We all like the look of a shiny truck grill, but when was the last time you paid any attention to yours?Most of us hardly have time to make sure our grill is looking good, we simply wash our truck and that is about it. We constantly put off taking care of our grill all spring and summer. But not taking care of your grill is really a disservice to your truck. By just taking a few minutes to care for your grill you can keep it shining and looking good for many years to come.

Has it oxidized beyond the point of recognition? Do you want to see your face when you walk in front of your truck? Check out these tips, and before you know it, your grill will be shining like the day you put it together.

Getting Started

First, clean your grill properly. Dust away the surface contaminates or debris. If you can eliminate dirt, grease, and grime, your polishing experience will go much more smoothly. Utilize hot, soapy water for the initial cleaning, and then once you've dried the grill, shoot it up with some degreaser. This should break up the nasty buildup you've been watching for so long. Then dry it again. Most trucks will have quiet a build up on the grill so this may take a little work.

Getting it Really Clean

Break out the elbow grease for this step, because you'll need it. It's the most important step to getting a great shine to our billet grill. In the end, the effort will be worth the results.

First, wet sand your grill with a 320 grit wet sandpaper. Keep the sandpaper and grill wet constantly during the sanding process. You shouldn't have to apply too much pressure. In fact, avoid too much pressure. Apply just enough to scuff the grill up. Keep your pressure even to produce an even sand. You should leave noticeable scratches in the aluminum. Don't worry about them, though: they will come out in the next process.

After the 320 grit wet sandpaper, break out the 400 grit paper, and then the 600 grit paper, going through the same process with each one. Throughout this process you will notice the aluminum becoming smoother and shinier. With the higher grit sandpaper your scratches will become less noticeable.

End the sanding step with 1000 grit wet sandpaper. This will get rid of the final noticeable scratches and leave micro scratches. Take your time with this step, and evenly sand and smooth your grill. You are finally working on getting your truck grill looking sharp so now is not the time to cut corners.

After sanding, wash the grill again with hot, soapy water. After it has dried, wipe the grill down with a degreaser once again to rid it of contaminants.

The Finishing Touches

Now you can bring that coveted shine back to your truck grill and make your vehicle the talk of all your friends. Apply your aluminum polish evenly. Then utilize your buffing tool. Keep polishing your grill until the aluminum polish turns black. Once you have polished the entire grill, and it has turned black, wipe it down with a micro fiber towel to remove excess polish.

To get into hard to reach areas, utilize a small flat head screwdriver with the micro towel over it. Don't poke a hole through the towel though. You may just scratch your grill.

With the excess polished removed, you now have a clean grill. To eliminate the fine scratches, rub the polishing compound on your latex gloved fingers. Do this until the polish turns black.

Congratulations. You now have an awesome looking truck grill that all your friends will be envious of!