Test polishing on the 650

Ok so here are the results of me using what My Dad and Freind showed me about polishing this weekend.



Both parts were left on the bike when I did it as I was just testing out how it would look and I must say I'm very pleased.



First I used my dremel tool and the little polishing kit you can buy seperatly. Don't over spin it or use to much presure or the little wheels will strip out.



The front fork to me about an hour & the side cover took about 20 minutes.



I started with the stick of white polish my Dad gave me. I learned that it's kinda like painting ( you got to keep a wet edge or in other word keeps the wheel loaded.

Wiped it down with rubbing alcohol

loaded up the red stick and went to town

Wiped it down

Loaded up the rouge that came with the dremel and buffed it down

wiped it again

and here's the trick. I rubbed on the Mother's Alum & Mag BILLET polish with my fingers untill I had a nice black goo on it. (applying with a rag didn't seem to clean it up as much I guess becuase the rag was picking up) Allowed it to dry to a haze which happens very quickly. and this time I buff the haze to the shine you see in the pics. I found that it you tried to just polish and wipe it off that it didn't leave near the luster that I wanted.



Any ways I learned alot and now need to buy another six pack of beer. I supose now I need to start taking parts of to make my life easier and get a better clean up job.



Thanks,

 

Very nice. I use a similar process. Mothers is the real key to getting the final shine you want. Looking good.

 

Wow, That looks awsome. One of these days I'll get going on mine. Maybe int he winter time To busy with other projects to do this now.

 

damn he discovered one of my secrets. Apply that last polish with Mothers' BILLET Metal polish with your finger(s.) Not a rag. Or, if you don't want to get your finger all semi-permanently grey, use a 2" square of chamois.

 

I'm impressed - One of these days I'll polish her up. Appreciate the tips, with your results, even the chrome boys would be happy.

 

thanks for the compliments guys

I did some more experimenting to try to see if I could cut any steps out of the process to save time with the same finished product and the short answer is "NO"

Although I did figure out I could use a tooth brush for applying the Billet polish. "Sorry Fitzs... no chamois laying around the garage"

 

Question:
How did you remove the clearcoat over the alternator cover before polishing, with it still on the bike, or didn't you bother and just let the dremel tool and compounds just burn right through it?

 

I used high grit wet/dry paper with WD40 as a lube. Some folks have used stripper formulas.

 

Bill,
thanks for the reply.
I'm familiar with traditional methods, like mechanical and chemical stripping.
i was curious because he said he did it insitu, without removing the part.

I'm guessing chemical stripping is out, due to the risk of damage to painted surfaces you don't want marred. Unless, like Elmer Fudd, you're "Vaywee, vaywee careful".

So i was just wondering if he happily dremmeled away with polishing compound until it ate through.

Just curious about pre-polishing prep, if any...

thanks for replying though.

 

actual hammer head I probably should of mentioned about 2 months about I had stripped everything clean with a wire wheel tooth brush and simply green . but that was so long ago I forgot about it.... the Clear coat comes off so easily with a wire whee (on a dremell) though It should be a none issue If you started with black compuond instead of the white stuff. sears is a great place to find those cheap kits...