Aluminum Polishing

[brianinpa]

My wife has always said that I clean up well... I'm not sure this is what she means. :smilie_happy:

These came off of the motor of an 80 that I picked up for nothing. There is a reason it was free. Only one valve cover is good, I pulled the carbs off and the ports were filled with rust and water. Every bolt fought me when I pulled the motor and tore the frame down. I am paying for it now, oh and the motor is frozen.

Here are the timing belt covers before oven cleaner:

before

• brianinpa
• Mar 19, 2014

Here are the timing belt covers after oven cleaner:

after

• brianinpa
• Mar 19, 2014

I hope that buffs out.

 

[mcgovern61]

opcorn: Just waiting to see if they buff out easy!

 

[brianinpa]

I'm sure the one will but the other might require some wet/dry sanding first. I am going to try it first without sandpaper just to see what the buffer alone will do. A nice thing about that parts bike is that I have lots of spare engine parts that I can polish before I pull the motor out of my 81.

 

[brianinpa]

mcgovern61 » Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:20 pm[/url]":6fqjotjq]
opcorn: Just waiting to see if they buff out easy!

Gerry, this is 20 minutes spent on the buffer... oh and it was the worse one of the two.

IMG 20140321 152907 237

• brianinpa
• Mar 21, 2014

I am trying a few different wheels to see which ones I like best, so for something that looked so rough to start with, I really am happy.

 

[joedrum]

cool looks great to me

 

[brianinpa]

I'm happy, but I am not satisfied yet... I am going to try a few more wheels and some other polishing compound.

 

[dan filipi]

Shine don't make it go but it sure makes ya feel better about it.
Looking good Brian.

 

[brianinpa]

dan filipi » Fri Mar 21, 2014 7:16 pm[/url]":2cmbasgu]
Shine don't make it go but it sure makes ya feel better about it.
Looking good Brian.

I know Dan, but after seeing those forks in the sun, dang it looks nice when it shines :mrgreen:

 

[wilcoy02]

Please let us know what paste you like the best and how you do it. I want to do mine when it warms up in a month or two.

LOOKING GOOD

 

[brianinpa]

As a reminder this is what I started with:

Clean

• brianinpa
• Mar 24, 2014

Cleaned with oven cleaner & Green pad

I originally started shining this covers with the intention of trying things out, now I am so happy with the one I may even be able to use it. The one side was really severely corroded so it didn't polish so nicely:

Polish Only

• brianinpa
• Mar 24, 2014

Polishing only

The other side, I sanded with wet/dry sand paper with 200, 400, 600, 1000, and 2000 grit before getting it near the buffer. Oh yeah, one other thing I did was I used a fine brass wire brush wheel in my drill press to clean it as best as I could before sanding it. Here is how it came out:

Sand n Polish

• brianinpa
• Mar 24, 2014

Sanded with wet/dry up to 2000 grit

I posted earlier that I was happy but not satisfied. With this process, I think I am now satisfied:

Both

• brianinpa
• Mar 24, 2014

You decide which looks better

What did I use you ask?

One of these from Harbor Frieght:

One tip, throw the buffing wheels AWAY!!!!

Buffing wheels, I got these at Lowes:

For Cutting:

For Finishing:

The compounds that I used were also available at Lowes and made by Porter Cable.

I used #3 (brown) with the yellow wheel and #4 (white) with the white wheel.

I hope this helps others and it isn't that hard to do, now I just need to redo that other cover and see if I can get them to look alike.

 

[backlander]

Shiney, Shiney. Looks great Brian.

 

[KYWinger]

:clapping: Another satisfied member of the "Hours in Front of the Buffer
" club....

Everything on my new 1800 is chrome - no buffer time involved! LOL

 

[joedrum]

sheesh great work brian

 

[brianinpa]

KYWinger » Tue Mar 25, 2014 5:56 am[/url]":2pygy7e9]
:clapping: Another satisfied member of the "Hours in Front of the Buffer
" club....

Everything on my new 1800 is chrome - no buffer time involved! LOL

I recently bought a pair of chrome intake horn covers, but now I think I might not be needing them. Chrome sure is nice but I like the look of the polished aluminum better.

 

[dan filipi]

brianinpa » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:45 am[/url]":2pstmmx6]

KYWinger » Tue Mar 25, 2014 5:56 am[/url]":2pstmmx6]
:clapping: Another satisfied member of the "Hours in Front of the Buffer
" club....

Everything on my new 1800 is chrome - no buffer time involved! LOL

I recently bought a pair of chrome intake horn covers, but now I think I might not be needing them. Chrome sure is nice but I like the look of the polished aluminum better.

Agreed there!

 

[mcgovern61]

Looking good!! :clapping:

 

[KYWinger]

I don't have much of a choice on the 1800 - it's either chrome........or chrome....

 

[Ansimp]

Sounds like a complaint John :smilie_happy:

 

[KYWinger]

I did so much polishing on my 1100, I liked the look of the polished aluminum as well...just not an option on the 1800. But MAN OH MAN is all that power nice.....

 

[brianinpa]

KYWinger » Tue Mar 25, 2014 7:33 am[/url]":lmssnsok]
I don't have much of a choice on the 1800 - it's either chrome........or chrome....

Umm, you left out an option: plastic. :smilie_happy: