Topic: Polishing Fork legs - Been wanting to do this for years.

[CR125Honda]

Doing a front end refurb. Brake master & caliper rebuild, steering neck bearings, touch up paint, etc..
Thought now would be a good time to knock this out.
One down, one to go..

Started with 220 grit on a triangle shaped palm sander, all by wet hand sanding after that. 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 2000 then a little polish.

Ken

[70CB750]

Pure porn, man 

[RSchaefer]

Are you going to clearcoat that now?

[Stev-o]

Nice job.....love polished aluminum

[CR125Honda]

Are you going to clearcoat that now?

RS,
Yes, Think I'd like to clearcoat this time but have never done that before.
Every other polish job I've done I've just kept it clean & polished over the years until it needed touching up again.

Any recommendations on how to prep for a clearcoat?
I used a Semichrome type polish and assume I'c need to get the polish and any other impurities out prior to paint..

Ken

[RAFster122s]

Maas polish has a nice protective finish to it that will give you enough protection you only need to touch it up 2-3 times a year. I really like it and use it on my polished stuff.
Stev-o has some stuff I polished for him that I used it on...
Should still be looking very nice, especially since it has been sitting and not exposed to the elements.

David

[LesterPiglet]

How long did it take to polish that?

[john campling]

Polished ally looks good just sprayed with ACF 50
Aircraft spray in a can like WD40 but is an anti corrosion thing
Dont know how well this would work on fork legs but people use it on engines

[CR125Honda]

Maas polish has a nice protective finish to it that will give you enough protection you only need to touch it up 2-3 times a year. I really like it and use it on my polished stuff.
Stev-o has some stuff I polished for him that I used it on...
Should still be looking very nice, especially since it has been sitting and not exposed to the elements.

David

Thanks David,
I'll look into that. It's no hanger queen so it will be exposed. 
I've seen how the clear starts to yellow & chip after a while. Going to weigh the options on how to protect it.

Ken

How long did it take to polish that?

I'm guessing 6 hrs..  Most time is spent with the palm and small triangle sander & 240 grit. The next wet sand with 400 by hand takes a fair amount too. The next steps (800-2000) go a bit quicker.

Polished ally looks good just sprayed with ACF 50
Aircraft spray in a can like WD40 but is an anti corrosion thing
Dont know how well this would work on fork legs but people use it on engines

Thanks, Johniie,  Will look into that too.

Ken

[RSchaefer]

I was going for the stock look rather then a full polish

Original:




Trying to get the stock look:






Then I powder coated clear:

[RAFster122s]

I've decided that the 220 is best skipped unless you have scratches you need to remove...the rough casting being an exception for this area if you want to smooth it. Just takes you more time to work out any scratches left by the 220 that it is worth.  320 or 400 yields better surface with similar work.
8 hours isn't unheard of for a fork leg.  I spent more time than that doing hand detail work on a caliper getting into nooks where it was difficult to reach.
Polishing is messy work, you have black dust from the compound everywhere any your face and hands and arms are covered in it. Good idea to have eye protection and wear a dust mask when doing it...not good for your lungs to not to.

Oh, BTW, blue painters tape or duct tape can protect the aluminum when sanding areas you don't want scratched with the coarser grades of sandpaper...can save some work with a few minutes of taping. Just replace the tape when you start cutting through it...

David

[fastbroshi]

Love the finish, even up close it looks good.

[Bankerdanny]

I did this on my GoldWing and the '75 550K forks this summer. It's not as difficult as one might think, but it is messy and time consuming. I would say a solid 2-3 hours a pair.

The only power tool I used was a drill with the buffing wheels for the final polishes. I finished with red, then white rouge and a final polish with simichrome.

I'm not going to clear either of mine. The clear will yellow over time and it's not a big deal to polish them a couple times a year to retain the finish.

[RSchaefer]

I'm going to be interested to see how mine hold up with clear powder coat.

[LesterPiglet]

I've never been satisfied with any clear over alloy I've done. I always use chrome cleaner when I clean my bike so the finish stays pretty good.