aluminium polish, first try

J

jvandyke

Been Around the Block
Sunday's site outage must have lost my post.
Tried to hand polish, gave up and rigged up my bench grinder as a polisher. Not too bad. Maybe I'll try a round of the white polish, I think that's the next step. Went brown (tripoli?) to green but stopped there, white?
before (after some hand work but before machine)
casebefore_zps37ae27b7.jpg


after
casedone2_zps2ac49503.jpg


caseafter_zps6b5220ec.jpg
 
For aluminum I usually finish with the brown, but also sometimes red if I really want a mirror finish. The problem with aluminum is that it oxidizes quickly, so the red usually isn't worth it. I think the mistake most folks make with polishing is that they don't sand enough to start. With some bad pieces, I've started as low as 220 grit. and usually finish at 800 for a quick job or 1200 for the full works.
 
Sonreir said:
For aluminum I usually finish with the brown, but also sometimes red if I really want a mirror finish. The problem with aluminum is that it oxidizes quickly, so the red usually isn't worth it. I think the mistake most folks make with polishing is that they don't sand enough to start. With some bad pieces, I've started as low as 220 grit. and usually finish at 800 for a quick job or 1200 for the full works.
Click to expand...
I learned that too, I "thought" I had it roughed in nice but once the polish was nearly done, saw even more little pits. The next piece I'll attack harder with the sanding first, then move in with polish. I think once I get the process mastered it will go pretty quickly.
This is brown then green. I guess green is all wrong (although it "worked" fine). I'll get some white and give it go
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffman.htm scroll down
 
Aluminum should be more reflective than chrome plating. Too bad it oxidizes and turns dull so quickly.
 
Just read up on shark hide metal protectant ....seems to work pretty well if it wasnt $60 a can I would have ordered some already...
 
You could clear that with high temp stuff. Doesn't get nearly hot enough to peel.

As for the head, I would just vapor blast and degrease then leave it uncoated. Honda didn't clear the head or jugs because those conduct heat to the air and they would get too hot for the clear to really last anyway.
 
DesmoBro said:
Just read up on shark hide metal protectant ....seems to work pretty well if it wasnt $60 a can I would have ordered some already...
Click to expand...

From what Kanticoy's alloy looks like after months of riding it is worth it. He uses it on all his polished bits and man it holds up, he rides too, the bikes don't sit covered.
 
The blue magic is one of my personal favorites. Easy to find. It has silicone in it which is important. It seals in the shine with the silicone layer and prevents future oxidation.
 
KICKRacing said:
The blue magic is one of my personal favorites. Easy to find. It has silicone in it which is important. It seals in the shine with the silicone layer and prevents future oxidation.
Click to expand...

I use that as I can't get shark hide easily. It is considered a dangerous good and hard to get it shipped accross the border. Anyway the blue magic helps but around here it still won;t keep alloy shiney longer then 2-3 rides. I need shark hide.
 
There's stuff called Flitz that I like which is readily available at most local hardware stores. I started using it on my stripped aluminum mountain bikes years ago and it did well through all the mud and water I ran those bikes through.
 
I would be wary of anything Ichiban pushes. As he provides products and services, his interests might not be wholly objective.
 
deviant said:
There's stuff called Flitz that I like which is readily available at most local hardware stores.
Click to expand...

Flitz is great stuff, I use it on small brass and aluminum stuff all the time. Doesn't stop the tarnish much, but shines stuff up quick. I'm going to have to look at that shark hide stuff for my bike when I get to polishing.

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk
 
Sonreir said:
For aluminum I usually finish with the brown, but also sometimes red if I really want a mirror finish. The problem with aluminum is that it oxidizes quickly, so the red usually isn't worth it. I think the mistake most folks make with polishing is that they don't sand enough to start. With some bad pieces, I've started as low as 220 grit. and usually finish at 800 for a quick job or 1200 for the full works.
Click to expand...

1000 grit is the MINIMUM finest grit I would recommend for sanding and polishing metal. I can still see lots of sand scratches in your finish, which tells me you only sanded to somewhere between 600-800 (maybe 1000) grit paper. The finer you sand the metal, the finer the shine will be when you're finished. I usually sand up to 2000 grit paper. Yes it is hard work, but the finish is amazing. Don't get me wrong, it does look good, but it could look even better with just a couple more hours of work.




Redliner said:
You could clear that with high temp stuff. Doesn't get nearly hot enough to peel.

As for the head, I would just vapor blast and degrease then leave it uncoated. Honda didn't clear the head or jugs because those conduct heat to the air and they would get too hot for the clear to really last anyway.
Click to expand...


I would not recommend clear coating engine covers to "maintain shine". 2 problems here, if you clear polished metal, the clear has no surface to stick to bond to and WILL flake off. You should only sand to a maximum of 800 grit when prepping for paint to make sure the paint has good adhesion. If you clear coat directly over 800 grit sanded metal, most of the sand scratches are going to show thru the clear, and it's not going to be that shiny and probably won't look very good.
 
From the factory, Honda covers may have been finished to the extent of the pictures OP posted, if maybe for a final little buff just to even some of the waves out.

Clear is certainly not an "easy fix all", but it will maintain a factory look for 5-10 years.

The tradition of maintaining a finish has been lost, and so it's certainly easier than giving a little buffing twice a year to some.

Ask anybody that rides when they last waxed the paint on their show-winning candy custom or 5-year-old first-owner stock bike. It almost doesn't happen anymore, except to be cheeky for the hot housewife next-door or for "bragging rights." But even then, it's usually a "One bottle does it all!" deal. Wipe it once and it cleans, buffs, and coats! My achin' arse. Get some clay and tar n wax remover and get back to work. Put the chamois down before you hurt yourself.

Not disagreeing, you're right. Nothing gold can stay.
 
I wax my bike about 4-6 times a year. Not to mention the quick details every 2-3 rides. I guess I didn't realize a lot of riders don't give a crap about their pride and joy. Hearing that makes me me want to not give a crap about helping people make their bikes pretty. Seriously? MOST riders don't clean/detail their bikes? WTF? :-[
 
Cleaning and making it "shine good" vs a proper degrease and coat are different.

Yeah, your typical Harley guy wants to show off all summer by washing his bike on the sidewalk where everybody can appreciate it, whether they like it or not, but using a chamois to both wash and "buff" and leaving the tank with nothing more than armor-all applied to leave an oily film will hardly give it the shine of a proper wax and protect the clear for as long.
 
I guess I'm one of those lazy guys who doesn't give a shit. My daily rider has no paint at all, including the frame, and I don't spend any time polishing it either. The aluminum on some of my other bikes stays good by simply maintaining it once in a great while, but for the bare metal bike I use Protecta Clear. It's a barrier more than a clear coat - only a few microns thick, and it doesn't chip, crack, peel, or yellow. If you're set on putting anything on your aluminum to protect it I'd use that.
 
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