his page features the Cyclo polisher with accessories for polishing bare aluminum. If you are interested in the Cyclo polisher with accessories for paint care, please go to our Cyclo Polisher for Paint page.

Two different types of polishers are used to restore and polish aluminum, the Cyclo polisher and the Compounding polisher. The Cyclo polisher is used as the finish polisher and to restore aluminum that has been previously polished but is not corroded or scratched. If you’ve got new aluminum that has never been polished or old aluminum that is corroded or damaged, you will probably have to compound the aluminum first if you want a mirror finish. Go to the Compounding Polisher page for information on that type of polisher.

We show how to use the polisher in the Using the Cyclo Polisher page.

The Cyclo polisher has dual orbital heads that move in a random overlapping circular motion. This movement is almost identical to hand polishing and prevents swirls. The Cyclo Polisher’s light weight, excellent balance and small pads let the operator work over complex curves and get into tight spaces. The Cyclo Polisher is the best tool for the beginner or casual polisher. The vast majority of owners of polished aircraft use this tool.

This American-made product has been used in the automotive and airline industry for over 60 years. It has earned a reputation for durability and dependability. The Cyclo was designed and built at a time when quality mattered. Back then a tool had to be dependable, not disposable.

The Cyclo is virtually unchanged in 60 years of production. It features a lightweight aluminum housing, machined fittings, precisely crafted gears and hand assembly. In addition the tool is serviceable. Every part on the Cyclo can be replaced ensuring that it will continue to perform for decades after purchase. To find out more about the Cyclo, click here to read the Factory Product Sheet or the complete Cyclo Instruction Manual.

The polisher can be equipped with a variety of foam pads. But the pads are never used to directly polish the metal surface because they would quickly become contaminated with polish. Instead, a piece of polishing cloth about 1 yard square is placed underneath the pad and the cloth is then wrapped around the machine. This is shown in detail in the the Using the Cyclo Polisher page.

Old towels can be used as polishing cloth but the best material to use is cotton sweatshirt material. This can be purchased in the Polishing Cloth section. Be sure to read about our FleeceWraps in the Polishing Cloth section.

See Polishing Pads section below for a description of the various pads and Pad Kits

Cyclo has recently changed the head style that they furnish as standard. The old heads, in use for more than 50 years, had a plastic backplate attached to a hard rubber pad. Using Velcro attached pads required an additional boot over the hard rubber feet, called Pad Holders (P/N 79-101) which had the hooks that grab the Velcro-backed pads.

Cyclo is discontinuing the use of this style head and is using a head made from a softer rubber that has the Velcro permanently attached to rubber backing. The new model is the Cyclo Model 5, Mark II (Cyclo P/N 80-110-C-PG).

We stock both the old style and new style heads as replacement parts. Go to ordering/catalog.

Opposite is a picture of this polisher from the Cyclo website. This is the polisher we sell. It comes equipped with the new-style heads, the blue VES vibration dampening inserts (with a hex key for installing) and a flat wrench for changing heads should that ever be necessary.

The Black Foam Pads and Pad Covers that we sell fit this style Cyclo.

A wide variety of polishing pads are available for use with the Cyclo polisher. Some are manufactured by us and some by Cyclo. Our pads are designed for polishing aluminum and Cyclo’s are designed for detailing automotive paint. We stock the most popular Cyclo pads in addition to our own. The Cyclo pads can be found on the Cyclo Polisher for Paint page.

Our proprietary Black Foam pads are made from a very resilient and durable closed-cell foam (which is very different from the open cell foam pads made by Cyclo). We recommend that you cover them with the Pad Covers to help keep the foam clean. This combination follows the contours of the surface and get in close around rivet heads and lap joints and minimize polish build-up in these areas. See below for ordering information.

ur Black Foam pads are Velcro-backed and require the Cyclo heads (either old or new style) with velcro hooks.

Our Pad Covers are made from a tightly woven lightweight fabric and are intended to be used over the Black Foam pads. They help keep the pad clean and allow the pad to follow the contours of the surface.

Our Pad Kits contain the items most commonly needed for standard polishing operations. Pad Kit 1 has the polishing pads and covers for the Cyclo polisher. Pad Kit 2 adds the Fleecewraps and the microfiber buffing towels. These items will handle the majority of polishing applications.

The photo shows the Cyclo polisher with Pad Kit 2.

Pad Kit 1 contains the following:

• 4 pair Black Foam pads
• 2 pair Pad Covers

Pad Kit 2 contains the following:

• 4 pair Black Foam pads
• 2 pair Pad Covers
• 10-pack of FleeceWraps
• 6-pack of our premium 16″ x 24″ microfiber buffing towels

Pads for Paint Care can be found on the Cyclo Polisher for Paint page.