Topic: Polishing is a Filthy and Thankless Task

[alacrity]

So there I was polishing my petcock...

 

ha ha ... that sounds dirty... and in fact it WAS!  It was filthy and filled with varnish, rust and what looked like dried Spackle.  Yeccch.  But a painstaking application of acetone with a bevy of small brushes, files, probes etc got it all off.

I was gonna fully polish the reservoir cover, but I kind of like the dual texture I have here -- the top is a partially smoothed out etching done with a wire wheel.

And the forklegs - omg what a pain.  I got off the factory chrome and the paint the p.o. badly applied over it.  But the casting is really rough, so I'm not sure if I'll leave it this way or paint it --

[scunny]

been there, done that. think of it as a right of passage, much like the cleaning of carbs.

[Johnie]

I have said it many times polishing is a tedious and dirty task, but the end result is always worth it. Have you considered just taking those forks to the next polishing level. I take it they are aluminum, but not sure how bad the casting is as you mentioned. I start with red rouge, then green and end with white. Here are a couple pics of my latest polishing on my K3 project.

[lucky]

Well worthwhile it looks like to me.

[Damage Inc]

Wow! Johnie. Those are some inspiring pics. Do you have any pre polish pics.

[Markcb750]

Filthy yes.  I do not find it thankless though.  even though I must provide my own..

Just like painting prep;  Lots of time with sandpaper, then just a little time with red then white rouge and a couple coats of wax.

[grcamna2]

I have said it many times polishing is a tedious and dirty task, but the end result is always worth it. Have you considered just taking those forks to the next polishing level. I take it they are aluminum, but not sure how bad the casting is as you mentioned. I start with red rouge, then green and end with white. Here are a couple pics of my latest polishing on my K3 project.

Are those New O.E.spokes?  Sweet.

[Johnie]

damageinc....as requested here is a pre-polish pic. A bit of a difference...

[henrikm]

Inspirational! Thank you.

How do you get to the point where you start polishing? Clean/degrease, 320, 600, 800 grit paper? Wet/dry? Machine/hand?

[brandEn]

Inspirational! Thank you.

How do you get to the point where you start polishing? Clean/degrease, 320, 600, 800 grit paper? Wet/dry? Machine/hand?

+1

[piute]

  Chrome / Polishing wont get ya home but can get ya laid THEY SAY
                         ....................... BUT BLACK IS BACK..................................

[Johnie]

To be honest, I have not yet used any sandpaper. I start by removing the clear with stripper. Then have at it with red, green and white rouge. Have been able to take out some nasty scratches too. However, I am not after concourse finish but am mighty happy with what I get in return. Keep in mind you have to use an agressive buffer. You need one that will not slow down when you are using it. Must be able to keep the RPM's going to heat that aluminum and fill some of the imperfections.

[tweakin]

Wow Andy.  Great results.  I have always had to sand first to get anything close to that.  I guess thats what I get fro using a HF wheel.  The pieces I started with were also in way worse shape than the ones you posted above.

To be honest, I have not yet used any sandpaper. I start by removing the clear with stripper. Then have at it with red, green and white rouge. Have been able to take out some nasty scratches too. However, I am not after concourse finish but am mighty happy with what I get in return. Keep in mind you have to use an agressive buffer. You need one that will not slow down when you are using it. Must be able to keep the RPM's going to heat that aluminum and fill some of the imperfections.