravo6512]

What brand of sandpaper do You use?

[@DCSuperShine]

I use my own :)

[@jimmybravo6512]

@@DCSuperShine name?

[@jdbaker2911]

How about behind the straps !!!

[@DCSuperShine]

What about behind the straps??

[@jdbaker2911]

Checking for pits and oxidized metal and cleaning .

[@DCSuperShine]

Been doing this 25 years, never had a customer request this, ever! Besides if the customer wants the tanks polished off the truck for example, they take them off, not me :) Hope this answers your question and thanks for watching.

[@scottkucinski4967]

Nice job but damn going to take a week at that rate

[@DCSuperShine]

Lol takes me about 1-2 hours depending on tank size :)

[@maded72]

That looks good thanks for the video

[@DCSuperShine]

Thanks for watching

[@ROLLIN-DUB]

I’d gladly give him my hard earned money to do my tanks

[@DCSuperShine]

Thanks for watching

[@jamescooper8107]

6:48

[@russ5131]

All I can see is the recap on the steer axle.

[@DCSuperShine]

Lmao

[@MrMan-ol4ic]

I know it's a pain in rear.... but I would have to take the tanks off

[@DCSuperShine]

Not many customers want to do that!

[@hankcollins3855]

Me and my brother do this shit all the time

[@Mad-i134]

What is the difference from doing the sanding compared to doing an acid wash first? Or is it a preference? New to this, would like to do this down the road some day.

[@DCSuperShine]

Massive difference, can’t sand out pits and scratches with acid... I don’t use acid ever in my process. :) Thanks for watching

[@josephjoestar5444]

Holy fuck that’s some good shit

[@DCSuperShine]

Thanks for watching

[@danielraber4708]

I hope I'm not seeing right....is that a cap steering tire? Oy vay!

[@DCSuperShine]

Lol it very well could be these guys are cheap as fuck 😳

[@ja5435]

That has to be expensive

[@DCSuperShine]

lol what has to be? :) thanks for watching!

[@jonathanmorgan5232]

could be done easier you use to many steps and the way you hold the machine is ass backwards if you hold the bar while you buff its way faster but not everyone can do that tho. my dad and brothers have been doing this for 35 years. however it does look like you do a good job its a hard dirty job for sure

[@DCSuperShine]

Everyone has their style, if you’re getting results doesn’t really matter does it :)

[@AS-bp7mn]

Since your didn’t mention you having 35 years experience , perhaps we should hear their opinion.

[@coryguiboche9160]

Dumb question....do I need to empty my tanks to do this?

[@DCSuperShine]

Nope not at all.

[@mainerdude5919]

That can be done a lot easier than that bro

[@DCSuperShine]

+MICHAEL GOODREAU would love to see this!

[@justinmetcalfe2669]

When I used to work in a body shop and customers would fuss about the time the work took, I'd ask "do you want it done now, or do you want it done right?" There's always an "easier way" but is it the right way?

[@ISEEORBS]

There's always that one jackass.