How to Remove Scratches from Aluminum

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Plus, learn when it’s safe to repair scratches on anodized aluminum

Co-authored by Cleanzen Cleaning Services and Dan Hickey

Last Updated: November 20, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Shallow Scratches
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• Deep Scratches
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• Repairing Anodized Aluminum
|
• Video
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• Things You'll Need

|Show more |Show less

Aluminum is used to make all kinds of everyday items, from cars and motorcycle wheels to bicycle parts to refrigerators and kitchenware. The metal isn’t immune to scratches, but thankfully, it’s possible to buff minor scratches away with a few basic supplies and some elbow grease! Keep scrolling to learn how to remove surface scratches and sand away deep scratches, with helpful tips from professional house cleaning specialists. We’ll also cover the best ways to repair scratches in anodized aluminum so you can fully restore your aluminum parts to their former glory.

Buffing Scratches Out of Aluminum: Quick Steps

1. Clean the scratched area with dish soap and water, then rinse and dry.
2. Tape off the undamaged areas around the scratch to protect them.
3. Buff the scratch with a scouring pad or grade 0000 steel wool.
4. Apply metal polish with a microfiber cloth.
5. Apply a metal wax or sealant to complete the repair.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Buffing Shallow Scratches from Aluminum

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1. 1
   Clean the aluminum with dish soap and water. Whether you’re working on a bicycle, truck, or kitchen appliance, cleaning the aluminum before buffing makes sure there’s no dust or debris on the surface that could scratch up the metal further. The cleaning specialists at Cleanzen Cleaning Services recommend “a gentle substance, such as a mixture of dishwashing soap and water. Scrub the aluminum with an abrasive sponge and rinse thoroughly.”

   • What about vintage hammered aluminum? According to Cleanzen, “Hammered aluminum should be cleaned with dishwashing liquid, water, and a sponge. Lemon juice may be used on tough stains. Then, rinse and dry the material.”
   • What about extra dirty aluminum? House cleaning specialist Laura Smith recommends Bar Keepers Friend: “If you have anything difficult on there, any black marks you're trying to get out, then my go-to would be Bar Keepers Friend.”

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Cleanzen Cleaning Services is a residential cleaning service based in Boston, MA, with over 6 years of experience connecting independent cleaning professionals with those who need help cleaning their houses.

   Laura Smith is a house cleaning specialist with over 16 years of experience providing natural and eco-friendly house cleaning services.

   Eduardo Peralta is a house cleaning specialist with over 6 years of experience in home deep-cleaning, post-construction cleaning, and green and eco-friendly cleaning services.
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   Mask off any non-metal areas around the scratched aluminum using tape. Use strips of blue painter’s tape or masking tape. Cover up any sensitive or delicate parts of the aluminum object that you don’t want to accidentally scratch or get polishing compound on during the polishing process.

   • For example, if you want to polish scuffs out of something like an aluminum stove or fridge, you might want to mask off things like control panels if they are near the scratched area.
   • This method works for very minor scuffs and scratches. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to get the aluminum looking like it is straight out of the factory, but you will be able to hide the scuffs and shine up the metal.
   • You’ll get the best results using this method if you polish the entire aluminum surface, not just the scuffed area, so that the finish looks uniformly shiny when you’re done. However, if the scuffed area isn’t too conspicuous, such as in a corner of an aluminum stove door, you can just polish the scuff marks out and blend them in with the surrounding metal as much as possible.

   Warning: Never attempt to polish aluminum that has a special coating (like a pan with non-stick coating), or you will just damage the item even more. Check the manufacturer’s specifications in the owner’s manual or online if you aren’t sure whether something has a coating.

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   Rub a scouring pad back and forth over the scuffed area, going with the grain. Hold a scouring pad or grade 0000 steel wool in your hand and press it gently against the scratched area of the aluminum. Rub it back and forth over the area using slow controlled motions until the scuff marks disappear and the metal starts to look shiny.

   • Most aluminum has a unidirectional grain, which is actually brush marks caused by the original polishing process that the aluminum went through. Never rub the scouring pad across this grain, or you might end up making the scuffs worse.
   • If the aluminum item you want to polish doesn’t have a visible grain, just pick a direction to rub the scouring pad in and only move it back and forth in this direction. Don’t change directions or move it in circular motions, or you might just create more scuff marks.
   • Scouring pads are also known as buffing pads. The finer the grit, the better for this job. You can get a fine-grit scouring pad at an auto detail supply shop.
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   Apply metal polish to the aluminum using a microfiber cloth. Squeeze a small drop of metal polish onto a microfiber cloth. Scrub the metal polish into the affected area and the surrounding aluminum surfaces using back and forth motions, still going with the grain of the aluminum. Keep rubbing until the polish disappears into the metal and the surface looks nice and shiny.

   • According to Cleanzen, you can use a special aluminum polish or any type of metal polish you have available, such as a pewter polish. Both will work to shine up the surface.
   • Does your polished aluminum look hazy? Use a mixture of “corn starch and metal cleaner with a circular cotton pad and buff in circular motions,” explains house cleaning specialist Eduardo Peralta. “If this doesn’t remove it, professional buffing or waxing may be needed to remove haze.”
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   Use a microfiber cloth to apply metal wax or sealant to the aluminum. Wrap a microfiber cloth around your index finger and dip it into a container of metal wax or sealant. Rub it over the aluminum surface using even strokes in alternating directions until the wax or sealant gets absorbed and there are no streaks on the metal.

   • Cleanzen explains that this will seal the aluminum and protect it from oxidation and corrosion. You can get metal waxes and sealants at an auto detail supply shop or at a hardware and home improvement store in the paints and coatings section.
   • Afterward, remove and throw away any tape that you applied to mask off certain areas.
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Section 2 of 3:

Sanding Out Deep Scratches from Aluminum

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1. 1
   Clean the area you plan to repair with dish soap and water. Like the pros at Cleanzen recommend, use a sponge to clean the scratched area with gentle dish soap and warm water, then rinse the aluminum clean and dry it. Just be careful not to use a sponge or scraper that’s too abrasive—you don’t want to risk damaging the area around the scratch even more.
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   Spray WD-40 all over the aluminum you want to polish to lubricate it. Cover the scratched aluminum surface evenly with WD-40. This lubrication will help carry away the metal particles that you remove during sanding.

   • This method is known as wet sanding. You can do it with water, too, but WD-40 is the best lubricant when you are sanding bare metal.
   • You can use this method to sand and polish out curb damage on an aluminum car wheel or bicycle crankshaft, for example.
   • Since you’ll be actually removing a layer of metal using this method, the final results will look best if you sand and polish the entire aluminum object, not just the scratched part. For instance, if you want to polish scratches out of the face of an aluminum wheel, sand the entire wheel down.
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   Sand out the scratches using 220-grit sandpaper. Attach 220-grit sandpaper to a sanding block, an electrical sander, or just use it in your hand if the scratched area is small. Press the sandpaper firmly against the scratched area and move it back and forth over the scratches in alternating directions, going with the grain of the metal, until they disappear.

   • Keep in mind that if there are very deep dents and gouges in the aluminum, you won’t be able to polish them out completely by sanding. However, you can at least make them less visible and restore shine to the surrounding surface.
   • Make sure that the sandpaper you used is labeled as safe for wet sanding. Most fine-grit sandpaper is OK to use, but double-check the packaging or the back of the paper to be sure.
   • Warning: Wear safety glasses and a dust mask when you sand metal, especially if you are using a powerful electric sander.

   Warning: Don’t ever use sandpaper that is coarser than 220-grit on aluminum as it will just create more deep scratches in the metal.
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   Switch to 1500-grit sandpaper and sand the aluminum to smooth it out. Move the 1500-grit sandpaper back and forth in alternating directions, applying firm pressure, all over the same area you just sanded the deep scratches out of. This will get rid of the small scuffs and scratches made by the coarser sandpaper to smooth out the surface and start shining it up.

   • If you don’t have exactly 1500-grit sandpaper, it’s fine to use another very fine-grit sandpaper. Anywhere between 1000-grit and 2000-grit is fine for this step.
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   Give the aluminum a final sanding with 3000-grit sandpaper. Switch to 3000-grit sandpaper and go back over the entire surface you have been sanding. This will make the aluminum very shiny.

   • If you don’t want a super-shiny, mirror-like finish, you can use sandpaper that is slightly less than 3000-grit to finish sanding. For example, something between 2000-grit and 2500-grit.
   • If there is no more WD-40 left on the aluminum by this stage, spray a little directly onto the sandpaper to lubricate it for this last round of sanding. This will help make the aluminum extra-shiny and carry away fine metal particles so they don’t stick to the surface.
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   Rub aluminum polish onto the surface using a polishing pad or cloth. Put some aluminum polish onto a clean area of a polishing pad or polishing cloth. Work the polish into the aluminum using circular motions, starting in the center and working your way out to the edges.

   • You’ll know the polish is doing its job when the polishing cloth or pad starts to get black. If you don’t see this black residue on your cloth or pad, rub harder and keep working the polish all over the surface until you do.
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   Buff the polish off with a clean, soft cloth. Rub a clean, soft cloth, such as a microfiber cloth, vigorously all over the polished surface using circular and alternating back-and-forth motions. Buff the aluminum until it is uniformly shiny and there are no traces of polish left on the surface.

   • You can keep buffing the aluminum until you achieve the level of shine you want. However, once there are no streaks or other residue from the polish left on the surface, you can stop.
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Section 3 of 3:

Can you buff scratches out of anodized aluminum?

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1. 1
   Yes, you can buff or polish very minor scratches from anodized aluminum. Anodizing is an electrochemical process that adds a decorative, durable, corrosion-resistant protective layer to the surface of aluminum. However, a regular anodized layer is often only 0.0005 inches (0.0127 mm) thick, meaning it’s only safe to remove very fine surface scratches.

   • After cleaning and drying the surface, buff or polish the scratch with metal wax or an automotive fine polishing compound, then seal it with wax to hide or remove the scratch.
   • If the aluminum has hardcoat anodizing, which is 0.002 inches (0.0508 mm) thick, you can buff scratches with grade 0000 steel wool or a scouring pad first, with less risk of damage. Follow up with polish and wax.
   • The Cleanzen experts add, “To protect the anodized aluminum after it is clean, apply an anodic coating product that may be purchased from a paint or hardware store.”
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   Fill in deep scratches with a touch-up marker or a protective clear coat. If your anodized aluminum is deeply scratched, there’s no good way to repair it without stripping, repolishing, and reanodizing the surface (which can often only be done by a professional). Instead, use a touch-up marker for metal that matches the color of your aluminum item to color in and hide the scratch.

   • Or, apply a clear coat for metal to fill in the scratch (you may need a few layers, depending on how deep it is). Lightly sand the area first, then apply in thin, even layers (letting each one dry between applications).
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Tipss

• Don't use sandpaper that is any coarser than 220-grit on aluminum, or you will just make deeper scratches in the surface.
• Don't polish aluminum that has any type of special coating, such as a Teflon coating, or you will just end up damaging the coating. You can only polish scratches out of bare aluminum.

Things You'll Need

Buffing Shallow Scratches

• Scouring pad or grade 0000 steel wool
• Metal polish
• Microfiber cloth
• Metal wax or sealant
• Masking tape or painter’s tape (optional)

Sanding Deep Scratches

• WD-40
• 220-grit sandpaper
• 1500-grit sandpaper
• 3000-grit sandpaper
• Electric sander or sanding block (optional)
• Aluminum polish
• Microfiber cloth