Hi guys,
I've posted this on the Suzuki form also, and since you Banshee guys polish anything and everything (why not? I would too [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]) I thought that if you had any hints on how to do this that would be great.

I've polished out my swingarm on my LT500, as well as the stator cover. I removed most of the paint from the cylinder and head, and tried to start polishing them, but since they are not smooth, I'm stuck on how to polish them. I tried one of those sanding wheels with the sandpaper flaps, but it is not doing a good job. Also, how do I polish in the little corners, etc. On the stator cover, in the little recesses where the bolts in to hold it on, I wasn't able to polish there because I couldn't figure out how to do it. Aluminum is soft, and so I don't want to use a dremel sanding wheel because it will cut through it like butter, and it won't have a smooth finish. If anyone has done this before, or has owned a shop that does this, please give me some hints. I don't mind working to get it done (my swingarm took 2 days) but I want it done right so it doesn't look like someone who didn't know what they were doing.

Thanks!

 

When I polish aluminum I use mothers mag and wheel polish. Put some on a ragg and rub lightly. Then clean real good, stuff works great on aluminum wheels. To get a good finish all you need is the right compound and some time. You can also use a car buffer or a drill attachment with a buffing pad and mothers, neverdull also works well you can get it at any autoparts store. Like I said it just takes time. To bad you dont live around me I can flycut aluminum to a mirror finish were I work.

 

slowride1 is right, Mothers is the best. I used it on my aluminum AC Racing bumper this weekend and the thing looks like polished chrome!!!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

whenever i polish anything i use a power buffer wheel, u guys doing the hand way havnt seen a polish till u use one of them, its hard to polish in corners ect and stuff like it im surprised dremil doesnt make a small polishing wheel. if they do it will work great.





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Ok sounds good.
Is the buffing wheel you're talking about fit on a drill, or a buffer? What size wheel would you recommend?

To newZman, since AC Racing's stuff is ball burnished (unless ordered otherwise,) did you do anything before polishing, and did you use a buffing wheel or do it by hand??

Thanks for your input! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

<<
To newZman, since AC Racing's stuff is ball burnished (unless ordered otherwise,) did you do anything before polishing, and did you use a buffing wheel or do it by hand??

Thanks for your input! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] >>



Just put Mothers on a terry towel on hand buffed. Looks great, very nice finish! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Velocity is right WET SAND. I am re-doing my cases because I used a dremel the first time and it didn't work so great.

Dremel does make those little felt cone shaped tips, that with the right rubbing compound might work good.

You started with 1000, I went down to a 320 on most of mine because it was so rough, then up to 2,000. This was on my upper a-arms, I had some rock pecks to get out.

 

Here's the basics if you have a lot of time, little money, and just want to do the corners or fine details.

Go to Sears and buy several packages of the 1/4? inch round cotton buffs, and some of the 1&quot; cotton buffs, these are best for getting corners and tight areas, and also pick up a package of 4 rouges. I would suggest cutting slightly the end of the screw on mandrel tip, or using the type of adapter that has a screw that goes into the mandrel with a small piece of tape over it, this is important because otherwise you will probably wear through the buff and hit the metal against the aluminum.

Apply the red rouge to the buff using a wiping motion and low speed, you don't need much, and if you apply too much it'll fly off and make a big mess.

Buff at about 3 to 4 position if using a variable speed dremel, or until the dremel seems to barely bog down, what you're trying to do is heat up the aluminum and in the process buff off the paint. You'll notice the buff turning black, and if you put your finger on the backside of the part you'll notice it's getting warm. Continue at this until you have most of the corners cleaned, then you can wash up with soap to get rid of all the old buff, then use the white
rouge to work up a real shine. This will take a lot of time, and depending upon what quality of shine you want a lot more of other steps are necessary.

If you get tired of using buffs there are sanding abrasive buffs that work good to clean paint out of corners, but you'll have to hand sand more, the part number is 953164 from Sears. These wear out quickly, so give them a light touch or you'll destory them in about 10 seconds.

The cylinder head will require other means, typically stripping first with aircraft stripper, or in the case of anodizing special strippers for that. After you have a bare surface you can work the sandpaper. If it's very rough with lots of pits like the Honda's tend to be I start out with 60 to 100 grit sandpaper until I get it smooth, then move to 150, 250, 320, 400, 600, 1000, 1500 and finally 2000 grit, (all wet sanding) then it's ready to buff. I use a spiral wound buff for rough areas with red rouge, then work my way up to a flannel or fan buff with the white rouge, finally I wash it, and then work on it with mothers or meguirs until a fine sheen is achieved. To get a pro look you have to use very fine polishing cloths, or else you get a lot of fine lines that show up un sunlight.

An alternative is spending about $100 on a abrasive blaster, assuming you have a air compressor, then use walnut shells or glass beads to remove the paint. You just hae to make sure that you do a very good job of cleanup afterwards.

Wear a respirator in any case and eye protection, as aluminum dust will wear out the corneas of your eye, and inhalation of fine aluminum dust can cause respitory problems.

If you want to email me at claymeyer@hotmail.com I'll fill you in on other tips on how to get a professional look. It's not easy, but the results speak for themselves. I've got about a grand in equipment to get professional results, but I can tell you how to do it for a lot less.

 

Thanks a lot for your help guys, I'll try some of the things mentioned. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Getting ready to do my side cases.

Any new input?