Polishing Bus Windows

[bigbeanbus]

My bus is 30 years old and the frames of the windows have seemingly never been cleaned, have sealant residue, and paint splatter on them.

I took a steel polishing/grinding brush on my Dremel and worked through one and a half windows; however this not only took forever, but also left the windows with an uneven finish (even thought it is a cleaner than before).

I was wondering what the best cost effective/time effective way to polish the windows is and what I can do to get an even finish on the metal.

I want to restore the windows as much as possible and get them as new looking as I can without spending a week doing it.

[Drew Bru]

I'd try a few different things and see what works. Dremel brush is so small that I'm not surprised it looks a little blotchy and uneven and it takes forever. Wire brush on a drill might work, but I have a feeling it would be a little too aggressive. We used one to clean up the frames before reinstalling.

I'd use soapy water/elbow grease, or acetone or denatured alcohol to remove the grime first. Then I'd try Barkeepers Friend or Bon Ami on a damp cloth and use long strokes on the frame to buff it up. Scotch Brite pads might work too, I'd look into that. This is all just a hunch though. It's a fairly low-cost operation so no big investment to give it a try.

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by bigbeanbus

I was wondering what the best cost effective/time effective way to polish the windows is and what I can do to get an even finish on the metal.

I want to restore the windows as much as possible and get them as new looking as I can without spending a week doing it.

I use "0000" steel wool on my Harley for cleaning the chrome and some aluminum.

Does a nice job at cleaning and leaving a nice finish too. You can get it at any hardware/box store.

(Picture show Grade 000, but Grade 0000 is what you want)