please with polish and oxidation

hi
i come across a problem i can get my engine looking like a mirror finish , however after a couple of damp days and even though bike is under cover i get that white oxidiation on alloy , i wonder if after i polish with autosol i polish with normal paint polish it will give metal some protection , has anyone else had this problem
thanks for any help
UK mike

 

Hey UK mike;
I have been using Mothers BILLET Polish, not regular mothers metal polish. This is Billet polish. I polished my grab bar, lower fork tubes, and several other parts with this 3 months ago and it's still shining. I take some windex and clean the bugs off and it shines right back up. I have thought about putting car wax on them but I haven't had to. I also thought about clear coating them, but most clear coats will yellow or dull the shine. As long as this Mothers stuff holds up like it has, I'm going to continue using it. I haven't even had to reapply this stuff since I first put it on. I like it.

What I need to know is how or what type of tools are you using to polish your engine. I'm wanting to polish mine. I guess I need to get a dremel.

 

A drill with a buffing pad - or a wand on a dremil like tool. Saves time and if you get good pads gives good results. Beware of scratching and swirling :-/

 

Autosol did it's job UK Mike. You need to shield the freshly exposed metal against further oxidation. Clear laquer spray is commonly used unless you like to polish often. I've seen some good clear polys out there but they are thick and a little yellow. PJ1 sells a good clear, I'd take that route myself. Barring that, Minwax makes a Diamond clear that is good and sprays easily. Used it on my brother's XVZ1300 forks, they still look great two years on. As for a polishing unit, you will find the dremel takes a long time to achieve the finish your after folks. Get a dedicated buffing pad and either use a power drill or the 1/4 h.p. polishing/porting tool that is out there with a flexible shaft. It will last a lot longer and the polishing bits are readily available. Harbor Freight (sounds like a broken record what) has one for about $65 on sale and is perfect for the application. Good luck and listen to Woot, you can leave a mess all too easily on aluminum so start with a gentle hand. Cheers!