even polish

I have been trying to polish off my bike, mainly the negine, it seems like I can not get it to be an even lustre, any advice, I have been using simichrome and my dremel tool and polishing kits.
Any advice would be great,
Mike

 

1) Clean parts with fine ScotchBrite until they are dull and all the yellow-ey stuff they put on is removed.
2) Fine polish with fine aluminum wool (steel wool will work, but may set up dissimilar metal corrosion problems down the line)
3) Hand polish with Flitz until you get the luster you're looking for.

 

If you want all that aluminum to shine ... you have to attack it with an assortment of buffing wheels of different "stiffness" and jewelers rouges of increased polishing and finishing values.

 

damn, that is beautiful!

 

Eagle One has a clear coat remover that was advertised in Hot Rod a number of years back. I've not tried it but you might want to take a look at their product line. Easier than an abrasive method I should think.

 

Read the label. Some strippers will take-off the clear and stain the aluminum -- almost black.

 

Indeed. Most rely upon fairly caustic ingredients to do the work which corrode the base material. Hot Rod was crowing about this Eagle One stuff since the manufacturer claimed it was safe for aluminum.

 

I use Permatex Gasket remover - eats paint and clearcoat like nobody's business, and doesn't stain the aluminum at all. Oh - and removes stuck gaskets too...

 

you use that to clean the engine, what method do you use witht he gasket remover?

 

Here's a peek at what I did to the aluminum on the 900; too!

 

how long did that take you to do per bike?
where can I get teh supplies?

 

It all depends on the condition of the case or cover before you start.

If the part is scuffed or scratched ... you have to sand-out the deep scratches by removing material until you work-out the blem. On a slight scratch it only takes a few minutes to get it sanded out.

If you are dealing with scratches closer to rash ... it's work. Either way, you have to bring the cast aluminum surface close to a "Shined" surface before you can polish it.

Normally, I work-out the "cast look" pretty quick. I get all the crap off and start the surface prep with dry 320, light, hand sanding. The 320 looks like your are ruining the finish and creates aluminum dust as you do the sanding.

Next - 400 Dry. The 400 Dry works-out the even-ing off of the surface area you just 320'd. The 400 removes the scratches the 320 made and leaves 400 swirls and scratches.

You have to change-up the 400 Dry pretty frequently, because it "loads-up" with the aluminum dust.

Next - 600 (same-same)
Next - 800 ( ditto )

Then, 1000 -- Things start to take shape when you hit that aluminum with the 1000. On small parts ... you can skip further sanding and go right to the polishing routine. Keep-up the graduated sanding-out on the larger cases because they'll be a whole lot easier to polish if you do.

For larger cases: (Clutch, shifter, alt cover and brake cover)

1000, 1200 and 1500 are needed.
Do the 12 and 15 wet with WD-40 as the wetting agent. You'll have to change-up often because the 12 and 15 loads-up fast.

Clean-up with lacquer thinner or alcohol.

They'll look pretty damn good after you've 15'd wet. But, if you want the mirror-glass look ... you have to buff.

Get several buffing wheels so you don't have to re-do a section because there was residual compound or rouge left on that wheel. Have a wheel for each step.

WHITE Cleaning Rouge stick (not shown), BROWN Cleaning Rouge stick (not shown) Finishing and Polishing Rouges #-5 & #-6 followed by ZAM.

Shaving cream and razor.

Notice that fasteners that might contact an aluminum surface are grinded-down, rounded-off and then sanded at high rpm with 400, 800 and 1000 to prevent marring if the fastener contacts the polished surface. If left with hexed flats ... the tiniest oops will send you back to square one!

 

No sharp edges!

 

Good eyes! Those pipes are original and have been doctored-up to look decent.

I'd like to have 'em re-chromed. I'm facing two major obstacles.

Wife.
Cash.

'Nuff said. Right?

 

Hey Rick, thanks for the walk thru on the polish. Have the bike in tear down mode for the winter now and am doing some mods to it and want to get her all polished up before the new season comes around. I notived how polished your bike was in other pics that you had posted thanks for the detailed breakdown on the polishing. Think I am gonna be spending some time with a wheel or two this winter... take it easy.