Another low-budget polishing trick

You know those dremel polishing bits that cost out the a$$ at the hardware store? Well, I went the cheapskate route and made a few of my own.

Required materials:

Grocery-store flavor synthetic steel wool pads (not the metal kind)
1 Cutoff wheel bit for the dremel
A pair of scissors
Safety goggles
Beer

The "steelwool" pad



The bit



Cut a few circles out of the pad. Poke the screw through the center and attach to the bit.



Profit!!!





I prepped the clutch cover on the 550 with a couple of these bits, and finished it off with the Eagle One mag polish.



When you done, have a beer as you enjoy the fruits of your labor.

P.S. there are a bunch of different grits available... the rougher ones will damn near strip chrome, and the lightest ones work great for buffing.

 

That's genius! I'll have to give that a try.

The whole dremmel thing is way overpriced. I finally broke down and bought a dremmel tool a couple of years ago. First one was cordless and took it back that day. Didn't hold a charge nearly long enough. The corded one I exchanged it for has been extremely handy, but the attachments really start adding up. The tool wasn't cheap in the first place.

Though, I did go by Big Lots today to pick up a cheapo drill, I saw a dremmel-type tool for $20 and seems like it came with 120 attachments. I almost bought it just for all the accessories.

 

I've been doing this for a couple years now -- if you use "star" lock washers, you can stack a few of the discs together -- works quite well getting inside and around the fins, etc....

 

I'm goin to good 'ol Wally World to get about 10 of those pads. My bike has oxidation just about everywhere there is aluminum. Have a guiness, Stereo. BRILLIANT!

 

Hey, that's a good idea. Are you using a dremel or a drill bit?

 

I find for the more 'serious' work like around the fins, using a drill with the dremel flex extension works best. For the flatter surfaces, the speed of the dremel comes to the fore as you can have a gentler touch and get the work done.

 

ooooooh I like it.....
Great idea.....kicking myself for not thinking of it...

 

Rick had a similar idea back a while ago for cleaning up your piston in the carbs.

 

I have a whole bagfull of round ones that was given to me a couple years ago. They're about 1.5 inches diameter, and are the brown ones. I got them cuz someone else didn't want them since, according to him, they were useless in that shape and size. I'll take anything, and hang on to it till I find a use. Now I'll have to try that!
Thanks for the idea!

Dave